Zaika Seattle – Best Indian Restaurant for Dine-In & Takeout in Seattle — Restaurant in Seattle

We had a wonderful dinner at Zaika. Our group of 7 had a reservation on a busy Saturday evening. We were delayed arriving there by 10 mins and the restaurant accommodated us without any fuss. Service was excellent and the server was attentive and competent. The location of the restaurant is convenient. The ambiance was pleasing - there is a bar area in the lower half of the restaurant and the bigger table seating was in the higher level (higher by about 2 steps!). The space is not terribly large (seating 50-75 I'd guess) and the entryway can get crowded when customers come in and others are waiting. Double doors are nice since the backup does not get pushed out into the street; some can wait in the space between the doors.

The food and drinks were excellent, although some were more appealing than others. I had the chai toddy (bourbon and chai syrup) which was served warm. I loved the presentation - with a lemon wedge that had cloves embedded in it. It was good but the bourbon was a bit hard to taste (i.e. chai was strong). My wife had the chai old-fashioned which was excellent (she preferred my drink to hers!). I also had a tequila spicy drink (whose name escapes me) which was very nice. The (spicy) heat infusion was subtle and liked this drink better than my chai toddy.

We are vegetarian (ovo-lacto) and the restaurant adapted the dishes to suit us. My dad had the pumpkin soup and found it very comforting and hearty. We had the tuna papdi Chaat, which was made for us without the tuna. I loved the bite sized papdi which was a pleasure to pop in the mouth. It was crunchy and had all the right flavors of papdi Chaat, and my favorite part of it was that it was not knockout spicy. I dislike Chaat that seeks to have spicy heat dominate the flavor by rendering the tongue numb. This papdi Chaat did not do that disservice. It was quite a joy. The Cottage on the Pond was done with a very nice brown crust and it was served in individual servings with a bit of spicy red sauce. My kids loved the fried cheese but found the sauce spicy. I and the other adults liked the sauce. We had a few other small plates which were all delightful.

From the large plate section (entrees) we had the salmon quinoa pulao. They served the salmon on the side at our request and one of our group had the salmon (the only person in our group who was not vegetarian). The quinoa was remarkable for the spice infusion in the quinoa. I have never managed to get quinoa to soak in the spice flavors as nicely as this. I feel inspired to work to get my pulao to taste like this! The entree that however was the delight of the evening (for our entire group) was the Nargisi Kofta. It was truly a treat for the tongue. Excellent flavors and exactly as how a Kofta should be, with the flavors not overwhelming the palate. The Dahi Jeera Cauliflower did not impress me. I found that the flavors unremarkable and not terribly pleasing but some in our group liked it. We also ordered the Stuffed Eggplant Jewels, which was served with Bell Peppers instead of eggplant (seasonal change?). It was enjoyable and had a good flavor profile.

For dessert we had the Mango Mousse and the Deconstructed Falooda. I loved both but the overwhelming favorite in our group was the Mousse. It was a very good Mousse. I liked the Falooda - taste, and the presentation in a bird's nest.

Overall, excellent dinner experience. We will...

I believe, the north star for creating dishes in this restaurant is harmoniously blending ingredients that will hit the spot. They were able to buoy the taste of a major ingredient by artfully adding just enough flavor to tease you to go for more. And yet, I found myself slowing down to savour their delightful dishes. Case in point, mushroom steak-it was perfectly cooked to preserve its moisture and texture, and the chimichuri was served in a rock pestle. I mean, they could have served in a fancy porcelain dish, but they made a deliberate choice, to elevate the experience to another level. I visited this restaurant twice in a month (I rarely do) and tried as many vegetarian dishes I could. They literally cannot get anything wrong or to be fair, they made every dish that I ordered to perfection.

Their service is great too. Timely, personable, and fun. Towards the end of our second dinner we ordered daulat ki chat and kulfi. I thoughy the shiny thing in the middle of the kulfi is edible. As an excited toddler I asked whether that "center piece" is edible. "no sir, metal is not edible." That was witty and fun. I wouldn't have food service any other way. Nitin, the restaurant owner came to talk to us the first time we ate their. He was passionate about his food. Part of the reason I believe their food is so delicious is that he is not bound by a technique or a school of thought. He said that he was not formally trained in a culinary school, but has a say in the putting the dishes on the menu. What I can say is he has a good taste and an eye for detail.

Yes, this is an expensive restaurant. Perhaps the most expensive Indian restaurant I ate at. When you walk into the restaurant you feel like you are not paying for the ambience and seating. No frills. A clean place to eat and glass windows to look outside the restaurant is what you get. I mean, this place is located right besides the Starbucks roastery, so it must be very expensive to manage. I think they spend money where it matters. Quality and consistency of food and giving their customers a good experience. I had a great experience eating at Zaika. I look forward to visiting this place...

This is a restaurant with premium prices - entrees start at $24 and most cost at least $30. For these prices, you expect either 1) exceptional food/dining experience or 2) a lot of food meant for splitting family style.

We got neither. The food wasn’t bad, but not better than other restaurants where the price is significantly cheaper. And if you look in the picture below, you’ll see three $24+ entrees which are primarily sauce and have barely anything else in it. Our $26 butter chicken had 3 small pieces of chicken in it and nothing else; our malai kofta had 3 small pieces as well and as a “Large Platter” the plate was smaller than the “Small Platter” we got!

I understand it’s difficult to run a restaurant especially with rising costs but this was unacceptable. A pack of chicken 10x the size of the amount of chicken we were fed goes for $10 at the grocery store. The same sauce was generously flooded into all of the dishes we ordered and probably cooked in bulk. So where is all of this extra price coming from aside from charging an insane unnecessary premium on a fairly pedestrian tasting dish?

To add insult to injury, the restaurant charges a mandatory 10% service charge on all orders that goes directly to the restaurant and not the servers. This is an unfortunate predatory tactic to jack up prices of their already overpriced food without transparently showing the customer on the menu and punishing them after the fact on the receipt. When customers have an unsatisfactory experience like we did and are mulling over the idea of not tipping, they are surely put over the edge when they see this service charge. I wish that we could pay this fee to the servers instead of the restaurant because at least they were trying their best to provide a good experience instead of trying to squeeze the most money out of their customers. Sadly, a bad dining experience is what it is and the gratuity reflects that. Won’t be...