Zaika

Sister restaurant to Michelin-starred Tamarind of Mayfair, Zaika of Kensington offers world-class Indian cuisine in a prime setting

Zaika of Kensington - Zaika of Kensington: Famous Indian Restaurant London

http://zaikaofkensington.com

Sophisticated Indian Flavours at Zaika Restaurant, London ...

Case in point is the hearty yet dainty starter, pan-seared spiced scallops with sautéed cavolo nero and pumpkin sauce.

Equally delicious, a main course of king prawns simmered in a rich coconut cream sauce flavoured with lime leaf proves curry prowess and gourmet subtly needn’t be mutually exclusive attributes.

REVIEW: Zaika, Kensington High Street, Kensington - The Foodaholic

The team behind Zaika is the well know Tamarind Collection, who also own the likes of well respected Tamarind of Mayfair and Imli street – Soho’s go-to spot of classic Indian street food.

Jhinga shimla- merch was a plate full of large, grilled tiger prawns marinated in a pureed red pepper and such a refined mix of spices the kitchen couldn’t have possibly made this any better.

The creamy marinade had created a sort of jacket to the prawns which meant for an explosion of flavours to the palette.

There is a great seafood and shellfish selection on the menu here at Zaika I have no doubt that they cook everything else just as much precision.

Desserts on the whole were good at Zaika but of the two we tried the Old Monk rum baba was a sure winner.

Vegetarian London: Zaika Of Kensington Restaurant Review ...

It’s where top Indian chef Vineet Bhatia (who went on to open the award-garlanded Rasoi in Chelsea) first made his mark, and it was one of the first Indian restaurants ever to gain a Michelin star.

It spawned numerous Indian restaurants up and down the country copying the word ‘Zaika’ – which means ‘sophisticated flavours’ – into their names, and its chocolate samosa became one of London’s most widely imitated restaurant desserts.

Palak paneer (spinach with Indian cheese), on the other hand, is alarmingly undercooked and has an unusually bright green colour and dominant taste of raw garlic.

It’s described on the menu as ‘paneer tossed with onion-tomato masala finished with pureed spinach’ – and if you take the description of the cooking process literally, maybe that’s the problem.

Sautéing onions, tomatoes and spices patiently for the correct length of time is absolutely essential in Indian curries, otherwise they just won’t taste right – and this popular Punjabi staple, which even many high street restaurants are proficient at, clearly hasn’t been cooked through.

Restaurant Review: Zaika | The Soulmates Blog

The main dining area at Zaika is cleverly partitioned off to give customers a sense of privacy, and this also creates a cosy bar area – although we only realised this on leaving the restaurant, as we were promptly whisked to our table on arrival.

I’m sure they would have been happy to talk about the weather, or anything, which is good to bear in mind if your Valentine’s evening takes an awkward turn.

Zaika may be more high-end Indian cuisine, but the presentation is far from pretentious – and they don’t shirk on portions.

I had expected the dishes to have plenty of heat, teased out in various ways, but this one really bucked the trend; it showed off a side of Indian cooking that you rarely see outside of the home kitchen.

A pleasant Valentine’s Day awaits – Zaika’s Valentine’s menu offers multi-layered chocolate cake for two, so if you’re an old-fashioned, dessert-sharing romantic, you could do a lot worse.

Review of London Indian restaurant Zaika by Andy Hayler

The head chef is Dayashanker Sharma, formerly of Imli and who has worked with Tamarind Collection for many years.

Example bottles included Mount Brown Riesling 2012 at £32 for a wine that you can find for £11 in the high street, Mercurey Premier Cru Clos des Barraults 2010 Domaine Michel Juillot at £62 compared to a shop price of £23, and Nuits St Georges Vielles Vignes 2010 Domaine Daniel Rion & Fils at £99 for a label that retails at £31.

Aloo gobi (£7.50) retained some texture in the cauliflower and potato, and although the spices were rather restrained this was a good dish, as it is so common in aloo gobi for the vegetables to be served soggy (13/20).

This is an awful lot of money for the level of food here e.g. at these prices could they not at least have managed some good quality diver-caught scallops rather than what appeared tonight?

The surroundings here are pleasant and the service was slick, but if you ordered wine, dessert and coffee it would be easy to run up a bill here of upwards of £80 a head.

Zaika of Kensington | Restaurants in Kensington, London

The owners, Tamarind Collection, has rekindled Zaika to specialise in north Indian cooking with unflashy, carefully honed recipes inspired by Mughal palace kitchens.

Sanjay Gour is Zaika’s new chef, and he does a great job of updating culinary traditions without losing the plot.

Yakhni, a traditional lamb broth, is fragrant with smoky brown cardamom and black cumin, and is simmered to full-bodied meatiness before it is poured around shredded slow-cooked lamb.

More homely in nature but no less satisfying, a main course of juicy king prawns, tossed in a vibrant tomato and ginger masala, is enriched by the warmth of cracked black peppercorns.

Dumplings are an everyday staple in India, but koftas are not.