Open for Tue—Sun midday—2.30pm and Mon—Sun 5.30pm–10.30pm (10pm Sun)
It’s curious, the effect that entering a distinguished room has on a person. Suddenly you feel like you’re somebody, that you’ve achieved. The staff here welcome you like an old friend they’ve really missed and before you know it you’re sat with a wine list in your hand trying to take all the beauty around you in.
This former banking hall was always a handsome old place before it inexplicably disappeared, replaced by the dreadfully named One K over a year ago. That lasted less than six months, possibly because a cocktail overlooking Kensington Gardens in the Royal Garden Hotel over the road was always going to be a better option than one staring at the roaring traffic of the high street.
If you’re intent on impressing your dinner date, Zaika has the required wow factor. High ceilings give way to an elevated surround of assorted framed pictures before the wood panelling takes over. There is also an abundance of fancy stonework to take in: it’s nothing if not grand. There are standalone tables on the floor and mustard coloured banquettes leading to the kitchen, where the action looked considered and serious. Certainly the plates that turned up showed a deft assembly.
Curry leaf, coriander and chilli crusted scallops (£14.50) sounded better than they tasted, the spices apparently unable to make a dent, leaving the bivalves bland. Much better (and cheaper) was the mixed sprouts tikki (£6.50), essentially a trio of dinky vegetable cakes that left a happy festival of flavours in the mouth, ably accompanied by a beautiful mint and ginger sauce.
Quail retime (quail kebab dontcha know) piqued my curiosity, but the waiter came back apologising that the chef wasn’t happy with how it had turned out. We thought it was the right thing to do; better that than sending out something not up to scratch just because it’s on the menu.
What’s on offer here is Awadhi cuisine from northern India. The dish most familiar to Brits is the biryani (£21.50), which is cooked slowly, the meat and rice gently coaxed together in three stages. Here it turned up inside a pie; the crust is dispensed with and miraculously light rice and goat emerge, wonderfully aromatic.
After that, the wows kept coming. One of two dhals, the Makhni (£7) is lentils cooked overnight that coated my insides with a feeling of belonging. Lamb chops marinated with papaya, fennel and star anise (£35 for a rack) were as wonderful as that mixture sounds, with a glorious char to boot.
Sounding like a character from the Mighty Boosh, the Nimboo Tart (£7) left a lovely limey tang and came with ice cream that evoked happy nostalgia for 10p mini milks. Their chocolate bounty bar (£8) was similarly accomplished, with popping candy bringing on more smiles. By the time we headed out the door the room was buzzing with happy punters in a beautiful atmosphere. Somewhat of a triumphant return for Zaika then; it feels very good to have them back.
