Zaika Kitchen Food Truck

Hands down the BEST Pakistani food in all of New York City. As someone from Chicago who grew up around amazing, authentic Pakistani cuisine, I’ve been on a mission to find that same level of flavor in NYC—and after trying spot after spot, Zaika Food Truck is the one. I seriously cannot recommend it enough. This family-run gem is serving home-style Pakistani food that tastes like it came straight from someone’s kitchen. Every single dish is packed with bold, balanced flavors and you can taste the love and care in each bite. It’s comfort food at its absolute finest. The recipes? All passed down and made from scratch. The service? So warm and welcoming. The experience? 10/10. I honestly didn’t think I’d find food like this in New York, and now I can’t stop thinking about it. Whether you’re new to Pakistani food or grew up eating it, this is a MUST. Do yourself a favor and find this truck. You’ll be hooked.

I’m a biryani snob. I could list all of the terrible biryanis in nyc. Dera, Angel, Lahore Chilli, even Dhamaka. They’re all over spiced or microwaved garbage or just gravy over rice. This biryani at the Zaika Food Truck is the CLOSEST I’ve tasted to biryani from Karachi (even though the owners are from Lahore). Honestly it tasted like home. And I wish them lots of success and hope they can eventually open a physical location. I will DEFINITELY be coming back here for the Chicken Biryani

Definitely a great new addition to the block. I got the combo meal #2 with butter chicken and chickpeas (combo comes with pita and a soda) and felt as if it was a pretty good value. Service was friendly and quick. The food was definitely tasty but at time lacked a bit of flavor. Maybe I would’ve liked to see a bit more seasoning. And I could be wrong in saying this, so please fact check me for yourself, but the pita doesn’t seem homemade. Overall, however, an enjoyable spot that I would like to return to.

Yummy, nutritional and filling Pakistani/Indian food. If I lived closer to here I would eat here too often especially for the price. Let this truck thrive🙏 I had a variety of things but my personal favorites were the chana masala and the samosa chaat. Of course mango lassi is a must.

The food was amazing, the service was amazing, overall a 10/10. I'm normally not a fan of food truck desi food but I really thought I was eating a plate from back home. Zaika exceeded my expectations and I'm glad to find my new go to spot!

*ChickenLess Chicken Biryani* I was there on Saturday , bought daal chawal and 2 chicken biryani One of them doesn’t have any chicken at all and other has only one small piece . And taste is not authentic at all . It’s far far far away from what biryani taste from Karachi or other part of Pakistan Maybe they cook in large amount and keep heating it up or it’s from day before But taste was ok , and daal chawal doesn’t worth paying $10+tax Taste was not bad but quantity was 👎 Tea 👎 Workers were very sweet and respectful But when I got home and opened my counter , I felt robbed ! Good Luck !!! Appreciate the effort of opening Desi food like this But gotta work a lot on taste and service !

There was literally NO chicken in the chicken biryani. 2 small bones and a small piece of chicken leg fat. Achari aloo was tasty, but too spicy. Found blue stuff (mold?) in my ras malai, which I noticed halfway through. I had such high hopes.

Has some seating for quick lunch. Friendly cashier. Made the food fast. Wish they had naan Kebob.

I found out about Zaika Kitchen Food Truck recently and saw that they have pani puri (also known as gol gappa) on their menu and they open early. I immediately knew I had to go check this spot out. I've never had pani puri before and I've always wondered what it tasted like since it's such a popular street food in India. So I went recently and got their six pieces of pani puri which came out to be around $7. I also wanted to get their vegetable samosa but since I went early during the day, they were still frozen. Once I got my food, I went to a nearby park to try the pani puri. It came with a spicy, tangy water too which I used to pour a little into the puri. The first bite was like an explosion of flavors in my mouth, there was sweet, spicy, sour, and hints of aromatic notes. It was quite delicious. Now, it wasn't mind-blowing or anything. I actually thought it tasted like something I've had before. Or I don't know, maybe it's because I eat hummus and chickpeas pretty often so that's probably why I didn't think the pani puri tasted like anything new to me. I also did not know that pani puri is supposed to be eaten cold/room temperature, I was surprised because for some reason, I thought it was supposed to be served warm. But aside from that, I still enjoyed the meal and appreciate that it wasn't extremely spicy.

Definitely a great new addition to the block. I got the combo meal #2 with butter chicken and chickpeas (combo comes with pita and a soda) and felt as if it was a pretty good value. Service was friendly and quick. The food was definitely tasty but at time lacked a bit of flavor. Maybe I would've liked to see a bit more seasoning. And I could be wrong in saying this, so please fact check me for yourself, but the pita doesn't seem homemade. Overall, however, an enjoyable spot that I would like to return to.

This place is a home away from home! Every single thing is amazing and made with so much love and care. The Lahori Chana masala, chai, chicken biryani, and gol gappe are my favorites. Service wise everything is packaged tightly, they care about their customers, and the kitchen/truck is so clean. I know I am getting quality good quickly for an amazing price. Definitely give this place a try!

Easy 5 star Indian cuisine. The owner is amazing, gave us an order of butter chicken for free bc he heard me talking abt it. Pani puri is great, veggie samosas are some of the best I've had. Great food truck.