Zaika

One of the best Indian restaurants in downtown we have tried so far. We went to explore the restaurant week and it was worth the money. We had ordered Malai Soya chaap and Prawns Masala which was 5/5. Our main course was good too. Their Chicken Biryani is just awesome, quality and quantity amazingly well. The best part was dessert, Daulat ki Chaat was so good, it reminded me of Malaio which you usually find in Varanasi. Mango mousse was soft and juicy. The only thing we found weird is that they reserve 10% charges in your bill for restaurants and not the server , which means you would need to additionally pay 15-20% tip to the server. Everything was wonderful, Our server, Food, Ambiance, Music and location. A must try Indian food restaurant in Downtown.

I had an absolutely fantastic experience at Zaika! From the moment we walked in, the ambiance was warm and inviting, with a perfect balance of cozy and elegant. The staff was incredibly attentive and friendly, making us feel welcome right away. The food was the real highlight — every dish was beautifully presented and bursting with flavor. I especially loved the paneer pinwheel, which was cooked to perfection. The menu had a great variety, catering to different tastes without feeling overwhelming. Service was prompt, and the team went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. It’s clear that a lot of care and passion goes into both the food and the overall experience here. Highly recommend to anyone looking for an exceptional dining experience. I’ll definitely be coming back!

Had amazing experience here.. went with few friends ive met at the conference and have recommended here. We ordered few dishes to share and some appetizers. I would recommend coming here again, the dishes were hot and presentation was tasteful. The drinks were also very good as well. Would be good to come as a group to try multiple dishes. The veg option is also great

Had such a great time at Zaika! The Cottage on the Pond was rich and comforting, and the Kale Chat was super fresh and flavorful. The staff were really friendly and the atmosphere made it feel even better. Definitely coming back again.

Food was delicious but my only complaint: high price and small portion. Also note an automatic 10% service fee. The food itself was actually very tasty. I went with a few friends and loved the kale appetizer dish and butter chicken. However, most of their entrees are $25+ or close to $30. They do NOT come with rice or naan so that will be an additional cost of around $5 per naan. The pinwheel dish was tasty but only came with 3 tiny pinwheels! They said the pinwheels would be splittable but omg they were like 1.5 inches wide and definitely not easily splittable. The butter chicken was also delicious but again only came with like 4 or 5 pieces of chicken in the middle. The goat dish finally was decent portion but had lots of bone. Most of the butter chicken and pinwheel dishes were sauce so you will probably want to pay for extra rice or naan on the side. But everything tasted pretty good as well, so if you are okay with that then you’ll enjoy the experience.

I am trying to ascertain if this place is on its way up to greater heights or on its way down. The OK rating stuck on the outside was not a good sign, but we walked into a dimly lit gorgeous space. The menu seemed incomplete and it was. The breads weren't on it and were a secret menu that the waiter had to divulge. There were two dessert choices and that left me a bit confused. Usually Indian spots have more than two. The peri peri fries were succulent and well seasoned. They set the stage for the Goan beer - MAKA Goa - that I tried. The beer was on the sweeter side but it went well with the rest of the food. The paneer shaslik was a refreshing contender, one that I haven't seen grace the menus of Indian restaurants in the states. There were mushrooms, bell peppers, and paneer and I felt their marination was not what I'd have liked it to be. The chutneys made up for it though. For the main course we got the malai kofta and the biriyani rice. The rice was unexpectedly bland. The kofta sauce was good, but the koftas themselves could be much better. The secret menu naan came out to finish the sauce and it all went down well.

We ordered Chili Paneer, Chicken Biryani, Chicken Curry, Paratha, and Daulat ki Chaat. The chili paneer and biryani were great, but the paratha was overcooked and the chicken curry was just okay. The dessert, which used to be a highlight, tasted quite different this time. Zaika has always been a favorite, but it felt like something had changed, maybe the chef or ownership. First time I’ve left feeling a bit let down. ⭐ 3.5/5

This place is awesome. So so good. Food and drinks were great. Super helpful and nice staff. We’re also super helpful about helping with my allergies. Loved the Malai Chicken Tikka!

We were walking along looking for a place to eat, and the smell from outside is what Drew us in. Cocktails were great. Chili Chicken and butter chicken were possibly the best I've ever had. The staff was very attentive. Would definitely seek this place out again!

- Be prepared to pay 2x and get 1/2 the food - the food was average at best, nothing to write home about - paneer pinwheel and butter chicken are exact same gravy: they steamed chicken and paneer and dropped it in there !!?? Solid pass on my book

The food from this restaurant, unfortunately, was a big disappointment. Our table ordered the mushroom steak, kale chaat, lamb pepper fry, daal makhani, and both butter/garlic naan. Appetizers tasted bland with little flavors. Lamb pepper fry and daal makhani simply did not stand out given the price point of the dishes. They tasted fine, but nothing special, not worth the price. Their naan were not crispy at all, instead they were oily and soggy. I had one piece and that was enough. Service was good, though. Our waiter, Isiah, was patient and attentive with us. However, the food itself would not be worth coming back for. Expensive food but not worth it. Ambiance was okay.

Pick-up or dine-in, this place hits the spot. Service was great, ambiance is mid. Daal Makhani was full of flavor and immense comfort wrapped in one. Garlic Naan tied everything together. Drinks were great - go for happy hour! As I stated, pick-up/take-out is great from here. You get a good serving and it's packaged well. My go to spot right now for Indian!

Had a reservation for Wednesday evening and we were seated immediately -- not too busy, but still a lively flow of patrons. Wonderful service and delicious, beautifully presented Indian food, right by the convention center and close to Downtown/First Hill. The staff were very attentive, friendly and even able to whip up something off the menu to accommodate for dietary needs.

I really wanted to try Indian food at a new restaurant that could deliver. I read the online reviews for Zaika and they were mostly positive. I know the photo doesn't give this food any justice.. but let that alone be enough to tell you, the food was THAT good, I couldn't be bothered to spend time taking a decent photo!! Whether at home or at family gatherings, tandoori chicken has always been on the menu, I've never been a fan. We got the tandoori chicken free if we spent $50 and WOW! So flavorful and perfectly charred! I ordered butter chicken (3*), garlic naan, peri fries and a chicken burger. So good, we will be ordering again tonight! Kudos, Zaika.. kudos!

Zaika is the perfect place if you're looking for an upscale Indian restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing and beautifully presented, and the atmosphere is relaxed and great for dinner with a friend or group. We made a reservation for 5 PM on a weekday, and we were under the impression that they still did happy hour. We found that this was not the case when we arrived, although the happy hour menu was still posted outside. This was a bit disappointing , but we were happy to pivot to the normal menu. We got chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, and garlic naan. We also both ordered chai, which was probably my favorite menu item. It was the perfect amount of sweetness and creaminess. The food items were plenty full. Between the two of us, we had an amount of leftovers that made for a lunch I really looked forward to eating the next day.

A really great spot for Indian food! Especially for their happy hour deals. I came right before the end of happy hour on a Wednesday, and there weren't many people inside. So, we were able to get seated immediately. We got the chili chicken to share, and I got the aloo tiki burger as my main. The chili chicken was AMAZING. Super spicy, but the flavor was absolutely amazing. I would definitely get it again. The aloo tiki burger was also delicious - two patties perfectly fried, with a delicious bun and sauce. The peri peri fries were also fantastic - well seasoned and crispy. Service was friendly as well, and relatively efficient. I would recommend this spot for sure, and will hopefully be back again soon.

Food: Absolutely fabulous! It's Indian food with some adjustments. Yet to have any dish that I didn't enjoy in my 7 odd trips to this restaurant. Their new brunch menu is fab. Simple items like anda bhurji has an amazing taste, reminding of India. They also have interesting kale bhaji, jackfruit kulfi and such items. Their goat entree is my fav. Drinks: Good cocktails. Chai /cardomom old fashioned is my fav. Decently strong too. They have bira beer too , though it's not cheap at $11. They have a full bar. Service: the staff has been stellar so far. Can be slow, so patience is required. I suggest to order all at once. Price: $$ or sometimes $$$ you get what you pay for. Expect $30/person + tax + tip for food +1 drink . Drinks are in $15 range . To reduce costs, I recommend going in a group of 4-6 folks and share entrees + appetizer so you can taste variety while still staying in this price range. You can pay via phone, at the table itself. They charge 18% tip to everyone to ensure the service quality , so keep that in mind. Great location in cap hill, right next to rumba. Parking can be hard to find around, though there is a paid parking lot right across the restaurant. Overall, zaika gets 5 star from me for their quality, taste of food and service! Definitely worth trying it out.

My friend and I went to Zaika for dinner and we really enjoyed our time there! The staff is super friendly, so we really appreciated that and the ambiance was really clean too! For drinks we ordered the jeera masala mocktail - 11/10 - it was sooo flavorful and unique. It kind of tastes like the pani puri liquid but with more bursts of flavor! I really recommend this drink! For dinner we ordered lamb pepper fry, butter chicken, and garlic naan - which all hit the spot as well! (The butter chicken was our favorite). Overall we had a great time and we would come back again, but I will say the food is a little expensive and the online menu was a little hard to navigate, but it was a great place to catch up with my friend!

My favorite Indian restaurant in Capitol Hill! I always get the chicken tikka masala and garlic naan, it never disappoints. So so creamy, spicy, perfect balance of sweet and salty and delicious. Chicken was still soft and not overcooked. The naan is so soft, it pairs wonderfully. Definitely get this combo! I also got the malai chicken, it's so creamy and soft, it melts in your mouth! The sauce is pairs with is divine too. I did order to-go so I couldn't comment on the ambiance but the hostess was so friendly and kind upon pickup at the entrance. Definitely a bit expensive, I can't afford to eat here all the time but it's something to treat yourself to.

The service was amazing and all the dishes we ordered were delicious. They had more than enough options for our vegetarian friends as well. Highly recommend the butter chicken and the kale appetizer

Nice Indian restaurant/ bar with good food. Went on a Friday afternoon during happy hour. The only bad thing I would say is that happy hour is only one hour, so not a lot of time to enjoy it to its fullest. We started with the cottage on the pond which was really good. I would recommend this as an appetizer to start with. To eat, I had the large plate: lamb pepper which I highly recommend. The portions for a large plate a very big so this can honestly be shared between 2 maybe three people. For a large entree it's only the meat that you're paying for and so if you want any sides it's an extra cost. Other than that the meat was really good and well cooked with lots of flavor. I did get the garlic nan which was a nice addition to it, but not enough for all the meat.

I really wanted to like this place. I had a fun dinner with friends here long ago and couldn't remember how the food was. I Was excited reading all the reviews especially given the number of Indian folks with positive reviews. Sadly, it was not to be. I ordered the classic order of butter chicken and garlic naan and added a paneer appetizer to it. The place is damn expansive, or maybe it's Seattle pricing now. The three things added up to $52. All would have been fine had the food tasted good. It was mostly palatable but the butter chicken tasted overly sweet and of raw spices or heavy on a certain spice. I can make better butter chicken at home. To their credit, the chicken was really well cooked and soft! The naan was dry-ish. It lacked flavor. The paneer appetizer was okay. Again, not much flavor but the paneer chunk was nice. Overall, left me wanting. Will I be coming back again? No.

We were walking by and decided to eat here for dinner. The host asked if we have a reservation. We said no. They sat us by the window seat, the quiet area per our request. They were so accommodating and so kind. Our server was really sweet. I think we asked her too many detail questions that she couldn't answer which is okay. She tried her best and did such amazing job. We ordered chicken tikka masala, mushroom steak, garlic and onion naan, the shrimp dish, samosas, and some dessert. The food was AMAZING and so good! Their tikka masala was so creamy and very tasty. We will definitely return when we're back in town.

Zaika Indian Restaurant in Seattle Presents Specialty and Five-Star Indian Cuisine! This is a one-month delayed review for our favorite Indian Restaurant in Downtown Seattle. We live in California but had a chance to visit Seattle for ten days in late September 2023. During our stay, we had five take-out Indian meals from Zaika, as far as Indian cuisine we would consider this restaurant a premier as they have very high standards for themselves to ensure a quality meal is being presented for their customers. If something you are not sure about, just asking the friendly owner who is the master chef of Zaika and he'll be happy to explain and recommend dishes to meet your expectations. You won't be disappointed about your order and leave hungry here! Also, we'd mention not only Zaika presents five-star Indian food, but also their prices are very reasonable and foods are in large portion come with basmati rice! So, we rate it as our Best-Value Restaurant we visited in Seattle. We cannot wait to have their delicious food again when we revisit Seattle next year! You may check their online menu first if you're interested. We think their lunch menu has the Best Value!

Tip: They have a bunch of dishes that aren't listed on their online menu so if there's a dish you want to try, just ask them! The waitress mentioned that they have hundreds of dishes that wouldn't fit on the menu :)

Zaika is a fairly authentic restaurant in capital hill. I had the kale chaat, chicken burger, cottage on the pond and chili chicken. Everything was amazingly flavorful and authentic. It reminded me of restaurants in New Delhi. The chefs obviously know what they are doing. Anyone who is looking for authentic Indian food should definitely visit!

This was by far the most fantastic and innovative Indian food I've eaten in my life. And I've tried a lot of Indian restaurants. The cocktails were delicious and creative. The Butter Chicken was on point. And the dessert was truly next level!

Visited This Restaurant for the 1st time.. the experience we had was really good.. food was tasty also Ambiance was pretty good too.. also the staff were very polite & helpful with your order Went to celebrate my Husband's birthday.. just told the staff it's his bdy she bought us dessert gulab jamun with candle that was awesome.. love it Thank you

Modern Indian food with flair in the heart of Seattle! My friend and I went to their happy hour which is 5-6 daily. It was not busy that Wednesday night when they opened. The ambiance was fine. Reservations are available and their website is very nice. Apart from their happy hour menu, they have 2 menus, traditional and non-traditional. Entrées start at $24. My friend and I tried Zaika special burgers with peri peri fries and enjoyed them. Their smoked chili-mayo sauce was spicy! My aloo tikki patties kept their crunch nicely. We split a garlic naan (large, buttered, crunchy on the edges) and their kale chaat, which for me was the star of the show. I'd never tasted anything like it before! This deep-fried superfood was complex, savory and extremely crunchy and the dates and tamarind gave every bite a delicately tart sweetness. An interesting and delicious shareable. I probably wouldn't come back simply because there are so many options in the city, but this was an enjoyable meal!

I haven't eaten inside this place before, just delivery or take-out. What I gotta say is that they are the only restaurant I've ordered from so far on uber eats / Postmates that honored my request for low sodium. I think that restaurants use way too much salt in their food. I don't blame them. It makes the food taste better. But it's unhealthy. Anyway, last time I ordered I requested low sodium, not only in the dishes, but the rice as well, if possible. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the order that not only were my chicken and vegetarian dishes low on added salt, but so was the rice! True, it wasn't as tasty, but I'll take that as it is overall healthier.

Great presentation with top-notch service! I've always ordered takeout, but today I learned there was a dine-in menu. I ordered the classic butter chicken to find any differences - definitely more tender and juicier when served fresh. The portion size appears to have less chicken than takeout. Nonetheless, this was a tasty experience and my go-to Indian place downtown. And really friendly staff! I loved the transparency on billing & gratuity, plus the help through the menu.

Delicious Indian cuisine! The naan, chicken dishes, vegetarian dishes, and rice were all excellent.

I recently visited Zaika on a saturday night. We had done the reservations a couple of days online through their website and were promptly seated at the restraunt. It got very busy during the time we were at the restraunt. The staff was very polite and provided great service. I would give them 5 stars. The food was good but very spicy. We tried the kale Chaat, Prawn Ghee roast and love both of them. For the main course we tried Kheema Pav, Mutton Rogan Josh, Naan n Raita. They do not serve curries with Rice like most restarunts do in US. Kheema Paav was supremely hot n spicy. Though it tasted really good but had to ask for more raita. The portions sizes are decent. We had ordered 2 cocktails total, Mango Mule & saphire Shikjanji. They were beautiful looking and tastewise delectable. For the desserts we ordered Gulab Jamun, Chikoo Kulfi, Jackfruit Kulfi. they add 18% gratutity in the bill regardless of party size, we were a party of 3. We paid slightly over $200 for this which is not at all cheap. I would not visit this place for regular weekend dinner due to the prices but might consider for celebratory or special dinner.

Modern Indian shareable plates! Friendly service and amazing food We started Bhilwara style, with desserts first and sat outside perched along the sidewalk. Great people watching on this little corner of CapHill, where passerbys stopped to look at our food or meet the buser. The chairs were wobbly and once it was chilly we migrated inside for drinks and dinner. They had a special drink that my +1 decided to get instead of the lassi and we loved it! Will be back to try again sometime

Still great to taste and great food. Check out my earlier review. This time around we tried their Kale chaat , cottage in pond, Onion Cilantro naan and Chicken Kadhai. Also for their dessert we got Chikoo (sapota ) kulfi and Mango Kulfi. The brittle served with this one was bit too sugary and stuck to my teeth like caramel. but the taste of dessert and the combination was great. Maybe if they just do something about the texture it would be perfect :)

First off, THE COCKTAILS ARE SO GOOD. That's the only saving grace of this place. We tried the Mumbai Mule and the East India #206, which were both top tier cocktails. They got us buzzed but tasted nothing like alcohol, with really good flavors overall. If we had just gotten drinks, it would've been five stars. The food on the other hand... probably wouldn't come back for it. The butter chicken was very sweet, and while they elevated the presentation, the taste wasn't right. The afghani chicken was also weird, as it felt like it was battered(?) but completely soggy with the creamy sauce. So the outer layer of the chicken was sloughing off. I didn't hate the sauce, but it tasted like ranch haha. Was expecting more spices overall. The paratha was very dry and not flaky in the good way. I've had better frozen paratha. The naan was also underwhelming. Overall, not very authentic, but a great place to get some nice cocktails.

Food was really good and very flavorful. They prepare all the dishes from scratch so it took some time but definitely worth the wait. Service was exceptional, presentation was top notch as well. The only sad part going there was finding a parking took us around 35 minutes to find parking lol but we will definitely go again. Highly recommended

Not bad food at all! I definitely wouldn't say it's mindblowing Indian food - but hits the spot if you're craving something quick. I liked the flavor of the paneer a lot, but just overall was missing a bit of kick in the dishes. Would recommend overall!

Look at the spread! Definitely the best Indian food I've had in a while. The garlic naan was the star of the shown, it paired well with all 3 mains we ordered.

I liked this place a lot. Very nice vibe to it on a chilly day. The waitress was adorable and super helpful. The paneer tikka masala was some of the best I've had. Roti was okay, but that is what you get for ordering the healthier option. We got a naan after that was delish. Will definitely be back.

Fantastic Indian fusion cuisine. The non traditional fusion menu has creative innovative dishes mixed with traditional dishes. Dinning at Zaika was such a treat and was an experience beyond my expectations. The staff were super patient, professional and very attentive. Loved the cocktails we ordered! My absolute favorite being the Mumbai Mule! The aloo tikki burger was a twist on vada pav which was fantastic! The peri peri fries with it was fresh crispy and brilliant. The dum Biryani was wholesome and flavorful! Every grain was tasteful and the dum was evident! Loved that they were liberal with masala coz I love that in my Biryani. The pinewheel paneer was so unique and original! I've never had anything like this! So intricate that it is also appetizing to the eyes! Loved loved loved this twist on paneer! So much time, effort and detail went into creating this deliciousness! The butter chicken was so wholesome and fresh! The chicken was nicely grilled and was brilliant. The cauliflower was so unique that it knocked my socks off! I've never had something so creative and delicious! So many flavors in one dish! There was sweetness of khadhi cream and crisp of cauliflower. There was a hint of heat from chili and coolness from cream! So much happening in one dish. It was absolutely fantastic. Ample paid parking across the street! Such an amazing experience. This restaurant food is michelin star caliber the only thing that it misses is ambiance. I wish they did more for the decor. Other then that, it was phenomenal. Can't wait to be back and try more items!

Very tasty! It's a fancier restaurant than I was expecting, and I'd originally come for Thali but it turns out that they don't serve that right now and that it used to only be for lunch anyway.. Still, their portion sizes are quite large. They also come with rice! The dishes we ordered were quite tasty . The most confusing part was the menu. It defaults to "non traditional" and you need to select "traditional" to view the more recognizable dishes. They also have some pretty mocktails, although I didn't order any.

A beautiful, upscale Indian restaurant great for date night! Tried their Classic Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Saagwala, and Garlic Naan. All nailed the traditional Indian flavors really well. They were all a bit on the pricey side, but I think you're paying for the nice atmosphere.

Zaika is a solid choice for Indian food without a reservation in the First Hill area. The food was very good- the flavors and textures were indulgent and memorable. The prices were a bit higher than other restaurants, and the staff were nice. However, we waited over 45 minutes for our food to arrive even though there were only a handful of tables occupied in the restaurant on a weekday. All in all, it's a fine restaurant if you're nearby and aren't in a rush.

Was on a 3 day trip to Seattle and this was our first meal in Seattle. We decided to go to Zaika and then figure out the remaining meals for the rest of the days. The food was so delicious that we decided to have all the remaining meals there too. The chicken tikka and keema pav were mouth watering delights. The ambience and drinks were good as well. Highly recommend this place for anyone visiting Seattle downtown.

Went here for dinner recently and was not pleased with my experience. Although the food was OK, with it leaning to be on the saltier side, the service was not good. We found our server to be very pushy with trying to upsell items and even at one point being rude after we asked him to opt out on an additional serving of rice after seeing a table next to ours receive a portion we knew would be enough for us. He gave us a hard time about this request ultimately making us feel uncomfortable. When asking for suggestions, he did not provide any descriptions, just a "you should get this" and no why without defining what it was. While I understand it is a server's job to upsell and make money for the business, I feel that the server should have taken a better approach with it. All in all, with the food being extremely pricy even for Seattle standards, the not so great service, and mediocre food, I would not recommend coming here.

Really good food, everything we had was delicious and the happy hour prices are totally worth it for the variety of options available.... the ambience could use an upgrade it didn't feel like fine dining, although the food was fancy

Food ordered: -- chili paneer -- pav bhaji -- jeera masala soda -- rasmalai We added an order of extra pav to above and the food was good quantity to share between two. Food presentation was great for all items ordered. Pav bhaji was okay-- I liked the paavs but bhaji was a little over masalafied. Maybe more vegetables or potatoes in the bhaji would be nice. I really liked the rasmalai-- not too sweet, just perfect end to dinner.

Gotta give a shout out to our bartender and server Eric... he was wonderful and made us some excellent cocktails! The owner also dropped by our table and chatted for a bit, super nice crew! Food was also good! Gotta try the cottage on the pond appetizer- it's like an Indian mozzarella stick with this amazing sauce! Delicious! Butter chicken was a little sweet but nicely prepared. Garlic naan was the perfect pairing with it! Nice open space, casual and comfortable! Definitely a Good option when dining in the area

Happy hour at Zaika! Sneak in 5-6 pm for some great deals on their best small plates. Ten dollars for Cottage on the Pond or Kale Chaat??? Yes please!!!

Great food and service! Definitely plan to come again and try more since their menu is quite extensive. To start we had the mushroom steak and that was really delicious! Seasoned perfectly and also served with a side of Chimichurri sauce. The other dishes we ordered was the Paneer Pinwheel and Tadkewala Daal. The Paneer Pinwheel was very tasty... it was on the sweeter side which we weren't expecting. The Tadkewala Daal was hearty and perfect for the cold weather. For drinks we had a guava margarita and Chai Toddy. I would recommend the Chai Toddy... oddly a really great combination!

We read good reviews about their biryani and have been wanting to try it for a while. We live on the east side and with small kids coming here for dinner is hard. We heard they started brunch and decided to try today. They had a different menu for brunch which did not have biryani but everything we ordered today tasted amazing. We ordered aaloo tikki burger, chilli chicken, fish coconut curry, and falooda. Everything had a nice twist over the regular way of making these dishes. Falooda was the best of all. I asked the waiter what fish do they use for the coconut curry and what flavoring they do for the biryani rice and he did not seem to know. Thought the waiter could use some education on the dishes. Also thought they could do some work on improving the ambience. Chairs seems chipped on the edges and were not looking pretty. Nevertheless the food tastes amazing and makes up for all of the cons mentioned above.

Returned here for their dinner course, and it was even better than my previous lunch experience! We both loved the depth of flavors, and presentation of the food was excellent as well. ----- Salmon Moilee: coconut cream, fresh salmon, seasoned potato cake ($28). This dish was superb and everything complimented one other. The cream had a hint of spiciness and was rich in coconut. Salmon was a bit dry, but was well-seasoned and crispy on the edges. The potato cake was creamy and savory. ----- Classic Butter Chicken: makhani sauce, grilled chicken tenders, fenugreek ($24). ----- Mango Lassi: $7. The drink was blended smoothly and had a nice mango flavor. I liked that it was not that cold either. ----- I had reserved via OpenTable and was promptly seated despite showing up a few minutes early. We got the remaining two outdoor bar counter spots upon request for a 7 PM weekend dinner.

Looking for a good place near the Paramount before a show, and decided on Zaika! I am a big fan of Indian food and this place was very good. It's not your typical Indian food, they put a modern spin on the traditional. We had a group of 6 so we tried a few different apps and then got our own mains. I had the butter chicken and it was really good I also had the Bira lemonade, i had them add mango purée and OMG, soooooo good!! The Kale chaat was really good and really fresh! All the food was really good and the service was outstanding from the hostess to the waiter. Will definitely go back and so convenient to the theater!!

What the locals will tell you is that there aren't many great Indian places in the center of Seattle, you generally have to go to Kirkland or Bellevue. Zaika is Indianish in that it takes some classic Indian dishes and then fuses them with Western ingredients and concepts to perhaps reflect the reality of the existence of many from the subcontinent now living in PNW. The menu (available only online) is substantial with many recognizable items if slightly modified. What they don't tell you is that they have two menus: traditional and non-traditional. Having seen only one we would go for the non-traditional, but do check the website while ordering. A risk of the pandemic is that guests get lost while ordering via barcodes. Also served are cocktails, and Indian and local beers. I had the Shikanji others the old-fashioned, both were strong, flavorful and worked well with the apps. We'd have the Kale Chat (think a crispy fried kale pakora with tamarind sauce and fried bits of gram flour, yogurt and pomegranate seeds), Cottage on the pond (paneer and mozz sticks fried and dipped in a spicy tomato sauce), Chicken Zafrani (mildly flavored Afghan style yogurt chicken with cream cheese) for starters. All three were good, angling for authenticity here would be silly as these were kind of unique to the place. Nothing was the "Indian spicy" if that's what you look for in apps. For the main course, we had Chicken Biryani and Lamb pepper fry. The biryani was good enough but nothing unusual, the lamb I liked better despite not usually liking the protein in particular. The portions are reasonable, and the prices are up 50% (from those I see on Yelp menus) based on what's on the website. The location is great, and the ambiance pleasant if nothing extraordinary. All in all perhaps a little pricey but good food, good service in a happening part of town from where one could go on to many other things. Order plenty, choose your spice levels and read the menu carefully.

Ambience - Pretty place with warm lighting and picturesque background in few corners of the restaurant. Food - The menu is little different than the typical Indian restaurant. We ordered kale chaat - crispy kale with Indian Sev which was a different concept but totally loved it Jackfruit kofta is a must try. The aloo tikki burger reminded me of the Indian Mc Aloo tiki burger which is available in McDonalds and if you are fan of that you should go for this. We ended up ordering mango mousse as a desert and ended the dinner with the perfect sweet dish.

I came here with a group of friends and was greeted very welcomingly at the door and seated. The ambience is eclectic. We ordered the Cottage in the Pond and Kale Chaat as appetizers from the non traditional menu. The Cottage in the Pond came in a fancy shot glass with schezwan sauce and a well fried fingerling stuffed with paneer & mozzarella. The Kale chaat had crisp kale pakoras with flavorful chutneys. For the main course, we ordered the pav bhaji and the chicken tikka masala with tandoor roti - the bhaji was delicious & the pav was well buttered in an Indian style! The chicken tikka masala was my less favorite and yet so creamy and well cooked chicken. I was also impressed with the presentation of food. I'd give it a 4.5 star rating! Will definitely be back.