Zaika Indian Cuisine is located at 421 3rd St., just off Niagara Ave., in Niagara Falls, New York state. While it is in the U.S., it's still “GTA” as it's very close to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing from Niagara Falls... it's even transit-accessible as it's within walking distance of the GO station; we walked there from the train. Beware 45 min. time limit which indicates if “busy” but this seems to be only if there is a lineup which there was not, although it was quite busy.
Samosas were fantastic: fresh, beautifully spiced and not dried out or stale at all. Chicken tikka masala was also fantastic: very well spiced, had just enough heat and must have been made fresh today as was clearly very fresh. Chicken tandoori was also extremely fresh and very tasty, and exactly how it should be made. Chicken curry had a sublime and utterly perfect curry sauce which is just about the best I ever had. Vegetable biryani was delicious with a hint of mint in the seasoning, and as everything else was very fresh. Lamb vindaloo was excellent even though lamb is not my favorite dish and I usually don’t enjoy it that much.
Zaika reviews indicated that it has very good vegetarian dishes, and this is certainly correct. Aloo palak was excellent, spicy and very well-seasoned, and like everything else very fresh. Kadhi pakora had a bold and tart flavor which complemented it perfectly and was unlike any other sauce I've had before. Channa masala had an interesting and unique flavor which I'm not sure agreed with me or not, but it was still supremely fresh and the rest of the spicing was excellent. Mishy also noticed this and said it resembled roasted marshmallows, surprisingly enough; it was the only component of the meal that wasn’t perfect.
Paneer makhani was delicious with large chunks of excellent paneer and the sauce was excellent. Dal tarka was excellent with a unique spacing with a flavor combination I again had never had before.
For dessert, Zaika doesn't have two of the staple desserts of Indian AYCE: gulub jamun honey balls and ice cream. Instead there was a fruit custard which was excellent, although the sauce was a bit thin but that was no matter. There was also gajar ka halwa carrot cake, which was also excellent, sweet and full of spices. Weekend lunch was $18.99 US, and this was very close to $26 Can. as of this writing; seems to be the same buffet price any day. Mishy loved everything and said it was probably the best Indian buffet she’d ever been to. With one minor exception, everything was just about perfect. It’s a couple of bucks too expensive for the offerings but we’d still happily return.
Rating: 9 – 9.5 / 10
