I never knew this cozy Indian restaurant existed. $ 8.95 lunch buffet in WOBURN!
Zaika Indian Bistro is situated on the busy Main street in Woburn Center. Parking is a bit tricky in downtown but if you're lucky you can get street parking or walk a couple blocks and park in the city's lot by the bowling alley.
I arrived at the restaurant at quarter past noon and it was already busy. There were lots of business diners as well as a few families. They sat me in the corner by the window. I was happy to be surrounded by the natural light (better opportunity for food pics !)
My server came and filled my water goblet. She asked for my naan preference and I was ecstatic that I was able to order garlic naan. Typically, you only can get plain naan or crispy chapatis with Indian buffet. The garlic naan arrived piping hot, oozing with fresh garlic and butter. It was HEAVENLY.
The buffet area is a corner at the front of the restaurant. The chafing dishes were presented very well with individual chafing dishes. It was kept very clean as the server kept going by to wipe the area and rearranging the food in the trays to make it more appealing.
Quality vs Quantity
The buffet was on the smaller side with only a fraction of what I was accustomed to at the Pongal or Chettinad Grill in Burlington. Despite the limited offerings, I did not feel like I missed out.
The vegetarian samosas were HUGE and stuffed to the brim with spicy potato and peas. The pastry was perfectly fried to golden perfection. I could barely finish one.
One of the staples at Indian buffets is the tandoori chicken. At Zaika, there was a roasted chicken drumstick that was marinated with herbs and spices sans the artificial red food coloring. It was OK.
Other buffet items included the most popular chicken tiki masala and a few dishes to suit vegetarians such as saag paneer and hearty lentil stew.
The chick pea battered fried fish was delicious. I've only seen fried fish at one other buffet so it was nice to see a change.
I loved the fried fish so much that I made fish tacos using my garlic naan. I added some mint chutney, tamarind chutney, raita yogurt sauce and onion relish. They were exceptional.
I didn't have room for dessert but there was a couple of choices including the sweet deep fried balls of dough, "Gulab Jamun."
Zaika Indian Bistro
The Pongal - Billerica
Zaika Indian Bistro is situated on the busy Main street in Woburn Center. Parking is a bit tricky in downtown but if you're lucky you can get street parking or walk a couple blocks and park in the city's lot by the bowling alley.
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| Zaika Indian Bistro Downtown Woburn |
I arrived at the restaurant at quarter past noon and it was already busy. There were lots of business diners as well as a few families. They sat me in the corner by the window. I was happy to be surrounded by the natural light (better opportunity for food pics !)
My server came and filled my water goblet. She asked for my naan preference and I was ecstatic that I was able to order garlic naan. Typically, you only can get plain naan or crispy chapatis with Indian buffet. The garlic naan arrived piping hot, oozing with fresh garlic and butter. It was HEAVENLY.
 |
| Complimentary garlic naan |
The buffet area is a corner at the front of the restaurant. The chafing dishes were presented very well with individual chafing dishes. It was kept very clean as the server kept going by to wipe the area and rearranging the food in the trays to make it more appealing.
Quality vs Quantity
The buffet was on the smaller side with only a fraction of what I was accustomed to at the Pongal or Chettinad Grill in Burlington. Despite the limited offerings, I did not feel like I missed out.
 |
| Zaika Indian Bistro Lunch Buffet $8.95 |
The vegetarian samosas were HUGE and stuffed to the brim with spicy potato and peas. The pastry was perfectly fried to golden perfection. I could barely finish one.
 |
| Vegetarian Samosas |
One of the staples at Indian buffets is the tandoori chicken. At Zaika, there was a roasted chicken drumstick that was marinated with herbs and spices sans the artificial red food coloring. It was OK.
 |
| Chicken Drumsticks |
Other buffet items included the most popular chicken tiki masala and a few dishes to suit vegetarians such as saag paneer and hearty lentil stew.
The chick pea battered fried fish was delicious. I've only seen fried fish at one other buffet so it was nice to see a change.
 |
| Chick pea battered fish |
I loved the fried fish so much that I made fish tacos using my garlic naan. I added some mint chutney, tamarind chutney, raita yogurt sauce and onion relish. They were exceptional.
 |
| "Fish tacos" using items from lunch buffet |
I didn't have room for dessert but there was a couple of choices including the sweet deep fried balls of dough, "Gulab Jamun."
 |
| Gulab Jamun dessert |
I'd definitely go back again. At only $8.95 for a high quality buffet, I'm sold. My only request would be for them to offer one Indo-Chinese item to their buffet.
Zaika Indian Bistro
442 Main Street
Woburn, MA 01801