A new Indian and Pakistani restaurant will open in the South Waterfront neighborhood next week. Zaiqa, which means “flavor” in Urdu, will take over the space that was vacated by Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen last month. Zaiqa is the latest restaurant from software engineer Adnan Ali, who owns Sherwood restaurant Sultan the Flaming Tandoor and is a partner at Naan N Curry in Welches.
Though the menu largely focuses on staples of Northern Indian cuisine like curries and biryanis, it is peppered with dishes that will be prepared Pakistani-style, like karahi and korma. Zaiqa will also serve Chicken 65 (and the vegetarian option Gobi 65), a popular deep-fried dish that traces its origins to the Hotel Buhari in Chennai. The specifics of the meaning behind “65” are often disputed, with some claiming the dish was invented in 1965 and others insisting that the dish was the 65th item on the menu, among other theories.
Ali has recruited chef Lal Khan, formerly of Maharaja Cuisine of India in Seattle to run the kitchen at Zaiqa. Another chef will tend to the restaurant’s tandoor oven, lightly charring breads like naan and roti and grilling tandoori meats including bone-in lamb chops, and kebabs. Tandoori samplers like the mixed grill — which includes Afghani malai tikka, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, lamb seekh kebabs, and lamb chops — and a bread basket which comes with a variety of naan and Punjabi paratha allow diners to try different options in a single order.
“My dad was working in an Indian restaurant [as a tandoori chef], and he convinced me to open a restaurant,” Ali says.
Ali approached opening a restaurant with his data-driven background, doing research by going to every Indian restaurant around where he lives and comparing their dishes. When it came time to develop his own menu, Ali wanted to offer plenty of vegan and gluten-free options — a portion of the menu is “customizable,” meaning diners can select the main ingredient for the dish, with options like potatoes, paneer, tofu, chicken, fish, shrimp, and lamb.
Zaiqa will open on June 14 at 3682 SW Bond Avenue.
