First of all we got some free poppadoms along with the obligatory limp salad (why these takeaways all put this in I'll never know!), a yoghurty fruity sauce and spicy onions. The fruity sauce is tasty but I can't quite work out what it tastes of! The spicy onions could've done with being a bit spicier with perhaps more of a sauce as they were quite dry. They are pretty fresh though so thats a plus point.
We started with Chicken Pakoras (£3.95). Now the pakoras have always been a little bit disappointing from here. They were improved a bit this time from previous occasions, a bit crispier but still quite anaemic looking and pretty low on any seasoning. They also don't come with a chilli sauce which I think is essential for full enjoyment of pakoras - as I said earlier the fruity sauce is nice but something with a chilli kick really set a pakora off. (As an aside, the best chicken pakoras in Aberdeen in my opinion come from the Blue Elephant on George Street. I've never had any to surpass the tastiness of these - and they do a pretty good chilli sauce as well!) Anyway, we also got the Chicken Tikka starter (£3.75) which was better. Nice tender moist chicken with a tasty marinade and fried onions - no complaints on that count.
On to the main course. I always like to try different curries and foods in general if I get the chance so we went for one we've not had before, the Chicken Makhani (£9.95). This is described as chicken barbecued in tandoori, tossed in butter with fresh cream and serviced with exotic sauce. This was very tasty, the chicken was well cooked so as to still be moist and tender. The sauce was nice and, well... exotic. Fruity, perhaps some mango in there somewhere. It was somewhere close to a Korma but not as bland. The only gripe I have is it could maybe do with a bit of some kind of vegetable because it really is just chicken and sauce - but then what do I know, I'm not an expert on all things Indian.
We also got the Saag Aloo (£3.50) side dish, a must in my opinion for an enjoyable curry - and this was among some of the better ones I've tasted. A good amount of spinach and nice soft potatoes. The flavouring was pretty good with a nice kick of spice that can be lacking from some more insipid efforts I've tasted. Aside from that we got a Peshwari Naan (£2.75). This is OK but its more Naan than Peshwari, there is some coconut and fruit goodness inside but not enough to really set it that far apart from a plain naan.
So all in all it was a pretty good experience. I've found this to be a pretty good place to get an Indian meal delivered. I do find the price pretty steep - I'm probably beginning to sound like a bit of a tightwad but just under a tenner for a takeaway curry which is nothing more than chicken and sauce seems a little over the top to me! I would recommend it to anyone in the Dyce area if they've got deep pockets however.
Service: Arrived within the time taken and friendly delivery driver
Food: Good Indian grub - need to up their game in some areas though to justify the price, thinking especially of the chicken pakoras.
Price: As I said above its pretty steep - a bit too steep I think which is why I don't go there more often
Overall: 7/10
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its a nice place for food and excellent staffs. Pretty much over all its briliant!!
ReplyDeleteLoving your work here, but when speaking of Indians in Aberdeen there are only a few noteworthy contenders. These are:
ReplyDelete*Jewel in the Crown
*Nazma
*Nawaabs
However if you're out in Dyce then I guess Zara is not a bad option.
Monsoons on bridge Street Is the best
DeleteI don’t know what happened and why it happened but I had absolutely horrible experience in Zara restaurant. Service was awful!
ReplyDeleteMy two years old daughter and I decided to go there. We came in, and it was great at the beginning, we got a table, and were asked what drinks we wanted (we ordered juice). My daughter has allergy to milk and I wanted to share my food with her. So when waiter asked if we want to have poppadoms, I told him we’ve got allergy to milk, so I am not sure if we can have it, I don’t know what it is made from. And also I asked him what we can order from the menu that doesn’t contain milk or egg. He told me he will ask the manager. I saw him speaking to the manager and I saw manager went somewhere (I thought he went to the kitchen to find out).
Our table was very sticky. I told that to the waiter and asked for cloth to wipe it. I didn’t get a cloth but got a napkin instead to cover it. I thought it was strange, but ok, I can cover it. They have nice thick napkins, so it wasn’t too bad. It was a manager who gave me that napkin. Manager asked if ¬¬we want to order something (I thought he was checking for us what we can have, but by the looks of it he wasn’t). So I explained him that we have allergy and that I also can’t eat hot food, and quite often I find medium food is hot for me. So we were looking for something mild. He told me all the mild food they had in the restaurant had cream in it, he said it is Indian restaurant, so all mild food will contain cream. So I’ve asked him if it means we can’t order anything. And he said we can order chicken pakoras, but it is a starter and left without saying anything else. I thought he was going to check with the kitchen whether something else can be done for us, except chicken pakoras. Forgot to mention he also offered us bar menu (burgers and chips), but I said we don’t eat it normally, we prefer something Indian. (I don’t like burgers and especially if you go to the Indian restaurant I find it strange to eat a burger). So he left and we were waiting. I already decided if there is nothing we can order (this was strange), we can order those chicken pakoras and then eat something at home. Other waiter noticed that we are waiting, so he asked if we want to order something. I told him I spoke with a manager and we are waiting to find out what can we order without milk. He went to his manager and talked to him. We waited a bit longer and manager came over asking if we are ready to order! How can we, we don’t know what we can order. So I’ve told him again I don’t know what can we order, but then I said we probably order chicken pakoras if there is nothing else we can order. Now he said chicken pakoras is actually not a mild dish but a medium. And if we don’t like it we will need to pay anyway (I thought it was strange that he said that, we would’ve pay anyway if we ordered it). And he said if we can have pakoras, which is medium dish, we can have any other medium dish as well. I told him we tried medium dishes before and sometimes they are ok, sometimes they were very hot for us. So I don’t know what to order, what will be not hot for us. He said he can’t say either, medium dishes are not hot dishes. So I said, I guess we will order pakoras and it will be fine. He asked if we want to have two, I said no, one is enough. He started saying if we want to have only than we should sit in the bar area, but since we are in the restaurant area already we can stay. I thought it was so rude, and all that above was so unfriendly. So I told him we don’t want anything, we better go. And I said him he was very rude with us, and service was horrible. He said he was trying to help. But was he? I was so disappointed. When I paid for the drink I told him again that I am not happy with the service. And he called me a horrible customer… I used to work as a waiter and I understand it can be a hard work, so I always try to be nice. And I don’t see why he thought I was horrible. I didn’t demand anything. I just needed a bit of help.