Walk into Zayna and the first thing that hits you is the smell: roasted spice – cumin, cardamom, coriander, black pepper and more. It’s the sort of welcome you want, time and again. The venue opened in 2009 and your reviewer stepped through its doors very soon after. Over the years, he has been back with a fairly high degree of regularity, although a visit earlier this week marked the first time in a while. The good news is that even with a slight revamp to the décor, the quality of the experience remains undiminished.
Patron-chef Riz Dar learned his trade at high-end restaurants in California, but the style of cooking at Zayna reflects the roots of his family: Punjab and over the border into Pakistan. Readers may be tempted to roll their eyes and wonder what makes Zayna not ‘just another Indian.’ The response is simple: visit and you will see. Put another way, the culinary emphasis has always been about slow-cooking, letting the flavours mingle and speak for themselves. Perhaps the dish that best epitomises the Zayna angle is its Lahori Chunay. Many people might struggle to get excited about the humble chickpea, but when they are cooked overnight and mingled with onion, garlic, ginger and cumin, there is little that is as comforting or intense as this dish. The Chunay comprised one of three my comrade and I shared as mains, having started with two items from the tandoor (grilled salmon for me, paneer for my comrade). Beyond chickpeas, both the lamb and the aubergine were superlative. The same adjectives mentioned above would apply in spades here. The lamb was wonderfully tender and melded almost seamlessly with the spinach. Our food was accompanied by a lovely Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) from Austria, made by Judith Beck. Zayna’s wine list has certainly broadened in the right direction.
Service was efficient even if far from outstanding. In many ways it was a pity that our meal ended so quickly and that there was not further opportunity to try other dishes or to sit in the dining room which is decked out with some beautiful wood carvings as well as more minimalist shelving with ornaments and flowers. It’s the sort of place one could comfortably relax in for a long time. Hopefully there will not be such a long wait before our next visit to Zayna