Emilia reviews: Ziyka — ‘THE place to go for authentic Indian food’

Amongst the rows of Italian restaurants along Lygon Street in Carlton sits an unassuming Indian/Pakistani restaurant that packs out — if you know, you know.

The food at Ziyka is to be shared. Long tables full of families, friends and dates fill the large food hall-like restaurant.

I first came across Ziyka as my sister had been told from an Indian friend of hers that this was the place to go for authentic Indian food. She told her it was one of the only places in Melbourne that really tasted like the food at home, and that you could taste the fresh spices. That’s since been corroborated from another friend of mine who was in the back of an Uber recently and got talking about authentic Pakistani food with the driver. He said Ziyka was THE place to go. High praise!

I’ve been walking out at 9:30pm on a Saturday night before and there’s a line out the door with young families waiting to get in.

The menu is extensive so it can feel overwhelming to decide, especially if you’re used to sticking to your tried-and-true dishes when getting Indian, so I implore you to get adventurous with this menu. Every time I go I try to get something different that I’ve never tried before, I haven’t disliked ANYTHING yet.

Let me try and simplify some of the dishes down to food you might get at a pub:

If you love a lamb shank with gravy, get the Lamb Achari – peppery gravy sauce with pull apart lamb.

If you like cacio e pepe, try the Paneer White Karai – smooth, creamy, totally moreish.

If you like stroganoff get the Daal Makhani – Makhani literally means buttery.

If you like charcoal chicken, you have to get the Chicken Malai Boti – smokey flavour with garlic yoghurt.

If you like spanakopita, try the Palak Paneer – Spinach and Indian cottage cheese (hot tip, if you take home leftovers, put this in an omelet in the morning).

If you like vodka pasta, try the Zikaya Special Chicken- soul warming, simple, flavoursome.

If you like buffalo chicken wings, get the Chicken 65 – bit spicy, soft and juicy but good amount of crunch.

You won’t be disappointed if you play it safe with a Butter Chicken, Korma or Tikka Masala either but there is such a wide array of good food you have to try as well.

I can’t confirm or deny whether they made everything slightly less spicy based an assumption of my tolerance but didn’t struggle with the spice level of any of the dishes. Because it’s all fresh chilli and spices though, even when it is spicy it’s totally bearable.

Most entrees are under $20, curries are under $30, naan is under $5. For a table of four you could easily eat for $25 a head. Great sized meals and they have self-serve take-away containers for the inevitable leftovers from when your eyes and bigger than your stomach. There is no alcohol available, only soft drinks so that helps with the bill at the end.

They take walk ins only; I would advise trying it on a weeknight if you’re wanting a quieter experience.

Ziyka
234 Lygon Street, Carlton
ziykarestaurant.com.au