Desi Zaiqa

I went here on a weekday around 9:00 pm and we were the only customers there. The owner greeted us and took our order. We ordered the chicken tikka boti and tandoori chicken along with their beef nihari. All three items were great, the meat had been grilled fresh upon order. Portions, quality, freshness, and customer service were all good, which is very rare for Pakistani restaurants.

It sucks that you, as a Muslim in a Muslim restaurant get worst customer service and mannerism than you would in a non-​Muslim restaurant. Other than the terrible service, the food is on and off. I’m just returning from drinking about a quart of oil in the midst of trying to eat Haleem. Will not recommend.

Everything seemed a little salty. I got the mixed grill plate. Tika misala and sagg.
A patron recommended I try the beef curry dish. I forget the name of it. It was pretty good.
The briyani was pretty good as well.

Worst restaurant, I waited 40 minutes for my food and the waiter was not doing her job, the ceilings leak and very poor service, dissatisfied, I didn’t even get all of my order had to go back twice

The food rocks here, but this is a quirky place.
The wall clock is broken and is set at 5:45
There is a sign on the wall that reads (verbatim) «Please touch me not»
There is a another sign on the wall that reads (verbatim) «we require to collect all sales tax»
There is a tension rod and a shower curtain installed in the rear of the dining room to cordon off a storage area
There is an Indian CNN-​like station on the TV in the dining room
No rice is included with the entrees.
But if you are OK with all that quirkiness, your taste buds will dance a jig at the really different foods here. After all, how many other restaurants advertise their cuisine as «Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi» ??
I walked in for lunch today around 12:15 and there was one guy sitting in the dining room. Fifteen minutes later, I had the place all to my lonesome, and it stayed that way for the duration of my stay.
I ordered vegetable samosas (2 for just $ 1.99), a Mixed Grill Platter ($ 9.99) and a Naan ($ 1.49).
The server was a real nice guy that spoke perfect English, he started me off with a big carafe of chilled water. A few minutes later, the samosas came out. They were very good –nice and crisp on the outside and soft and perfect on the inside with potatoes and peas. It was served with 2 sauces– a whitish yogurt/​cilantro mix and a sweet & spicy sauce that reminded me a lot like a zippy BBQ sauce.
The Mixed Grill was a steal at $ 9.99. A generous portion of three chicken dishes with cilantro and sliced red onions. The meats were Chicken Seekh Kebab– a sausage like dish of ground chicken cooked kebab style, Tikka Boti — boneless chicken tandoori chunks, and Leg Tikka Boti — Chicken leg pieces (with bone) also cooked tandoori style. I would have liked some rice with the chicken, but the dish is served riceless. I did order a naan, and it turned out to be a huge disk.
I liked the server a lot, he came out and asked how I liked the meal, and gave me info on how the chicken was cooked, the spices used, and what was in the sauces. He was very helpful and friendly.
I had a great meal for less than $ 15, granted it was very quirky and a very different kind of meal, but I liked it a lot.
A solid A-​OK.

When it comes to authenticity in tastes, Desi Zaiqa beats everyone in Hartford county. I have never been disappointed at this place. I often walk on just with some hankering, be it for Nihari, Kebabs, Biryani. Missus wanted to cook but I insisted today and we ended up with mixed grill platter and biryani. We are out but she is still relishing the taste. Such is Desi zaiqa. However they need to work on the ambience a little to stay ahead of competition.

The food is good here usually. It’s closest Hallal place to the Bloomfield Masjid. They are getting more expensive.
Last time I went I paid 40+ for 2 curries rice, ayran yogurt drink and 2 naan. In addition I asked for chicken tikka and got some other chicken curry. Tasted good but still it was wrong curry.
I recommend the place. There closed on Mondays.

I came with my hubby for lunch. We ordered tea, naan, chicken curry and chana masala. Tea, keema naan and garlic naan were very good. Chicken curry was average. Chana masala was very bad, it was over cooked. I think this place has a different chef these days. We loved their chicken curry when we visited last time almost a year back. The reason why we came today was to try the chicken curry. We are very disappointed! 3 stars for naan and tea

Good, consistent home style food. The shaami’s are the real deal as are all the kebabs. The nihari and tikka masala are very good. The Haleem is a bit flat. Quality and consistency is what I hope they keep up. Clean place, good food!

Good —
Authentic food, great taste
Biryani’s and curries are the best in this side of CT.
Cheap compared to other Indian restaurants.
Bad —
Non existent and rude Customer service
Tip —
Not recommended for sit-​in dining unless you have your entire evening dedicated for this restaurant.
Ever seen the soup nazi episode in Seinfeld? This is somewhat similar. I once made an order on phone for take out. Went there 20 minutes later and no one was available at the front desk. I see other customers sitting at their table with just water. I waited for another 10 minutes and still no one out. The other customers are also getting restless. Called their name out through the kitchen door and still no one out. Finally called them on my phone while still inside and someone picked it up from inside. Told him that I made the order an hour ago and I’ve been waiting outside for more than 30 minutes. He just rudely replied to find some other place to eat and hung up. I was shocked that how a place with such customer service could even survive in America but I am still going there regularly just because the food is just so good !!

I have tried many restaurant but they have the best food so far, beside food they need to prove their customer service over the phone and timing. The girl who take the order over have zero personality and manners (doesn’t know how to greet customer). She always hang up on me before I can finish the order. Food is good but it doesn’t worth it if you have to wait 2 hrs for pick up. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone because I always felt unwelcome at this place.

Tasty food. I liked the tandoori chicken leg pieces, spicy and delicious. Thought Not much better place than some of the other indian restaurants around. I recommend to try this place for food only.

We ordered takeout for the first time today and were more or less satisfied, we based much of our order on previous reviews. We ordered Keema Paratha which was my personal favorite, a squishy well seasoned spiced stuffed bread. Chicken Haleem which we put over Basmati Rice; it was good but VERY VERY oily which really turned me off, but none the less the spices and flavors were great. ‘we also ordered the Mixed Grill Platter, I only tried the chicken but it was very tasty and my BF loooved the sausage. We also had the Till Walay Naan which i thought were overrated and finally a veggie samosa, which again was super oily but stilll good.

I have been to this restaurant a couple of times and I like the food. A good place to dive into their authentic pakistani food.
The menu has limited stuffs for vegetarians, whereas for non vegetarians have a good number of stuffs.
My Favorite stuffs here are the Dal Makahni, Bhendi masala & the naans. The Naans are very soft and tasty. The Flavors are authentic with a different blend altogether unlike the Indian food with heavy masalas.
You gotto order the curries, naans (breads) and the rice separately. The portions are pretty good to feed two. Service is good and your order comes out within couple of minutes.
When it comes to cost, its very affordable. The ambience is nothing fancy. They also have rear parking. Good for large groups.

You’d miss the place if you weren’t looking for it, the place is so tiny. But as they say, good things come in small packages. We ordered probably way too much food for two people — Chicken Samosa, Saag Paneer, Beef Behari Kabab, Chicken Seekh Kababs, Chicken Bihryani, Keema Paratha, and a Sesame Naan — and devoured it all! The Samosa were outstanding, and the Sesame Naan a must-​order when I go back. The Seekh kabob was excellent, and the Bihryani was good too. The Beef Behari kabab was good (and quite spicy), but not as good as I’ve had elsewhere, and the same can be said of the Keema Paratha (which was very oily). The Saag Paneer was… strange. It tasted great, especially with the rice and breads, but overall it seemed too oversaturated with ghee.
Service was good, friendly quick and attentive. The prices were excellent, and though the parking lot was small, we managed it without a problem.
A nice touch is that most of their dishes are garnished with chopped green chilis, sliced strips of ginger, and fresh cilantro.

First let me tell all the readers. THIS IS NOT AN INDIAN REATAURANT. If you are a fan of Indian Cuisine, this is NOT the place for you.
Now…They serve some awesome and authentic PAKISTANI food, with a little Bangladeshi touch.
If you are a vegetarian, go elsewhere… maybe an Indian restaurant. This place is for meat-​lovers; Seekh (not sheesh) kababs, Beef haleem, Mutton or chicken Karhai, Lahori chargha, Chicken Tandoori, lamb or chicken Biryani, etc. are the best I have had between the restaurants I have been to in CT, NY & NJ.
Let me remind you, they are cooked Pakistani style, less spicy (compared to Indian cuisine), less curry-​fide and no yellow colored, similar flavored curries.
Once you try the food, you will forget that this place looks like a cafeteria with nothing sophisticated about its ambiance or their service.
My Favorite dishes:
Chicken Biryani (Absolute best)
Chicken Tandoori (Oven baked, Spicy, Leg pieces)
Lahore Chargha (Lahore Broast Style, usually not available on weekdays though),
Chicken or Mutton/​Lamb Karahi (Each meat type cooked differently but both Punjabi Style),
Chicken or Beef Seekh Kabab (Not called Kabob in Pakistan).
And Don’t forget Fresh «Plain Tandoori Naan». They are very authentically made. Just like home feeling.

Not going to go back. Under a mile from my house, SUPER cheap, love indian food — not going to go back says something. The samosas weren’t bad but the channa masala… I couldn’t eat more than 3 bites. «basmati» rice is extra — I’ve cooked a lot of rice in my day — that was jasmine.
there was a regular «thwak» sound coming from the back for over an hour — service was slow and the take out people all complained about timing.

Desi Zaiqa is a quick jump off of route 91, so consider it if you want to grab some takeout on the way home. It’s a small building, located next to a Desi market, with a small lot in the front and additional parking in the rear.
The food was excellent. I grabbed some garlic naan and chicken tikka masala. From appearance to taste, it was the best garlic naan I have yet to see. The tikka masala was loaded with hunks of tender, delicious chicken. The sauce was fragrant and tasty, with a nice, slow burn that built up as you ate. It wasn’t an overwhelming heat, but enough to make me sweat.
The service was fine, and the building was clean. Here’s my gripe. How difficult is it to throw some rice in with my meal? I honestly just expected it. Just $ 0.05 worth of rice in a container? Come on. Throw me a bone. You’re charging me $ 12 for some chicken in sauce and a piece of bread. Throw some rice in there. Is that asking too much?
I definitely recommend Desi Zaiqa. The food is great. The plastic containers the food comes in will break if you drop them on a paved driveway. I found that out the hard way. I’ll be going back in the future.

good pakistani food. a little different than the indian food i am used to, but equally as delicious and interesting. started with vegetable samosa, and that was very good. probably one of the better samosa i have had in a long time — nice and crisp and crunchy with a nice spicey flavorful filling. after that our entrees, the palak paneer and the chana masala. both were very good as expected. of course we had rice (its not included with the meal you have to order it on its own) and bread. paratha was good but the till walay naan was our favorite. if i was in the neighborhood i would stop by here again, the restaurant was clean and not fancy. the waitress was friendly and reasonably quick. it wasnt very busy, we were there on a friday night and only one other group was eating dinner there. a lot of take out though.

Pakistani food is, from what I understand, a mix of Indian and Asian with a few Indian/​Asian-​ish type dishes unique to Pakistan. In the market for a new one after my last favorite Indian joint turned buffet on me, I decided to throw caution to the wind and venture down to the place I always drove by where NO ONE ever seemed to be eating. After my first visit, only two days went by before I put them on my speed dial.
Let me start by saying that fussy American’s should stay away. The food is just about as authentic as it gets. The meat may be cubed with the bones, making careless eating perilous. There will be whole spices in your biryani that may surprise you. The food will also be authentically spicy and served on plates that probably came from Ocean State Job Lot down the street. Their menu is small (but interesting) and without a lot of the touristy Indian dishes like papadum. These are all good things and if you disagree with this statement then you’re going to have a huge problem eating here.
They have a sesame naan to die for (till walay naan)! If you want to be adventurous they have things like goat paya (stewed feet). The Beef Halim, a traditional Pakistani dish, is also strangely delicious even if it looks a little weird. Eat it with bread; it’s basically a Pakistani rillette mixed with lentils… lentils that actually taste good. Did I mention that they have a sesame naan to die for? Arghhhh, I’m making myself hungry!!! The Beef Nihari is the best, stewed beef shank in spicy pepper sauce. On the weekends order early and ask for the Lahori Charga, which is a whole chicken, broken down and steamed in spices, then cooled and deep fried before serving.
You’re basically eating in what could be this guy’s living room, there are no cheeky concessions for Americans and the food is awesome.