Zeera By The Bay

Excellent Indian food, with consistent quality. Inside is a little cramped, but the patio is nice. Weekend lunch special is a great deal, though my favorite is probably their Zeera Special Chicken dish, it’s amazing. Definitely worth trying out!

Zeera is a great Indian restaurant in Pickering. The choices of this type of cuisine is limited in the area but so I not only like that it offers what is missing but also that it delivers quality food. The location is pleasant and cosy though it’s located in an unassuming plaza. I would recommend the butter chicken naan and rice. The fish tandoori is also wonderful.

Poor service and waited far too long for our food. When it finally came it was lacking flavour!

Two words: spicy and amazing – ! This place is my fix for Indian food. We usually order the chicken VindalOOOOO which keeps me sweating and my nose running because of the high spice level but it’s just irresistible. Their onion naan is great! Paired with the VindalOOOOO its perfect. The interior of the restaurant is not the best! Also the samosa comes out drenched in oil so I do not recommend that but their mango kulfi is just perfect!!! The Zeera biriyani is also another reason why I love this place so much. Their recipes and use of the right spices give their items an authentic Indian taste. Great location and they have a patio as well! Strongly recommend to EVERYONEEEEE!!!

Fourth time ordering food here. First three times were excellent — usually order a variation of butter chicken, chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, briyani, naans. I love spicy food, hotter the better, and I have a higher tolerance than most.
And each time I ordered, the server never asked how mild/​medium/​spicy I wanted any of the dishes. It just came out, and they all were some variation of hot & spicy, probably medium while vindaloo was a bit hotter than other dishes. Overall, they all had a nice zing.
This time, I went on Saturday for lunch. And was very disappointed.
Butter chicken was way too sweet, same with tikka masala and briyani was lacklustre. Don’t get me wrong, they were tasty if you like bland Indian food, but I was looking for an explosion of flavour like my first 3 experiences. The basket of breads was very puny, and the portion sizes small. Does it matter if it’s takeout or dine in? Seems takeout portion sizes are much more generous.
When I spoke to the server, she had difficulty understanding my disappointmwnt and blamed ME for not asking for the right spicy level! When I explained that no one asked in my previous 3 visits how I spicy I wanted the food (and they all came out wonderfully spicy), she kept on repeating to me that is MY responsibility to ask for how spicy each dish should be! Really? So if one orders steak from any restaurant, a good server usually asks rare/​medium/​well done, don’t they?
I asked if she was the owner, and obviously she wasn’t. The server was poorly trained in customer experience and how to properly promote each dish experience. Then she said something like, well «white folks can’t handle spicy food!!». Excuse me??? I can probably handle more spicy food than SHE can. Very presumptuous and insulting.
Is the food good? Yes it usually is. But be warned. It seems if you go during busy evening hours, the quality of food and service is much better. But if you go during off-​peak hours (like Saturday early afternoon) then the server and consistency and quality of food is not always assured.
This visit was very very disappointing, especially since I had a guest whom I’ve raved to about how great the food at Zeera was for weeks, and the guest made a special trip just to experience the food.

Called in and ordered take-​out. I was told it would be ready in 10 minutes and it really was ready. The place is pretty small so it could get crowded fast.
Butter chicken $ 11.50 and garlic naan $ 2.50
The portions were large. There was more than enough sauce for the naan. A decent amount of chicken. Great flavours. The garlic naan was huge and fluffy with a nice doughy texture.
The meal came with a some chips as an appetizer I guess. It was pretty tasteless but dipping it into the butter chicken sauce made it more appetizing.
Very good but I have yet to find an Indian restaurant that can top Bombay Bhel.
Solid 3.5 stars

I decided to trust all the Unilocal reviews and I brought myself here for lunch today. The waiter was amazing in helping me with my food allergies and made some suggestions. He was attentative without being too hoovering.
I had the Saag Paneer, butter chicken and chick pea dumplings.
Everything was fantastic. I will be back on a Thursday or Friday for their buffet lunch.

Came here because I love Indian food and I trusted fellow Unilocalers.
I’m not Indian but I loved the food here. I tried the butter chicken and the Zeera’s chicken special.
Both were flavourful, rich and had distinct tastes, which made me believe they don’t just use a «base sauce» for all their dishes, but make every dish separate.
The waiter was super friendly, which is OKAY, but I really wanted a nice quiet meal by myself, and I could tell he wanted to chat it up because it was my first time…
Décor is simple, in a good way, and prices are more than reasonable.
Portions are not too big, which is a good thing.
Coming back.

I don’t think I will ever visit this restaurant again. We ordered the assorted platter and because we are vegetarians, we requested to replace the chicken with samosas. The samosas were way too oily and so were the pakoras. The samosas lacked flavour. We then ordered paneer (cottage cheese) chilly and paneer korma. Small portions and flavourless… the paneer chilly surprisingly had a few chickpeas in it which got me thinking about the common curry they probably used for Chana masala. The food was oily for sure. And we found hair in the food! We ordered a bread basket and the only thing that was good was the lachha paratha (flaky paratha) that was made from whole wheat and well cooked. Stay away from this restaurant!

Decided to give this place a second try after really poor service the first time. Service was greatly improved this time, server was very friendly and attentive. Décor was lacking, the place needs a redecorate. Food was really good but I found hair in all the four dishes we ordered. Figured the first one was mine as it was the same colour (I’m blonde) but then kept finding them, it was gross and I’ve never had that experience before. I probably won’t go back as now I’ll always think of it as that «hair» place

True flavors of Indian food. No doubt when people say best indian food in the town. Every dish has a unique flavor. I don’t think I have come accross any restaurant that makes their own spices and sauces on site. Hats off to the chef and wonderful staff.

Craving some good indian food I was soo excited to finally try this place out! We arrived just before 6pm on a Saturday night and the restaurant was pretty full. Mind you there is probably less than 30 seats so reservations are a must.
Luckily the hostess offered to seat us in the connecting party room since they weren’t having any private functions tonight. We ended up being the only people eating in this room however I didn’t mind it all.
After perusing the menu we knew exactly what we wanted. The waitress was very good in explaining dishes and answering our questions about varying dishes. After placing our order we were brought over some freshly deep fried crispy papadums to nibble on as we awaited our feast.
Onto to the food:
Channa — Chickpeas slowly simmered with tart pomegranate seeds, chopped shallots, tomatoes, and spices
I loved the creamy curry the tender chickpeas were in, really amazing balance of spicy sweet and tart!
Aloo Gobi Mutter — Cauliflower simmered in a delicious masala of poppy, cloves, and fennel with fresh peas and potatoes
My all time favourite indian dish! They definitely knocked it out of the park! Perfectly cooked cauliflower still with a little bit of bite and wonderfully spiced.
Pulao Rice — Long grain basmati rice cooked with pure saffron and a touch of spice
Some of the best pulao I’ve had so fragrant and aromatic
Garlic Naan — OMG soo good and addictive, nicely charred and crisp exterior enclosing a soft tender chewy bread coated in fresh garlic butter soo perfect for mopping up all the curry
I have to admit Zeera definitely serves up some of the best Indian food i’ve ever had! Service was really good, despite being in a different room away from all the other patrons we were never neglected. Water was refilled continuously through the meal and the waiter came by to check on us and make sure everything was ok. Food was served in good portions — the two of us were super stuffed after the meal! Food was not only delicious, full of flavour and great spiced but also plating was beautifully done silver and gold bowls. I will definitely be returning to Zeera to try out some more amazing dishes!

Exceptional Indian food. In fact the best I’ve ever had. We moved into the area 2 years ago and found Zeera’s in checking out the neighborhood. Before moving to Picking I lived in Toronto and Scarborough and have tried a variety of Indian restaurants nothing was as good as this.
We most often do take out so we can enjoy delicious food in the comfort of home. We have introduced so many friends to the place and they are now obsessed like us. In fact my brother in law ordered special chicken and garlic naan for 15 to have for his birthday party.
MUST TRIES
— Zeera’s Special Chicken
— Daal Mukhnee
— Garlic Naan
GO — you won’t be disappointed.

The restaurant is very small so calling ahead for dinner reservations is recommended. Had their lunch buffet today and it was pretty good. I love indian food but I feel like getting a la carte won’t do it for me so I always get the buffet. It does have a small selection but for 9.99 you can’t really complain. The butter chicken looked like paneer at first but it was really delicious and fresh white meat. The tandoori chicken was good but cold. I wasn’t a huge fan of the lentils or saag paneer which sucks cause I really love saag paneer. The pakoras were so delicious and I had to get seconds. For dessert there was honey dew and gulab jamun and sweet rice. The gulab was yummy but a little too sweet. Not a huge fan of sweet rice and the honey dew was sweet. It was a nice experience but maybe a little over hyped. India 360 is still probably my fav buffet just cause they have a lot of options. Would still come back here. 3.5 stars

If you’re looking for a GREAT Indian Restaurant in this area… STOP! You have arrived. Four of us ate here, half of us vegans. We had the grilled sea bass, lamb curry, egg plant. Outstanding!
Service was excellent and the price was more than reasonable. Go here!

Very flavorful food.
As good as any I have had in the metro area, or during my last trip to Bangalore.
Very good prices.
Yes it is a small place, but that just means you should plan ahead so you don’t miss anything. Call ahead if you are worried.
We had good service and no issuea with flies or anything questionable in any way as noted in another review.
We will definitely be back.

I was excited to finally try out this highly praised Indian restaurant last weekend. We were 4 adults and 1 baby and let me tell you right off the bat, this restaurant has a very small dining room (barely 600 — 700 sqft) and is not stroller friendly. We were lucky that the restaurant wasn’t busy (only 3 other parties on Sunday around 1 p.m.), otherwise we would have had to make an impromptu decision to go elsewhere where they could accommodate a stroller.
We were greeted by the only server for the whole dining room who proved too slow and inefficient to take care of the 4 tables that were there.
We ordered Tandoori mixed platter, Seehk kabob, Chicken Tikka Masala, Bhindi and eggplant dish with 2 pulao rice and 2 nans. The slightly spicy Seekh kabob replaced our original order of lamb chops because they did not have any available. The toothsome kabobs were well seasoned and the meat tasted pleasantly of the tandoor. The Chicken Tikka Masala and the other veg curries were just as well executed and the flavours were all very good. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the mixed Tandoori platter which was supposed to consist of tandoori chicken, fish tikka and tandoori shrimp for $ 17.95. When this platter arrived on the same sizzling platter that hosted the Seekh kabobs, we were greeted by 3 pieces of chicken, 1 strip of fish (not sure what kind of fish it was) and 1 shrimp. Hmm… not the best sampling platter for 4 people, is it?
As we started our meal, the tandoori platter and the kabobs were served first with no nan or the rice and we had to walk over to the kitchen to find the server to ask her to bring some out. She quickly mentioned that she was waiting to bring out the rice with the other dishes but obliged anyways. After a very long 2 and a half hour meal, we finished it with mango and pistachio kulfi which were flavorful without being too sweet (perhaps a little too ice-​crystal-​ly for me) and just an ok kir.
I have to mention that we were constantly bothered by a fly (or flies… not sure if it was the same guy or more than one) all throughout our meal which was a BIG minus for me. Our visit to Zeera by the bay was just an ok one and if I return, it would likely be for a take out.

And so here we are. My third visit under my belt. Normally it would take a few more visits to come to this conclusion but today was the day.
I have had Chili Paneer, Channa Masala, and Saag Paneer (sorry for misspelled words) and each of them were delicately put together and uniquely flavored. Each entry was well portioned, and i ordered each with a side of Naan…
I have spoken to a few of the staff there now; very charming family of people. They are very inviting and nurturing folks and this reflects in the décor of their restaurant as well; very inviting place to sit and enjoy lunch; especially out on the patio!
Indian food is a staple in my diet so i am pleased to say the newly discovered Zeera by the Bay is a WIN for me!
Thank You

After hearing rave reviews about Zeera, I came here for lunch the other day with a friend to see what all the hype was about. The restaurant is at the back of the plaza on the right side and faces Liverpool Road.
We were a day early for the AYCE lunch buffet which, we learned, is available Thursdays and Fridays inclusively. Nevertheless, we mulled over the menu for a few moments and with some guidance from Baldeep, picked a few tasty sounding dishes.
Our selection was:
Butter Chicken — $ 10.95
Madras Chicken — $ 10.95
Pulau Rice — $ 3.95
The dishes at Zeera are prepared mild and you can have the heat modified to your liking, however, since my friend is not a great fan of overly spicy food, we left the dishes as they were.
Everything was amazing. The rice was the best I’ve ever had in an Indian restaurant… or anywhere for that matter, and even after we’d devoured the chicken, I found myself pouring the lovely sauces onto my plate and sopping them up with my Naan! Absolutely delicious! Next time though, I’ll go with my husband and we’ll get a little more heat added! ;)
The customer service we received from Baldeep, who I believe is the owner — or co-​owner, was fantastic. There’s no doubt they take pride in the food they prepare and they certainly strive to ensure their customers have a wonderful dining experience.
I’m definitely a fan of Zeera By The Bay and look forward to coming back soon to try more dishes!

Good Indian food is hard to find. So for me it was worth the drive to Pickering for Zeera By The Bay. Overall the food is excellent, and so is the service. You can tell these guys care about the quality of the food and the customer experience. Unlike lesser quality places, Zeera prepares specific sauces for various dishes, rather than use a base sauce and modify the heat. The appetizers were great (samosa’s are huge!), and so were the main dishes, along with the naan bread.
Remember that Zeera serves all their food mild by default, so if you are going to order the vindaloo and like it hot, make sure to ask for it that way. The chicken rice was the best Indian rice I have ever had, looked and tasted great, full of big chunks of chicken.
I think the only negative thing I can say is that the beef and lamb dishes don’t have enough meat in them. There was plenty in the chicken dishes. But outside of that, if you are looking for great Indian food, this is the place.