Review of Zeera By The Bay Indian Cuisine – Pickering

The GTA is one of the most multicultural cities in the world.  One of the benefits of this distinction is a HUGE variety of food!

So where can you go for good Indian Food AND where your kids are welcome?  Read on to see if Zeera By The Bay – Fine Indian Cuisine fits the bill.

Details: Zeera By The Bay, 713 Krosno Blvd, Pickering, ON, (905) 999-3372, Zeera Facebook Page.

Ambience:  Cozy atmosphere with some nice Indian touches (paintings, music, decorations).  When we got there, it was a touch dark but the host (turned out to be one of the owners, Avtar, seen in the picture below, 2nd from the right) turned up the lights when our food arrived.  Washrooms were very clean and spacious which is nice when you have to take the kids to the washroom.

Kids Stuff:  There was nothing for the kids to do while waiting for the food but we amused ourselves with Guess Who, I Spy and High Point Low Point.  But those and other word games are a topic for another post.  Host made a special point of addressing the kids.

Kids Food:  There were no meal items specifically geared towards the kids.  Luckily our kids like … no … LOVE rice so they were happy with steamed rice, Naan bread (yum!) and butter chicken.  For their vegetable, we ordered a mango salad.  Book Boy didn’t mind the spices in it but Ballet Girl took exception to the taste of the spices so our host brought some plain, cut cucumber slices.

Coolest Thing About Restaurant:  Having some authentic Indian cuisine in the heart of Pickering was convenient and tasty.  The butter chicken was easily the tastiest thing of the night!

Worst Thing About Restaurant:  Meat in the Lamb Curry (Zaffranni Roganjosh) was a bit tougher than I expected, though still edible and tasty.  Also, $3.95 for a small dish of steamed rice seemed excessive.  If you’re still hungry, go for another piece of Naan at $1.50; it’s tastier, easier to share and less expensive.

Overall Experience:  We were recommended to this place by a parent at Ballet Girl’s dance class and were not disappointed.  Total price for dinner for the four of us (tax and tip) was $50.00 which was a bit on the high side but we’ll be back for more butter chicken and Naan!

Kids Quote: Book Boy’s first impression as he walked in – “Oh, I like this place already!”

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Feb03/10 Update

Book Boy decided he wanted the family to eat at Zeera’s again so off we went.  Arriving there, we were met by the host (Avtar) who promptly made us feel welcome and remembered us from our last visit!

Dinner started off with some crispy, light chips (new addition) which whetted our appetite for the Indian fare to come.  The butter chicken was delicious as usual and rice was actually cheaper than our last visit (nice surprise at $2.95).  Naan was a bit on the crispy side (vs. warm and moist at our last visit) but still tasty with Ballet Girl asking for seconds.  Other guests, as they arrived, were greeted in the same warm fashion as we were.

From our chat with the owner, it’s evident that Avtar is an involved owner who cares about his restaurant and his patrons and we can’t wait to try the restaurant’s patio in the summertime.  ID

Other Posts That Might Interest You:

1. Review of Milos Greek Restaurant – Pickering
2. Review of Pickering Markets – Pickering
3. Review of Big Boy’s Burgers – Pickering