A quick curry at Zahza - Trumpington.

My pal and I went back to the Zahza Grill in Trumpington for a quick curry after being turned away at Vujon in Harston because they had no wheelchair access. 

Known as a bit of a cursed establishment, this place has changed hands more times than I can count. Either way, it got a decent enough review last time so we thought we would swing by and see if it has stayed consistent. 

We decided to come to Zahza not just because it was close to Vujon and we were very hungry, but also because it has decent (and free) parking. It is also located out of town so it was easy to enough to get there without the horrible ordeal of getting in to Cambridge traffic. 

The place didn't have disabled access as you can see from the photo. It has a few steps and an awkward double doors which makes access impossible. Luckily they had a side door we could use which only had one step so we made it work. 

We were pleased to see that the restaurant was very clean and modern. They have really improved the place since the dark times of the Spice Merchant. 

I apologize for the poor photos, I have already broken my new phone!

We ordered some papadums and sauces which were brought out quickly. We got the usual four sauces. Lime pickle, mango chutney, yoghurt and onion salad. Each one was to a good standard so we were both pleased.

We took a look at the menu, and like last time we were very impressed with the wide selection of curries, burgers, grill and other types of cuisine.  This is clearly Zahza's strong suit - choice. We went for a text book curry, which were all listed at the standard price of between £7-8. I went for the lamb tikka vindaloo and rice. My friend had the prawn bhuna and chips. 

Our food came out very quickly. A little too quickly. The vindaloo had chunks of garlic and some odd bits of...fruit?  I had to pick them out which was not too appealing. The lamb tasted fine though was a bit fatty. The vindaloo was very mild. I was incredibly disappointed. 

The rice was fine and quite a generous portion.

My friends bhuna went down well. He let me try a bit and I noticed that the sauce was quite good, though nothing phenomenal. The prawns were tiny and very crunchy, almost maggot size. The curry was mild, as it should be. I was not really impressed. I am aware this is more of a grill place (which is why I had the mixed grill special last time) but it really felt like no effort at all was put in this main course. 

When we asked for the bill they brought out some chocolate mints and a hot towel. I was really glad to see the proper hot towel rather than a wet wipe like a lot of places. 

The bill came to about expected and we were on our way.

Conclusion: We were not blown away by Zahza this time around. Granted, this is a grill establishment which clearly doesn't specialise in curries. That being said the curry was clearly rushed and not much care was put in to it. The meat quality was not as good as it should be for a place which clearly celebrates meat, which is something I noticed last time too.

The service was polite and fast, the restaurant was very modern and clean. We were happy to get the full after care too with the mints and proper hot towel. Prices were competitive too. 

I would not recommend this place for any wheel chair users as there is no disabled toilets, ramp or much space to move around. 

For curries - 5/10

For grill 7/10