Chai Pani

Rated 3.0 Chai Pani is a quaint restaurant tucked away in downtown Asheville that serves Indian street food. If you're looking for a budget meal complete with generous portion sizes, then this is probably not your best option. The ambience is very reminiscent of Mumbai - closely spaced seating arrangement, photo frames depicting daily life in Mumbai, glass soda bottles, etc. The fried okra is a MUST HAVE!!! Another plus are the extended lunch hours (until 3:30 pm).

Rated 1.0 Food is supposedly great but no self respecting human deserves their services. Zero or negative stars if that options were available!! More details ..... The context: I am Knoxville resident and was camping in smokies for the weekend. On my way back instead of directly driving to Knoxville I decide to take an hour long detour in opposite direction of my home town to Asheville to just eat at this supposedly good place (Chai Pani). I couldn't reach by lunch hours so waited for 2 hours outside their palce on a sunny afternoon for them to re-open. The incident: I was the fourth customer to enter after they re-opened at dinner hours. I was refused service point blank! I asked for to go and they told they are busy and hence only dine in! Their reason was they get so many customers and they have only small kitchen to cater!! I felt for the first time that I was discriminated against by someone since my arrival in USA. What If a customer had just ordered food for dine in and ate a mouthful and asked for a to go box? On another note they could definitely honor each customer order in the order they arrived whether it is dine in or take away. In nutshell: I felt that I was discriminated against by them and I would definitely not encourage anyone to support an unethical business

Rated 1.0 I am still in shock from the reviews . went there with 8 more people . The appetizers were outrageously tiny , expensive , and taste horrible. My origin is Indian Persian , and the only thing came close to Indian food was the Naan (bread) . When I saw this tiny dish with two tiny Samosa that they were served for $ 9.99, I asked the server , and she rudely answered : do you know how many steps it take to make samosa ? 73 steps ! OMG , who are you fooling?1 a chef ? . Bottom line , it is disgusting food , loud place , crowded , not authentic Indian food , not even close , expensive like gourmet restaurant : just go to a real one across the street.

Rated 5.0 Best Indian food I've ever had...and so many vegan options. I love this place! If they have the sweet potato curry as a special thali when you're there, order it. You won't be sorry!

Rated 4.0 Menu items are often creative fusions between India and America such as the chili cheese fries using lamb and paneer. Food is locally sourced and frequently organic. Service is adequate. It's not a 5 because they don't knock it out of the park with the flavor. It's well above average, but not outstanding. The yogurt in the lassi had no tanginess to speak of. Great place for gateway Indian food if you're taking a friend who's never had it.

Rated 5.0 Wish I could find places like this around home. Great place that lands somewhere between traditional, upscale, and express Indian. Dishes are unique arrangements of some standard Indian foods alongside other things not commonly seen stateside. We want to go back 3 more times just to try all the things we couldn't decide upon, and our server was super helpful and patient while we narrowed it down. You can get half orders of most everything under the Starters menu. Small list of local craft beer bottles and cans for $4. We opted share the Samosa Chaat and daily Thali special which was all excellent. Ask for extra Raita to cut the heat of any spicy dishes if you prefer.

Rated 4.0 Amazing and authentic Indian street food. My only complaint is the rising prices and the removal of a side item from the sandwiches. I really like the Sloppy Jai, and the Okra Fries are a must-have! They slice the okra very thin and fry it to a perfect brown crisp, and toss it with salt and lime juice. The crisp texture and bite of the lime make for a perfect combination that will give you a sour little punch in the cheeks and leave your mouth watering for more. There is typically a wait in the evenings, so arrive a little early if you can.