Chal Chilli
“We tried the Vegetable Dumplings and Papaya Salad for the appetizers and the Chicken Pad Thai and Coconut Lemon Shrimp for our entrées.”
“NOTE: they do not serve alcohol, but you are welcome to BYOB.”
“I stopped by to discuss details for a private event and while there I tried their spring rolls and vegetable wonton.”
Chal Chilli
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
4 reviews
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Cute place in Murray Hill. We braved the snow on a Sat night to get here and it was worth it. The actual restaurant is cute in that should be in a strip mall type of way with spa music playing and minimal decor.
The food was a good value. My pad Thai was $11. With the yelp check- in, I received a free dessert.
The biggest issue-the length of time it took to get our food. When we sat down the restaurant was completely empty with tables filling up as time went on. We waited close to an hour for our dinner.
Chal Chilli was not our first choice on this evening. We bought a bunch of beer and headed to Bhatti Indian Grill on 27th and Lex, but found that they were too busy. Searching Yelp for another BYOB place, we found Chal and decided to give it a go.
Our party of 6 showed up to the tiny restaurant, but could not be seated yet even though there were only 2 other parties there. Don't get me wrong, there were 3 or 4 open tables, but instead of rearranging them for us, they opted to sit us against the wall and had us wait until one of the bordering parties left so they could merge a table into ours. It is an odd thing having to wait for a table at a place with only 2 parties and 4 open tables… but so be it.
So BYOB was obviously great, with no corkage fee or anything like that. WE poured our beers into the provided mason jars for a bit of "class".
Each person at our group ordered an entrée, but I only tasted 3 of them. Pad-Se-Ew didn't have much flavor in it, but I only had a bite. My wife ordered the Chal Barbeque Lamb which was very flavorful and excellently spiced, but sinewy and overcooked, making it waaay to chewy for my taste.
My order was the Short Beef Ribs which was FANTASTIC. I did not expect to get meat of this quality from an Asian/Indian fusion joint in Little India, but low-and-behold here we are. They serve it bone-in with a light spinach and coconut "sauce" draped on top. It wasn't really a sauce as there wasn't much liquid added to it, but it was moist enough to stick where it needed to stick. The meat was tender and fatty, like a good brisket, and just as flavorful too. I would definitely order this again when in the area.
The service was not that great. The staff was nice and pleasant to talk to, also knowledgeable about the menu, but the time to get food out to the table, and the time to clear plates was a little high.
A note on the Yelp checkin offer… even though it says nothing about limitations on the offer itself, the waitress refused to honor multiple checkin offers from all of us who checked in. She claimed it was only 1-per-party instead of one per checkin like every other yelp deal I have ever seen. Kind of a bait and switch if you ask me. She did honor one though and we ordered a Friend Banana with Ice Cream dessert which was nothing special.
Well,
The food at this place is not bad. Nice fusion of cuisines.
Not amused that my server repeated many times 'you're dining alone?' No, my invisible friend needs a seat too -_-
Overall, the staff is very friendly and nice. The presentation of the food is pretty. But…
The service? Es muy mal. Bad enough to subtract 4 stars. A party of 6 people were taken care of and catered to more than I was at the table right next to mine. Yes, I was solo dining but the experience was just ridiculous. Really? I waited OVER 30 min for my food to be taken from my table after I was done eating. That didn't happen to the tourist table beside me…
I was doing travel planning during this time so I wasn't in that much of a hurry. But SERIOUSLY? I felt I wasn't given any courtesy.
I do NOT like to be kept waiting for dumb amounts of time. I wasn't properly attended to.
Super annoyed at my experience.
I honestly was shocked at how this experience turned out. The restaurant seems like a hidden gem. It is not thai food and it's not Indian food it is a cross between it. The food was spicy and flavourful. I was most impressed with the presentation. Overall a great experience when least expected.