Cheeni Indian Food Emporium

Checked this place out after their James Beard nomination news. Format is a bit odd more on that later. Let 's talk about the food. Indian is about flavor for me bold, rich flavors. Sadly, this is not what I experienced here. The reason the food got 3 stars is because of the Bhel Puri this rescued our incredibly bland and uninspired main courses. I was able to taste a hint of garlic from the naan, but the rest of the chicken kebab roll was flavorless. The Bhel Puri was solid, spicy, good flavor, and the texture was great. Everything else was 1 star.Another reviewer already talked about the format, but it was weird. I thought that service was part of James Beard... this didn 't really have any. We walked into an empty lobby in a deli style order counter. Some tables were occupied and eventually a cashier told us the rules . Order at the counter and eat wherever, or you can sit and order from the QR code. Basically you order online without any server customer feedback or questions answered.I 'll stop here, and I 'll end with this: I will certainly not be going back. I 'm not mad, it wasn 't horrible . It was just blah and, especially after all the hype and the article in TBJ, extremely disappointing.

I like the inside of the restaurant. Heard great things but im starting to think they have a separate level of spice for non indians and indians. My friend was saying the place was good. I was excited to try it. They had a dosa and sambar waffle and I got the tandoori veggie bowl. There was barely any chutney when I got it so nothing to mix in really. The rice dish was dry otherwise. It was really spicy. I tried the dosa and sambar. But within a few bites the sambar was extremely spicy and I can usually tolerate it. This was like heartburn level inducing. I cannot take my parents here if they do visit. Which is unfortunate but my parents cannot eat at this level.I had asked my friend when she went and she claimed it wasnt spicy and I know she cannot handle spice that well. Guess I will not be back.

It 's a very cute restaurant with a charming aesthetic. The menu is limited and you have to order at the counter and get your own water and silverware from a stand set up in the corner but they bring the food to you... except it was very slow. I went with a friend and my food came out a full 10 minutes before hers and then the naan came out a couple minutes after that. So either I had cold food or we couldn 't eat together. The food was tasty and the portion was a good dinner size but it felt pretty expensive for the lack of service. Basically $20 each with no drinks and we didn 't order the expensive things on the menu. Additionally you have to clear your own plates and there was a sign on the table telling us to do so to avoid a scolding which, after paying over $40 for a cold dinner was pretty irritating. The trash had no cart to drop dishes in, only a hole to scrape your dishes into and it was such a small hole that it was nearly impossible to scrape dishes without making a mess.On the other hand it was a really great and unusual garlic naan. I swear they used a whole stick of butter and the bread was crispy, almost like a pizza crust. I wouldn 't go back to seat a meal but I 'd consider trying a dessert or ordering a basket of naan if my friend really wanted to.

Cheeni is a cafe-restaurant. I love the way they decorated the restaurant – modern mixed with street Indian pictures. I tried the chicken rice bowl, and it was good; the chicken was tender, and the side vegetables were fresh. You can order everything at the front, and they will bring the food to your table. I also liked the mango lassi and chocolate chip cookies; they are a must-try. The bakery here is pretty good as well. I recommend going there if you're looking for a place to hang out with friends, grab a quick lunch, or just want to sit with your laptop and work; they have free WiFi. I see they are serving liquor now. I'd like to go back and try their cocktails! They also offer a lot of vegetarian options.

Been to Cheeni a few times when they first opened and service and food was wonderful … fast forward to now …. Went there for lunch today , restaurant was half packed , ordered at 12.10 … drinks served within a few minutes … one of the dishes came 30 mins later and then nothing … -after waiting 50 mins I approached the server who didn’t even know that we had were missing 3 entrees …. We saw another couple leaving after not being served. Server asked if I wanted a refund or my food … of course I wanted to my food after waiting almost an hour … food came nothing to rave about .. I had waffle dosa … sambar was cold and thick …. Come on Cheeni get it together !