Cheecha’s Fresh & Healthy

Fresh and healthy? Maybe, but beyond that the merits were few and far between. I bought a groupon based on the proximity to my location and the positive Unilocal reviews. However, I will never visit again for a few reasons.
1) Excessively long wait time: my boyfriend waited 45 minutes for our order (2 entrees) when the restaurant was only half full. The couple who ordered after him received AND finished their food before ours was done.
2) I’ve never had such spicy kabobs in my life! I understand that some people must like this (evidenced by the 4.5 star reviews) but the spice level rendered the food inedible to me personally. We ordered the Cheecha’s Special and Chicken and Lamb kabobs. We didn’t expect them to be so spicy, and if they were meant to be spicy the restaurant should really advertise them as such.
3) Separate from the spiciness, the kabobs were also just not very good. Some were burnt, they were dry, and the ground chicken was very salty (and that is coming from a salt fiend).
I always like to add some pros at the end of a negative review, so here goes. The naan was extremely fresh and tasty. Also, there were several salad entrees that looked very good.

I’ve been blown away by the great salads Cheecha offers. I’ve tried the spicy chicken salad. I love this salad! The staff is always willing to substitute ingredients if desired. The portion size is very generous. They chop all the ingredients and add in dressing of your choosing. This place reminds me of Sweetgreen. The menu is robust and not limited to salads. Stop by, you’ll be glad you did!

I went on a whim with my mother, as she happened to have a Groupon. Originally, I felt the establishment was 3 – 4 stars, whereas my mom leaned on 3 stars. I ordered a chicken kabob, with a side of spinach curry, and my mother ordered the lamb and ground beef kabob, with a side of chickpea masala. These are pretty typical foods we would normally order at mediterranean places, so we figured it was a safe bet.
As a forewarning — and with credit due to the cashier for letting us know in advance — the food is cooked fresh, so the meat takes a while to cook. Our food took twenty minutes, so as long as you’re not in a hurry for the lunch rush, it’ll be fine.
While we were waiting, the cashier came over and apologized, stating that lamb was no longer available and asked if we could substitute for chicken. My mom agreed, since we used a Groupon and didn’t shell out too much money. However, if we hadn’t had a Groupon, I would have felt so upset! The lamb entrees are at least several dollars more than the chicken items.
When the food came, I tasted the chicken first and it was so spicy. SO SPICY and SO SALTY. I love spicy food, but this kind of spicy was so overwhelming that the dining experience felt more like a physical sensation than a tasteful one. Luckily, the entrees come with ‘mouth watering’ dipping sauce, which cooled off the spice. The dipping sauce was delicious! The spices were very overpowering, though, and I couldn’t quite enjoy my meal without my nose running.
I later went back in line to as the cashier for a bag, and the man in front of me also ordered a lamb item. As I was packing, the cashier went over to the man and, AGAIN, said that lamb was unavailable, and if the customer would be okay with a replacement. He didn’t offer compensation for downgrading to a lesser priced meal. If he knew with our meal that lamb was out, shouldn’t he have told the other customer? It felt so shady.
Other than that, though, the customer service was OK. If given a chance, I would definitely love to give the place another try, but we will have to see how it goes.

The chicken curry thing is toooo milky. The milk or coconut milk taste dominates this dish, not the curry.

This is a fairly new place and I’ve already visited them multiple times. Delicious kabobs, salads, and wraps. Healthy menu, clean place, and conveniently located inside fair oaks mall. What more can I ask for?

I ordered the Chicken Kabob (comes with seasoned rice, two sides and bread) which is $ 10.99. I would say that it is average price for something like this.
It was pretty good, not too heavy on the spices. I enjoyed the chicken which had a slight kick to it. Usually kabob places don’t make their chicken spicy. They asked if I preferred medium spicy or none.
The restaurant itself is pretty quiet/​dead. It’s a self-​serve type place so it’s very casual – almost like a cafeteria. Next time I’ll probably take it to-​go instead of being the lone wolf at 1 pm. Definitely not a place you would take a date.

I’m pasting here a review from my kids:
«Cheechas is an awesome Indian — Pakistani restaurant. They have really nice people who work there and have fast, healthy, and inexpensive foods. Even though they have fast service their food is super healthy and superbly delicious! They have healthy and delicious foods like samosa platter which is $ 2.99 and a large salad which is $ 6.99, they have kabobs which are $ 3.99 and $ 4.99. Even though their foods are reasonable in price, they are healthy and fresh, delicious, and in amazing quality! I really recommend you go there! I love cheechas!»
Way to go Cheechas — we’ll be back!

Maybe I am unfair but I only review a place when it is legendary or terrible.
Cheechas definitely goes to the legendary category.
Highest recommendation for the kabobs (I tried all 3– chicken, lamb and beef) and these are by far the best I have had in the DMV area.

Very impressed with this place. Great salads, great food, and great service. They care about how their business is run and take care of their customers. No time to write more, but worth checking out this place!

LEGENDARY SERVICE! The high rating is primarily for the excellent customer service. Kevin is your man if you want the best experience. He gave us second helpings of everything and threw in extras with it. He’s there on weekdays. Try to go then if you can.
The food is good. I built my own healthy salad and the cheecha special for the gf did the job.
I’m coming back for sure!

My family and I decided to try this place out over the weekend. I have a feeling it’s going to become a favorite place to eat!
The people working there were friendly and had great customer service. The place was clean and new. They also have bathrooms attached to this restaurant even though it’s in the mall. They have halal meat, and halal certification on the wall.
We ordered the chicken salad sandwich and the grilled chicken kabobs.
First the chicken salad sandwich. I thought it was going to be a typical American sandwich… shredded chicken in a mayo mixture on white bread. It’s not. It’s way better. This sandwich is made of chopped up grilled chicken kabobs, salad, and naan for the bread. It would be more accurately called a wrap since the bread wraps around the filling. It was delicious! I would definitely get this one again.
The kabobs were hot and fresh. Very tasty. The naan is out of this world delicious. This platter also came with rice, two sauces, and potato and spinach dish (palak aloo). The palak aloo was really good too. I would order this again.
You can also ask for green tea for free while you eat there.
Next time I’m at the mall and looking for some food, I’m going here!

Best food in Fair Oaks mall, hands down! As an employee at the mall, this is by far my favorite place — and probably the most popular among myself and al of my coworkers… Get the buttered chicken! You won’t regret it.

They do not know the difference between beef and chicken.
They served a beef sandwich when I ordered a chicken sandwich
They are insanely sick

I’m torn between a 4-​star review and a 1-​star review, so I have to draw it at 2 stars. For me, personally, I would have been able to give a 4-​star review, so I’ll tell that side of the story. For my husband, however, it would be more like barely a 2-​star review.
Located in Fair Oaks Mall in a somewhat hidden location near the Sears corridor, next to Popeye’s and across from the Children’s Science Center, Cheecha’s brings something refreshingly different to the mall scene. It combines the kabob-​type cuisine that is wildly popular, but also brings some Indian-​inspired entrees, as well as fresh made-​to-​order chopped salads. Moreover, they pride themselves on their freshness, along with several organic/​antibiotic-​free/​hormone-​free meats, and they post an approximate calorie count for each menu item.
I was drawn in by the Cheecha’s Chicken Tikka Salad, which was a nice blend of tikka-​marinated grilled chicken, walnuts, avocado, onions, tomato, and romaine. I opted for the Cheecha’s Mint & Cilantro dressing, and I liked that the employee warned me that it was spicy. It definitely had a nice kick that you don’t often get from a raita/​tzaziki/​yogurt sauce, so it was welcomed by my spice-​fiending taste buds. I was able to watch the employee make my salad to order in front of my eyes, and the chicken atop is chilled, so that it doesn’t wilt the lettuce and other ingredients. Plus, with my Unilocal check-​in, we were able to get 10% off our total price.
The not-​so-​good news was the experience surrounding my husband’s meal. He ordered a chicken kabob meal, which includes a large skewer of grilled chicken, rice, spinach, chickpeas, and fresh fluffy bread, and is a good deal for about $ 10. The spinach and bread were very good, but I wish we had only eaten that part. While the chicken started out okay, we noticed with each subsequent bite, it seemed to get «juicier.» At first we thought, «No problem — this is a nice change from dried-​out chicken.» However, it became apparent that the entire skewer was dangerously under-​cooked, and after we had stopped eating it, the remaining pieces that we cut into just to check were downright raw on the inside. We brought the under-​cooked items to the attention of one employee, who didn’t understand the problem, and then the manager brought over a replacement skewer that was so hot, that it burned right into the Styrofoam serving plate. When we attempted to speak with the man who seemed to be the manager on duty, he was neither apologetic nor concerned, and all he really said to us was, «We cook all of our chicken well-​done» (isn’t that the only way to cook chicken?).
And while we both ended up with some pretty bad stomach cramps that night, it could have been worse. With all of the other kabob and salad choices in the area, I’m sorry to say that we won’t be back to Cheecha’s.

Delicious and fresh. Very refreshing to have a healthy option at the mall. Stopped by during my lunch break for the first time and was pretty impressed with the place. The ingredients are fresh and the salads can easily be customized. The décor is very clean and modern. They have been open for roughly 2 months and if you work in the viscinity of the mall, they offer a 10% discount. The employees were friendly and helpful. I tried the Tikka salad which was extremely filling with large chunks of juicy and perfectly seasoned chicken breast. My co worker got chicken kabobs and really enjoyed that as well.
Will definitely be back!

The best comparison for the salads here are the ones you’d get at Chop’t (they even use the exact same bowls). I’d echo what others have said. The salad I got was very tasty, but the fellow preparing it seemed very confused. Instead of throwing all the ingredients in a bowl at once and chopping it, he chopped 1 – 2 ingredients at a time. He used a cutting board instead of just chopping in the bowl, so he had to chop, scrape into a large bowl, add dressing, then scoop into a serving bowl. On top of that, he had to stop and think about each ingredient (not sure why he didn’t just look at a menu), and he forgot 3 of them; I had to remind him to add them in. It probably took 5 – 10 minutes to prepare, and had I not been the only customer, that would have been a problem.
Prices are $ 2 – 3 higher than similar products at Chop’t, with the same level of quality. The mall hasn’t updated the directory yet, and Cheecha’s is located down a hallway across from the Science Center, so had I not seen them on Unilocal,I wouldn’t know they existed. I’m also not sure why there’s a reservation button here on Unilocal.It’s fast-​casual, no reservation needed. I’d go back, since they were a tasty and healthy alternative to normal fried mall food, but they could stand to improve their preparation skills and lower their prices.

Who would have thought it could get any better?!
Butter Chicken Special. If it’s available, get it. Actually get 2 so you can have one for later because it is delicious. The chicken stays tender under the slightly sweet, slightly spicy savory sauce. Served with an order of rice, chickpeas or spinach and bread the meal will make you wonder where it’s been all your life. Large enough to share but when it’s so addictive why would you?
If you’re in the area make a stop at Ceecha’s, I hope you find yourself here on a Butter Chicken Special day.

This place has potential to do well in a mall covered in junk food and candy stores. I overheard the staff talking about a soft opening so it makes sense that the service was so slow: they’re still opening. Took nearly 10 – 15 min for one salad to be cut up in front of me and waiting behind someone else. Hopefully they get familiar with their menu and speed it up; salads shouldn’t take as long as cooked food. Otherwise, the salad was huge and I couldn’t finish in one sitting, and the ingredients were fresh and tastes great. Could benefit by changing up the topping menu a bit, maybe add quinoa, which would’ve made me a totally happy camper today.

Fresh organic and healthy food! Wow I was very impressed by the chicken kabob. so juicy — I would say this is the best kabob in the area and it is also the first to make kabobs with organic meat — you can taste the difference! As for the salads, they are very filling and a good portion for the price! I’d recommend the Cheecha’s chicken tikka blast. I will be coming back for sure and bringing my friends!

Really good food. Fresh salads with freshly cooked Tandoori chicken Tikka or ground chicken sheekh kabobs. It is heaven for paleo diet folks. Lots of options for customization.
Service was also great.