Chakra Cuisine

Pricey, but very nice if you’re going on a date to somewhere nice. Great staff, delicious food.

Very tasty and excellent service! But…
…portions are so small for the price.

We had a Groupon for this place, it was pretty good for what you pay… Some of the items were cold, but the majority of things were good. Love the cucumber yogurt sauce and the fresh hot garlic naan.
The only thing I suggest is that they put a warning sign up by their mixed kabob that there are bones.
Great location conviently located across the street from UCI’s campus, so grabbed a bite with the boyfriend made for a real treat.

After reading some good reviews on Unilocal i wanted to try some good Indian food in Irvine. This place is pretty bad. The good things about this place is just the location.
The Mango Lassi was good but coming to the main course i promise you guys i never had such an awful lamb biryani in my life.
Trust me guys i had some of the best biryanis in India and i am a very big food critic probably these guys should name the dish something else it far worst than the last worst biryani i had.

I should have trusted you Unilocal!
So I’m not sure what these guys are doing to justify their prices. Location?
I stopped in for some takeout, my first time, something I hate to do, but it worked out this way. Got some saag paneer and a chicken tikka masala. It was good, okay even, but really, no different than your average Indian joint, Anytown, USA, and certainly not enough to add almost $ 12 to my bill for two. They were really nice, but I just don’t get it. The staff were friendly, place is beautiful, but that saag paneer needs to be the best thing I’ve ever eaten for $ 16. It’s just hard to justify almost $ 50 with a side of naan.
I don’t want to sound cheap, I pay happily for my foods, but if you’re not using fresh spinach or local meat…

Do not miss trying the best salad I have ever had at Indian restaurant. This is Mango Salad

I’m going to get straight to the point here. I was duped and this place was disappointing. I had wanted to try this place for a long time but it was reputed to be pricey. A Groupon came up for $ 20 for $ 40 value. After reading the fine print to make sure there were no catches, I bought it right away. Well, on a day when I was craving a luscious Indian lamb dish, I went to check it out. I sit down and look at the menu they give me. Yum, I see the lamb dish i’m going to get. Hmm, what am I going to get for an appetizer? Then this is where my experience starts to tank… fast!
I am told that the Groupon is good for the buffet only. But I refer to the voucher and tell the first guy that this restriction is not stated anywhere on the voucher. Then my permanent waitress comes along… sweet girl, couldn’t be mad at her… and says the same thing to which I repeat that the voucher says nothing of it being for buffet only, who then goes to get her manager. While she is gone, I look at the buffet selection, and there’s nothing left! No lamb dish for sure, which is what I was craving. The manager comes and sticks to the story. I plead to him that the Groupon says nothing about the meal having to be buffet only and and he says he knows but that the menu that was given to me is more expensive so that the Groupon is for buffet only. I am LIVID. I feel my face is RED HOT! I told him that had I known that it was for buffet only I would never have bought the Groupon, because from my experience, buffets lack in the items that I enjoy, like lamb, because, yes, it is pricier. That is why I paid $ 20 for a $ 40 experience! He tells me he will give me 20% off my lamb dish. Oh, and the buffet is an overpriced $ 20 anyway so apparently I would have had to drink $ 20 worth with the buffet to get the full value.
The waitress comes back and asks what I would like to have. I promptly reply, «a glass of Pinot» cuz now I’m so annoyed. She brings that back, and then I order their calamari appetizer. I have to say «Oh my God, that appetizer is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!» It was phenomenal. Then what seemed like a long time later, my lamb dish came out. It was really good, but I’ve always had good lamb dishes so it’s more of the same (hitting the spot though, for sure!).
I really hate that the calamari was so good because I want more of it but I promised myself I will never go back to this place. Their buffet is definitely not worth what they charge, which is evidenced by an empty restaurant. Their inability to follow through on the Groupon was so disappointing to me. It was their problem they didn’t specify, but they made it my problem at my cost and overall lunch experience. It’s too bad because their food is good, but the service and overall experience was lackluster and you will walk away feeling swindled.

Overpriced buffet.
Went for lunch buffet on Sunday. Buy 1 get 1 buffet coupon was NOT honored since they don’t have the regular buffet but a *special* buffet on Sunday. The coupon did not specify that it was valid only on certain days.
Anyhow it was just a low grade buffet with plenty of poor quality items. Probably leftovers from week. Tandoori chicken with wings and no other chicken dish. Lack of flavor in the food. Sorry but $ 20 is too much for such food. Nice ambiance though for an Indian restaurant.

This place is pretty bad. I’ve been here twice on a Friday for their lunch buffet and both times I was grossly disappointed. (I know, so why did I come back a second time? I have no idea).
The service is incredibly slow, they have probably a grand total of 2 waiters for the entire restaurant and it shows. They are vastly understaffed.
The food runs out really quickly, and then when it gets refilled, everyone pounces on it and starts engorging themselves. At one point, they even ran out of plates… at noon… how can you not have enough flatware for during your peak hours? Isn’t that restaurant owning 101?
The food itself is alright. If you enjoy heavily seasoned luke warm curry. I’ve had their chicken tikka malsala and it alright, 2 stars. the chicken to curry ration was like 1:800. The Naan is really good, if you can get your hands on some before the stampede of middle-​aged business men shovel it onto their plates.
Do yourself a favor and go to Cha for Tea next door and have a life-​changing boba experience.

How a restaurant can go from 5 stars to 1 or less is simply ridiculous. I’m not sure if they had a change in management or cook. I’m thinking all of the above!
First of all, we’ve been here 3 times in the last month. Twice we sat outside and did the buffet. Yesterday, we came with a group of 8 (my husbands extended family). Each time, it seemed worse than the other.
Last two visits, the vegetarian food was good for my father in law. To me and my husband, it was too salty. The desserts were too sweet. Both times, we had the buffet.
Yesterday, when we got to the restaurant, there was only one table of patrons (table of 5). They left soon after we sat and we were the only ones in the restaurant at 1:30pm. I asked several times for the air conditioner to be turned on and nothing! I ordered gin and tonic. 20 minutes later, one of the two waiters comes and tells me that they don’t have tonic water. So it took 20 minutes to figure that one out?!
Since I was there with a bunch of vegetarians, I decided to do the buffet to get some protein. It was okay but nothing great. Some of the food was again too salty. For a person that actually likes salt, it’s insane how salty it was.
My family placed their order at 1:45pm. The appetizers showed up at 2:30 and the actual lunch arrived at 3pm. I walked over to the waiter for the 3^rd time for the air conditioning. He ignores the cooling question and tells me that there was a problem in the kitchen and that’s why it’s late. Isn’t that something we should have been informed about sooner?
I decided to order another drink since they don’t have tonic water (insane that a restaurant with a full bar doesn’t have it). So I ordered a Peacock Martini. It tasted like cough syrup. I took one sip and it was nasty!!! I told the guy that it’s terrible. What his response was, was priceless! He said, do you want me to pack it to go? Really? For when I have a cough? I told him again, it tastes terrible and I don’t want it. He says he’s sorry and walks away with the drink at hand. When we got the bill, the Peacock Martini was still on the bill for $ 11. My husband asked me not to make a big deal since his extended family is with us.
So as we were walking out, I saw the manager and walked up to him. Asked him why they didn’t turn the air conditioner on and why I was charged for a drink that I couldn’t even drink. He decides to pretend that he doesn’t speak English.
What a sorry excuse for a restaurant. It’s a pity that even the food is terrible now.
I will never be back. I don’t mind paying high prices when the food and service is good. Unfortunately, both food and service have become worthless. I would never refer anyone I like to eating here. Terrible!!!

Their food was not that good. It took an extremely long time even though there were not a lot of people there and we were in a private room and they should have anticipated a large order and surprisingly most of my party didn’t order food only drinks.
When they messed up on me and my friends bill they got so bothered that we ask to take the appetizer off that wasn’t ours because they couldn’t figure out who’s it was…
I had to ask for water about 5 times, they lost me there.
Don’t waste your time. there are way better Indian places.

I thought the food was damn fine (that would get a solid 4 stars). Drinks and atmosphere: just so-​so. It’s really a damn pity no one was there at prime time on a Saturday night. The cocktails, while strong and appreciated on that front, just weren’t well balanced. We resorted to wine (and their list is pretty solid). The Samosa Trio (potato, mushroom, corn, trio of chutneys) was fantastic as was the Chicken Masala (spot ON!). The Seabass was simply SENSATIONAL (served with zesty curried vegetables, tomato sauce and lemon rice). YUM. IF I were in the area, I might come back for the food because I don’t know another Indiana restaurant this good unless you drive all the way to Pioneer Street.

We visit Chakra pretty often and the food is usually good if not great. But today’s lunch buffet was a big let down. The dishes veg korma, masala tofu were very bland. The chicken tikka masala was not as tasty as it usually is. The pieces of meat were very tough. The dal was just about boiled and chicken tandoori was under-​cooked. The egg curry was just about ok.
Overall it was a below average meal and the higher price makes it all the more disappointing. The place has a good ambiance, but if the food is not good who cares.

The food at Chakra is good, I wont debate you on that. But. It is not worth it when you see 1) The portion sizes 2) The price tag. Really, three TINY samosas for ten dollars? What a total rip off! I’d rather head down Culver to Annapoorna for my Indian fix.

There’s a certain amount of excitement that arises from finding out about new Indian buffets. Especially when they’re just a few minutes away from your house. So I’ve been waiting patiently all week to finally try this place out.
The place itself is cool. Two separate outdoor places to eat, a bar, and a big dining room. Looks like a fun place to have a party.
The buffet selection was slightly smaller than I expected and was missing Chicken Makhani. You know, everyone’s FAVORITE indian buffet food. The wonderful orange-​colored buttered chicken then when eaten with naan makes your knees tremble with pleasure. I’m not a religious man, nor Indian, but it has to be some sort of blasphemy to not have Chicken Makhani at an Indian Buffet.
Despite my immediate disappointment, I toughed it out and made it through my meal without my wonderful chicken. The food was fine. Not the greatest indian food I’ve had, but decent.
Lunch Buffet was $ 15 per person, seems a little overpriced given the small selection of food.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here and I’m going to continue my search for the best Indian Buffet in OC.

LUNCH BUFFET REVIEW ONLY
I LOVE Indian food! This is truly a beautiful restaurant, except that I can get better tasting Indian food for almost half the price — especially for their lunch buffets.
Most of their sauces from their curries are pretty watery and runny, but the others are pretty decent and edible. My favorite item here is their garlic naan and some of their veggie dishes.
I come here a few times a month with coworkers and we always leave so full and satisfied.
Service is amazing, they are consistent with refills on your water, and the people who work there are super friendly.
Between three people for a lunch buffet, you’re looking at spending about $ 55-​$ 60 including tip with no soft drinks ordered. Really expensive, but it satisfies my Indian food cravings.

Prices are a tad high but their food hits the spot when the craving arises. If anyone has another suggestion for a place that has cheaper pricing but is just as good… I’m game for a consultation!
My faves: potato samosa & chicken vindaloo.

The moment we entered, the hostess popped out in front of us and asked, «Are you here for the party?»
The response that I cultivated in my head was, «Why of course,» but obviously, I had no idea what she was talking about.
Because the private party took up the whole restaurant and ate up most of the buffet (supposedly), we were given the only option of sitting outside.
Yes, it was a bit windy, but my goodness, the furniture and the décor and everything about the ambience was just so impressive!
The first thing about the menu that stood out was… THE PRICES. My goodness was it abnormally expensive. One curry was around $ 20! I felt that something was wrong (I’ll explain this later), but I thought it was just a very, very pricey Indian restaurant.
We decided on the Lamb Hyderbadi, Coconut Chicken curry, and a vegetarian curry (some of the names were so complicated… my apologies)!
It took some time for the food to come out, but when it did… what a presentation! Everything looked so pretty! And everything, thankfully, tasted as good as it looked. Yum! Very, very good. Upon request, they brought out a raita which turned out to be free of charge!
Unfortunately, the bill came out to $ 60 something dollars… and looking up this restaurant on Unilocal,I didn’t see that you could purchase a coupon from
to save 50% or so. Sigh.
What also irked me was that they didn’t tell us that the buffet was lunch while the menu they gave us was for dinner! No wonder it was so damn expensive.
Dammit.
Next time, I’m going to go (when I have the money) with a coupon from
!!!

Probably the most expensive Indian food I’ve ever had.
I’ve been having cravings for good Indian food for quite some time now. I picked up a $ 100
coupon and brought all 2 of my friends + fiancé for a birthday dinner. The restaurant is located in the University Center. There’s plenty of self-​parking spots and the restaurant is pretty easy to find. The décor is very modern, dim, and romantic. Entrees are pretty pricy… it ranges from 16 – 35 dollars and the portions aren’t very big either. However, the food is very tasty and well done. although it was good, I wouldn’t get the samosa sampler again because there wasn’t enough to actually share with people. Saag Paneer is the softest whipped spinach I have ever had and the Chicken Tikka Masala is a safe go-​to dish. We also ordered some of the «modern-​fusion» dishes, but none of them really stood out. Stick with the traditional stuff and bring a credit card with a high limit.
A little about my credentials:
I first got into cooking & food when I was in college. After being rejected by numerous girls and getting zero action, I decided it was time for a change. I needed a new makeover to boost my geeky, engineering image. I applied for a cooking position at a Mediterranean-​Italian Restaurant near my home and learned to cook all sorts of pastas and dishes. I never became a professional chef, but I continue to enjoy & love food. 9 years later and 55 lbs heavier, I have a new passion for traveling and trying different foods around the world.

Indian restaurants and me are great acquaintances. We see each other only when we both get something out of it. I get to satisfy my cravings and they get to take my money. It may just build to a friendship one day. Until then, our acquaintanceship will continue with full-​force.
With an expansive outdoor patio, upper-​class feel inside, and good customer service, it is a place that still leaves some to be desired.
We were fortunate enough to try their prix fixe menu which gave a great assortment of items to try. Long story short, the vegetarian options were tons better than the meat or shrimp.
The normal prices seemed a bit high and the food wasn’t the most authentic. However, for a a good deal like we had and a chance to hang out with my «acquaintance», it was worth it.