Chola

Ordered vegetarian delivery. It was good food.

Unilocal need to have a half of a star because Chola is worthy of that, it was 20 minutes to 3pm when my family and I walked in and was told that we have 20 minutes to eat from the buffet table. You should never tell a customer that and because they did, we will never, ever eat here! Chola is a NOLA. Bad business!

Excellent place. Attentive staff, authentic Indian cuisine, great ambiance. Highly recommended.

My bf and I came here on a Friday night, craving for Indian food. We usually go to our favorite spot, Darbar, but thought to be a bit adventurous by trying a new one nearby. Boy, terrible mistake. Our order came out to $ 100, we barely can finish our entrée, and after 10 minutes of leaving Chola, both of us felt quesy and threw up just about everything we ate.
Appetizer — Masala Ghobi — underwhelmed cauliflower
Entrée 1 — Chicken vindaloo — chicken chunks are too big and curry is not spicy as advertised
Entrée 2 — Chicken Masala — too «tomato-​y» and again chicken chunks are too big, hence dry
Sides — Garlic Naan and Coconut rice — the highlight, very light touch of shredded coconut and great fresh Naan
Drinks — Do NOT try the Kama Sutra. I think that’s what makes us sick cause the concoction taste more like pink cough syrup than the tropical flavors it advertised

I went in around 2 pm for a late lunch buffet, plenty of food still left, but it was looking a little picked over. In addition to the buffet bar, they bring out prepared items from the kitchen: vegetable fritters, naan, and tandoori chicken.
I would skip most of the protein items on the buffet bar and ask for second helpings of the items that comes out of the kitchen, especially their really tasty tandoori chicken and buttery naan. So good.
For $ 14.95 all you can eat lunch buffet, it’s a good deal.

This place was delicious! I had the Nav vegetable korma which I asked for spicy, the sauce was amazing… Yum…we also had the malwani chicken, made to perfection! The mango lassi was really good as were the vegetable samosas. We’ll definitely be coming back again. I’ve tried many Indian restaurants in the city and this is my favorite.

Probably a 3.5 star… We ordered malai kofta and chilli paneer dosa. While the malai kofta was great (kofta balls were soft and tasty in a very well made gravy), the dosa was burnt and didnt taste good at all. The service was slow. We waited for our check forever until we decided to get up and pay at the counter.

The food here is good. No doubt about that. The inside is fairly modern for an Indian spot and I’ll forgive them for the cheeseball ‘fake library’ wall paper in the back.
Here’s the problem (s)… They own several other restaurants in NYC, mostly serving the same items. Yet, an order of Aunt Murli’s Chingri Malai Curry costs you $ 4 more here. Love Chicken Tikka Masala? $ 2 more here. Want a Spice Club dish with shrimp? $ 4.50 more. You get the point. It adds up. Should you want a cocktail, good luck. Apparently, they don’t serve many here as the fruit in our drinks was all dry and whittled. Yuck.
I don’t want to Debbie Downer this place and as I mentioned earlier, the food is good. Paying a different price for the same item is a pet peeve of mine. For me, I’ll save $ 15 and eat at their other spots, which are just as good. But if you’re in the area and don’t mind dropping a few extra bucks, stop by for sure!

Came here based off previous reviews and ratings. Food was not bad but I’ve had better. One of their napkin cloth had a stain on it and I didn’t even use it! Makes me wonder how clean the kitchen is behind closed doors if their napkin wasn’t even cleaned right. Service was mediocre and I don’t know but for some reason they don’t put ice in their water so when you ask for water it’s like lukewarm water. hmm I like my water iced to wash down that spice na mean? Waiter wasn’t very conversational… I mean a simple how are you would be ok. they are quiet but seems like the manager was a bit chatty with female patrons. Ok now where’s my check…

Came here for a lunch buffet. Very reasonable price and good food. It wasn’t too spicy, actually I would have liked a little more spice in a couple of dishes.
The nice thing is they bring naan as well as a few other items to your table. Other buffets put the naan out and it disappears faster than good taste at a Kardashian family reunion. So bringing it to the table is nice.

Wonderful meal at Chola last night for 9 of us. We were here to celebrate Diwali with a bunch of friends. We had an 8:30pm reservation and were seated at exactly that time. We ordered family style and all the food was delicious.
For apps we had the bhel puri, Lasuni gobi and the chapli kebab. Hands down Lasuni gobi wins this round. The other two were good but the gobi was the star.
For dinner we all shared the chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, daal makhni, paneer makhni, baingan bartha, and malai kofta. The standouts here were the biryani, daal and malai kofta. The only thing that was left over was the baingan bartha (i have no idea who even likes this dish in general).
Nice little touch at the end of the meal was a little Diwali dessert box they gave us on the house.
This was a solid place and will definitely be back to enjoy another meal with friends.

Without a doubt the best Indian in NYC. Stopped in last night with a friend last night.
The manager Nissar is one of the most hospitable and professional restauranteurs I have ever met. The service was top notch and the food was remarkable.
You know when you cant go wrong with anything on the menu, thats how it went.
My friend who was accompanying me is not a vegetable person and in front of my eyes she is scarfing down Okra. The garlic naan is UNBEATABLE and the sauces are rich in flavor.
It’s one of those situations where once you have Chola its hard to settle for another.
Thanks for a wonderful meal and great service.

The food was good & portion sizes were generous. The service was good & they were good about splitting up our check for a big group.

This is one of my favorite Indian spots in the city. The Malai Kofta is INCREDIBLE, best I’ve ever had. It is so creamy and rich and the sauce is simply addictive.
The service is top notch. The waiters and staff are highly attentive. The restaurant is big and roomy, with plenty of tables.

After reading good reviews we decided to try the Saturday Lunch buffet. It was a big mistake.
Ambiance: It is very congested place. A small place has many tables very close to each other. It is very difficult to get inside while having lunch since you might bump into your neighbors table. I personally like tables separated from each other so that we can enjoy our conversation and the food.
Service: Was not bad. The owner/​manager was kind enough to talk to me and tell me that if we come early then it is better for lunch buffets.
Food: As we went around 1:30pm the lunch trays were almost empty. They had good variety for the food to try. My husband and I had an upset stomach for 2 days after eating the food. Nothing was heavenly. The sambar vada was very oily. Idli didnt taste good. Sambhar didnt taste good. Tandoori chicken was cold and tasteless — it was bland and burnt. The curries were also okay and I bet they put too much of soda in it. I am not going to recommend this place after suffering much.

*** for the Navratan Korma: packed with cubes of soft paneer, broccoli, potatoes, and peas, it was perfect comfort food for impending winter-​times. Everything else on the menu looked mouthwatering, from the most basic (chicken tandoori) to the more adventurous (goat curry).
**** for the garlic naan. They loaded our table down with plenty of freebies, including a cracker-​like bread with three kinds of dipping sauces, a different kind of cracker that was dipped in oil, and an onion/​vegetable/​potato dish. I ate my way steadily through all the complimentary goodies, and could only manage a slice of the fluffy naan, studded with bits of garlic and golden-​crispy on the top.
Minus a few stars for how expensive the food is for dinner — the lunch buffet (available weekdays AND weekends) is the much better deal. The dinner entrees start at around $ 11 for vegan options, and hover around $ 25 for goat/​fish/​shrimp, and that’s WITHOUT rice or naan. A side of plain naan is $ 4 while the cheapest rice offering (rice with peas) is $ 5. Say what?!
NEXT TIME: lunch buffet, dinner is way too expensive

Came here on a Sunday night. I made reservations 2 days ahead for a party of 7, but they weren’t too busy when I got there.
They were very welcoming and warm when I walked in alone. They sat me down and I waited for the rest of my party. However, once the rest of my party arrived the service changed. They were being a bit rude, and told us that they were closing at 10 and we had to be done by then. They told us this at 8… They were then being very impatient with our orders and brushing us off.
While I couldn’t confirm what caused this sudden change of service, my party told me this is very common for indian restaurants to treat other indian guests rudely since they don’t expect them to tip. Other members of my party did complain and ask to speak to the manager at the end of our meal.
Service aside, they food was great. I sampled quite a few dishes, but the chilli paneer really stood out to me. I would come back again, but hopefully service will be a little better.

4.5 stars. Minus .5 star for price and rice cost and the frightening homeless guy situation.
At $ 75 including tip for a meal for two, Chola certainly isn’t your cheap Indian takeout meal. To be fair, we did order a good amount of food and went home with leftovers.
Service — excellent service
Atmosphere — I liked that it felt a little but like fine dining with the décor and the constant change of utensils and plates and what not. The noise level was medium and I liked that you could have a conversation without yelling and that it wasn’t too quiet. Somehow a homeless man got into the restaurant trying to use the restroom while I was dining and caused a scene that was somewhat frightening… how he got inside in the first place, I have no idea.
Food:
Imli eggplant veg starter — thinly sliced fried eggplant covered in tamarind chutney and chaat masala — not a very large serving, but this was flavorful thanks to the chutney and quite crispy on the outside as well.
Lamb pepper dosa — this thing was massive, as expected for a proper dosa. The outer was crispy and it was so packed with lamb inside. Level of spice was great for me, but will probably be spicy for many others. I absolutely love love loved the sambar (soup) that came with it… so flavorful! I need to find out how to make it myself.
Chicken murgh — slightly on the sweet side, but oh so good. That sauce… mmm.
Garlic naan — some of the best garlic naan I’ve had in the city. No question about it.
Coconut rice — $ 9 for a side of rice! Ridiculous! However, it was fragrant and went well with the chicken murgh.
Chola also provides free little side dishes at the beginning and during your meal.
All this came out to be $ 75 including tip, which is definitely on the pricey side, but the taste was great all around.
Would come back here for «fancy» Indian food for sure.

Very solid Indian food. Fast service, and pleasant atmosphere.
They accidentally brought me the wrong dish — okra masala — but I actually liked it better than how I imagined the thing I did order. (Just glad it was vegetarian!) They were apologetic, offered to swap it out, and gave us a free appetizer.
I wish they had more bean-​centric dishes (like chana masala).
Still, good experience. I’d definitely go back.

I love good Indian food and Chola definitely hit the spot.
I got a little worried when I we came in and saw very fancy decorations… In my mind good Indian food is normally found in a hole in the wall where the inside looks like your Indian buddy’s house.
The dinning room was somewhat bare, there was a larger family celebrating a birthday… Not really the crowd you would expect at 7pm.
The service was a little slow but the staff made up for it by apologizing and giving us some samplers.
The food was top notch. We ordered the chicken tikka masala, and the lamb masala with naan and coconut rice.
The spicier lamb masala was rich with tomato and meaty flavor. The chicken tikka masala was done perfectly. The garlic naan is one of my favorite carbs and helps me soak up every last bit of sauce from our dish.
We cleaned our plates and will definitely be back for more!

Wow. Fancy Indian buffet! No, really!
I wanted to stop by for my first round of Indian food in the city, and this one was quite close to where I live. Found that they offered a lunch buffet that was $ 17 (definitely on the pricy side), but I was hungry, and that was that.
In any case, I was very impressed by the décor, service, and food. Not only were there ample fresh and flavorful entrees (your staple curries, tikka masalas, paneer), but there were also items that were freshly prepared and brought to your table. There were these appetizer potato patties with onions (awesome), flat pancake-​like fried things (awesome), and naan (expected, but still awesome). They gave the two of us like 6 pieces of naan, which is a lot.
Even the Kheer and sugar balls (not sure what real name is…) were delicious.
Overall, loved the experience. Wish the price was slightly lower, but you do get higher quality food, service, and some freshly-​prepared extras.
Enjoy!

Vegetarian good place to eat alert!
Love the location, the style of the restaurant (classy but relaxed) and the service is was great! They provide prompt service, refill water glasses quickly (not to sound like a diva but mainly because when you eat a chili you need that H2O!
Recommended for people looking for good Indian food!

New favorite Indian restaurant? I think so.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW CHOLA YOU HAVE BLOWN ME AWAY. Seriously though, this place is LEGIT. I ordered my usual Indian favorites, chili and onion naan and Navratan korma and both blew me away. Not to mention how many extra goodies they threw in there… rice (obviously), cracker bread and three dips for it, lentils, and some sweet couscous-​looking concoction that was absolute crack. So basically enough food to feed a small country.
Foodwise, it’s like one thing was better than the next. Order anything and everything, you can’t go wrong. I may be in a terrible food coma as I type this review, but no regrets whatsoever.

Often, friendly and unobtrusive service in a classy establishment is not associated with the Indian food dining experience in the US. I’m happy to say Chola brings all three of these attributes to the table.
In addition, the menu is massive with specialties from across India. We’ve never had a bad meal. Plus, they are happy to explain the subtleties of the dishes, sides, and sauces to the uninitiated.
We’ve enjoyed delicious Biryani, garlic naan, tandoori specialties, vindaloo, all kinds of sauces and chutneys, dosa, and many other tasty meals. I will say that the flavor is great but they have definitely toned down the heat when compared to similar meals in India. Hyderabad Biryani can knock your socks off but the equivalent dishes here pack the flavor but not the punch.

I haven’t had Indian food in a decade and Chola was the right place to relive the experience. Come early because the place fills up after 6PM on a weekday. We were so hungry, and it didn’t help with the delicious aroma floating through the restaurant, so we ordered several dishes, including some that had the thumbs up symbol which were recommended.
We got a few complimentary dishes including something similar to a hard tortilla shell but thinner and crispier. It came with three unique dipping sauces. One reminded me of chimichurri sauce, another curry-​inspired, and a third that looked like tomatoes but a thicker consistency and texture. Thin chips accompanied a vegetable spread which was interesting; I couldn’t taste the veggies much because it was mushy.
Imli Eggplant — It was a recommended appetizer on the menu. Described as eggplant layered with tamarind chutney and chaat masala, there’s lots of flavor but felt the sauce overpowered the eggplant. I liked it but wish it wasn’t heavily coated. It came out a bit cold. Not sure if it was supposed to be that temperature.
Nirmala’s Avial — Another menu-​recommended item. A mixed vegetable dish cooked with coconut, yogurt and curry leaves. At first bite, it was good but then you get that heavy, cheesy-​like after taste. I’m glad I ordered it but don’t think I would do it again.
Chicken Tikka Masala — My only association with this is from Wholefoods food bar so I really enjoyed this dish. It goes well with everything. If I could, I would have slurped this dish dry. The chicken was super tender and infused well with the sauce and flavor. Highly recommended.
Coconut Rice — Can’t have all this good sauce go to waste without pairing it with rice. This was Basmati rice cooked with fresh coconut and dry red chilies per the menu. SO GOOD. I think I could just eat that with Chicken Tikka Masala sauce and garlic naan and call it a night. It was very moist and packed with flavor.
Garlic Naan — wow, this is good stuff. I wish they gave more! One order comes with four pieces. It comes out warm so take advantage while it’s hot! I dipped mine in Chicken Tikka Masala sauce like there was no tomorrow. But beware, that garlic is strong so expect to feel like you have garlic breath for days.
Really good service. Friendly and attentive. I only wish it wasn’t that pricey. For $ 15 – 20 on average per dish, I expected to see larger plates. Portions are a bit smaller, which isn’t bad, but not for the price we paid. I like this restaurant but would only treat myself here and there, otherwise I’ll go broke.

Un bon restau indien a NYc, avec une formule de buffet le midi vraiment pas cher ($ 32 pour deux). Avec des vrais plats indiens, des naan bien moelleux… On reviendra!!!