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Cholanad Restaurant and Bar
Dinner: Sun - Thur 5 - 9:30
Fri - Sat 5 - 11pm
free of charge for CholaNad customers.
FREE Valet parking for Cholanad Customers opposite to Carolina Ale House
in Franklin Street
Menu
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The food was average relative to other Indian cousins restaurants in the area. The service was just ok, nothing out of the ordinary. In summary, this was an average dining experience for a friday night.
Had samosas for an appetizer and fish mango red curry with nan for a main course. Both were delicious! Attentive service as well. We were there early and it was very quiet then, so I’m not sure what it would be like later in the evening with more customers.
Great food, excellent and fast service - this is our go to restaurant in chapel hill
Great food, reasonable pricing and great location to UNC Chapel Hill.
South Indian food. I was pleased with the subtle flavors. We ordered a variety of dishes to share. We'll be back!
Great food and service!
The food was really yummy. I'm not an expert on Indian food, but I enjoyed the diverse, multilayered, and distinctly different flavors in every bite. Quantities we're plentiful enough for us to share an entree after the sampler appetizers and naan. Service is a bit hit and miss, but with good intentions and a sincere effort to please. Be adventurous.
Absolutely amazing food and service. Will definitely be going back.
We had a lovely meal before a concert. We selected this restaurant from the website and from on-line reviews. And we enjoy Indian cuisine. The service was calm, not rushed. The food was fresh, tasty and lovely. The Masala Navratan Tartlets were outstanding - so flavorful! I would highly recommend Cholanad to family and friends.
Wish there was a Winston-Salem location.
Curry dish was great - seafood dish had too much salt...
Waiter was missing in action.
I've eaten here a few times. Service has been consistently excellent. Almost every food item has been wonderful as well and would justify 5 stars. Every entree has been awesome, the crepe like wraps, the chili chicken, and curry pots are a highlight.
Some of the appetizers we ordered at our last visit were on the bland side, even the accompanying sauces were rather mild.
Good food, but tables are too close together for private conversation.
The food was delicious and the service was great!
It was the night of the Super Bowl, and therefore not many diners. Our server, Jarrett, was excellent. He was the highlight of the meal. One diner thought a "mild" entree was a bit too spicy, but everyone else was very pleased.
Wonderful Southern Indian dining experience, lots of interesting dishes, knowledgeable server, the Manager stoped at our our table twice. Highly recommend this wonderful restaurant!
Excellent wine & drink list.
Good Indian food and it’s nice to have access to a full menu at lunch rather than a buffet.
Food was very good, portions large. But the service was abysmal. Waiters need lengthy training in all aspects of serving.
My husband and I had been to Cholanad once in the past and were impressed by the authentic menu items and great flavors we got to experience -- as such, we were excited to return. Unfortunately, our repeat was a bit disappointing. The food was definitely still on point, but the service was far from ideal. We sat for 25 minutes before having to tell the hostess that nobody had waited on us.
From there on, I'm pretty sure the hostess just decided to go ahead and wait on our table herself (which was appreciated). But there was no apology for the wait, and she clearly was not used to waiting tables -- our bottle of wine was just sat on our table (we opened and poured ourselves).
Not her fault but perhaps maybe an understaffing issue? Great food, just unfortunate service experience.
Food and service were great. I recommend using the valet parking located in front of Elaine's during peak hours. There is no charge if you are eating at one of the restaurants.
Great food as always. Friendly helpful wait staff - very knowledgeable about the menu.
Cholanad is the best Indian in NC! The big bad tiger was incredible !
Always excellent Indian food and choices at Cholanad. Excellent value.
I would definitely go back. The food was good and the price was reasonable. The menu is extensive. I had shrimp tikka Marsala and wish there were more shrimp but the flavor was great. Went for my birthday and they gave me a complimentary glass of champagne!!
Not the best Indian food in the area. Basmati was not particularly aromatic. Lamb saag lacked depth of flavor.
We were first seated in the far back with no other patrons and the waiter must not have been told we were there due to the long wait to see anyone come with water or to take a drink order. We had to get up and go to the main dining area, ask to be seated there, then we were waited on. The waiter seemed overwhelmed.
However, the food was amazing and we enjoyed the meal and wine.
This was my first experience with Indian cuisine...the waiter was very patient in explaining the different dishes. I was amazed and delighted at the choices and how delicious everything was!
The food was authentic and fantastic. We will be back.
We were visiting Chapel Hill where Cholanad is located and found them on Open Table. And what a find it was! We scored an outdoor table (there are only a few) on an evening that was perfect for outdoor dining. The southern Indian fare was really good and there was plenty to share. My wife and daughter were especially fond of the Naan and I wiped out the Chettinad Chicken Curry, a spicy curry chicken dish. Easily a new favorite for me. We will be back on our next visit!
Th meal started in an odd way as the restaurant could find no record of our opentable reservation. We did get seated, however. Then today opentable asks for a review so somehow the restaurant did indicate we had dined there. I'm not sure how that could work.Still, Iove the food, especially the baby eggplant. This is one of their hottest dishes and is excellent. The dhosa was quite bland, just right for dipping in the hot sauce that comes with the eggplant.
We met some friends here, one of whom is Indian. We were all so thrilled with the dishes. They were well spiced, interesting and delicious. Service was very good. I would strongly recommend getting several of the small appetizer plates so you can try more dishes.
This was the second time I'd been to Cholanad and the food has been excellent. Everything we ordered had great flavor and tasted unique (not always the case at Indian restaurants). Half priced bottles of wine on Sundays are a great perk. Will definitely keep going back.
In all honesty I've been there a few time and typically enjoyed the experience. However, this past trip the service was really poor. It took over 15 minutes just to order our drinks (the place was not busy) and another 30 for them to actually arrive. If this was a specialty cocktail maybe I could understand, but we ordered beers!! When the food arrived they brought all of the meals (5 other people) except mine. I waited another 10 minutes while the rest of the table ate until my meal came. You would think I would have learned my lesson at this point, but I didn't and I ordered a second beer. When it arrived 15 minutes later (quite an improvement from the first round) it was a significantly smaller pour than the first (I ordered the same beer). When I pointed it out to the server she insisted the first round should have been the smaller glasses, but there was lipstick all on the rim so she made the bartender pour it in a different glass. Sounds like an odd explanation, but so be it. Anyway, while its been fine in the past the food isn't good enough to return considering the service we received.
One of the best restaurants I have ever been to. We ordered three dishes and all of them were delicious. Best Indian food at Chapel Hill😃.
Cholanad is always great. The vegetable biryani is a must have. The malai kofta and their dosas are great. My only complaint is how small the tables are relative to the dishes. It drives us nuts to have the problem of how to accommodate our food on the table. We have taken to requesting a larger table than our party when making the reservation. Other than that, love the food and highly recommend it.
The best Indian food in the Triangle with together with excellent service and quiet ambience (we sat outside but it was quiet inside too) makes for a wonderful evening.
Food was delicious but service was awful. We had to go the hostess and ask who our waiter/waitress was as we had been seated at our table for 15+ minutes-and no one had come by to even greet us/take drink orders-and the place was not crowded. Food came out at various times-where one person would be completely done with their meal-while another hadn't even been served an entree. When I made the reservation-I had mentioned we were there to celebrate a special birthday-no wishes to the birthday guest or even an acknowledgement.
Great Indian food with gluten free options clearly marked. Great service and lovely decor as well.
Food was ok!
Best Indian food in the area
Excellent food and service. Southern Indian was something different.