Chili's American Grill — Restaurant in Gujarat

I have forgotten the countless times I have visited Chili's (not in Ahmedabad though). It was a family favourite back in 2015-18 period. It was my nephew's favourite restaurant and many of his birthdays and other family dinners have had happened at Chili's. Nostalgic!

To remember and revisit those days, I was quick to suggest Chili's to a friend whom I had not met in a year. Our meet-ups had dried up and a mere thought of catching up again, brought us to Chili's.

We have a rule that if it is not tooo tempting, we will not order a Veg dish. Avocado Rolls on the menu was one such dish that tempted me and we broke the rule. Guacamole stuffed in a deep fried phyllo pastry? Yes, please. To our liking it was tad bit more sour than we had expected. Also, it came with Citrus Chili Dipping Sauce that was also sour (obviously)! Upon listening our discussion, our server came to us and offered us a sauce that could cut the sourness. While I was about to say give us BBQ sauce, he suggested Ranch. Thankfully, along with Ranch we also received their BBQ sauce which paired perfectly well with Avo Rolls. This is to the management of Chili's if they are listening - Start pairing your Avocado Rolls with BBQ sauce and see it go off your shelves. The smokiness in their BBQ sauce will make you want more!

Next up was Big Mouth Chicken Burger & Crispy Crispers. While the fried Chicken burger was decent at best, there was nothing BIG about it. I have had far better Burgers at other places and other Chili's outlets too. Crispy Crispers were good but again not something WOW. Wasn't exactly bad either.

I had ordered Cold Coffee Boba from their special menu and I was glad to know that they do not put sugar in the coffee. Just a scoop of ice-cream to give a little sweetness. Upon my request the scoop was even smaller than they usually put and I loved the drink... except.. for the Bobas. They were chewy alright but had a powdery consistency that did not sit well at the palate. Another request to all the restaurants is that if you are serving Boba Teas/Coffees, ensure the straw can accommodate the Bobas. Otherwise it sticks to your straw and creates the vacuum so you neither get your drink nor the Boba. Without the straw they will sit at the bottom waiting to be lifted by a spoon.

What I love about American diners is that it is a place to get yourself dirty while eating. Be unabashed about it. Be it burgers, wings or corn-on-the-cob, it is bound to get a little messy. It is not a fine dine, hoity-toity experience. And I absolutely love it about such diners.

Apart from being in a mall, Chili's tick almost all the boxes with some issues here and there which is expected and...

The opening of Chillis in Ahemdabad came as an extremely welcome surprise to me. Expectedly, we went on a Saturday night looking forward to a great meal especially since we had sampled the food at Chillis in Gurgaon. We knew there would be no alcohol due to state restrictions but we knew the food would make up for that .

Alas!

Pretty disappointed.

What we ordered

Wings on bone 3 platters of grilled chicken served on a bed of rice/ corn and bean salad along with either mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and tiny containers of sauce. I have forgotten the exact names of the dishes.

First, the wings were supposed to be of two different flavours but both were nearly the same doused in Tabasco to which they had given a fancy name.

Then, the quantity of the sauce was so miniscule that it wouldn't coat the chicken. Two platters had broccoli that was not even steamed properly and definitely not sauteed or buttered.

The chicken of one of the dishes was so dry at one end that it could not be chewed. I showed it to the server too .

Overall very passable food which was surprising since they claim to have the same recipe used in all outlets but Chillis Gurgaon is really good.

Our server Raju was very attentive and tried his best to make our visit enjoyable. So no complaints there at all.

The ambience was lovely unlike most places here - gave us the Delhi vibe so we really liked that .

Maybe the burgers are better . Maybe it was one of those days. Id still like to give Chillis another chance and try something else .

A special mention that the restaurant have us a huge discount without asking for one probably since we mentioned to them about the quality and taste of the food.

Cmon Chillis, pull up your socks. We are happy you are in Ahemdabad but the food must be good too. You have a reputation to...

Had lunch on Sunday noon and since it has ample dining space there was no rush. Ambience is good and service is excellent. Here are ratings for items we tried: Peach Ice tea: 4/5 Tiramisu Cappucino: 4/5 Southern smokehouse burger (chicken): 3.5/5 Grilled Chicken with creamy Jalapeno sauce: 5/5 😋 Molten Chocolate Cake (has egg): 5/5 😋😋

Serving size for starters and main course is decent for 2-3 people and not very big as people are claiming. Pricing is apt for it.

In all the experience was good and will definitely visit again to try other items

Edit: Visited again on a weekday and this time tried more items and happy to change rating to 5. Items tried

Presidente Margarita (4/5): Their signature drink which they serve in a glass with a shaker (which you can refill glass 2-3 times) this is a bit sour and would be appreciated by those who love citrusy drinks.

Minty melon (4.5/5): Nice drink in a large glass and enough for 2 people.

Chicken mexican bowl (5/5): Probably one of the best dishes out here and in the city too. Not too overpowering in taste unlike other hotpots or mexical bowls in other restaurants which are either spicy or too tangy.

Red Pepper Chicken (4/5): Though it says red pepper chicken its not too spicy which is good, but broccoli served as side dish should be replaced with mashed potatoes or other veggies.

Paradise Pie (6/5): Would dine in again just for this star dessert. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Warm coconut based pie with warm goeey fudge with cold ice cream is a combination much much better than a sizzling brownie. Don't miss this!

In all very much satisfied with the experience here and will...