Chi Le Ma — Restaurant in Podgorica

I have been there twice and I had a great experience both times. In short, the service was great: personable and communicative. The food far exceeds other East Asian offerings in Podgorica, especially the sushi.

More details: During my first trip, I was initially surprised because the manager suggested we should either come back in two hours or make a reservation for the next day (which is not typical for restaurants here). But as my friend and I debated what to do, a table freed up and the manager dashed outside to tell us we had a place. Our server was very helpful and willing to discuss different items on the menu. In the end we ordered various sushi rolls. It was by and large the best sushi I've had in Montenegro (I know the competition is not steep, but the margin is wide). The ingredients were paired well and the rolls skillfully made. The green tea was also whole leaf! The Chi Le Ma doughnut though (a chocolate filled bao) wasn't great, as it seems the dough wasn't freshly made which makes a huge difference for steamed buns.

The second time I went we made a reservation about an hour in advance. We were greeted with the same personable service, and the staff was happy to see us again. I had the beef ramen with fresh noodles that were absolutely delicious. The quality of the beef and the soft boiled egg were also good. The broth itself was a bit salty for my taste, but the elements of a restaurant-quality ramen were there (if I could I would have had it spicier, but that's my taste). We tried a sweet roll for dessert: a sushi roll made with rice, rice paper, banana, Nutella and topped with raspberry. Again, the sushi roll was well made and the ingredient combo was tasty, but dessert sushi rolls are too "fusion" for my taste.

I'm really looking forward to going back and trying even more dishes! As with other restaurants, I appreciate that they are trying to do something uncommon in Montenegro and I wish...

I will write in English to make sure that translation is correct for all the expats,who would possibly be interested in trying this food. My wife called to make a reservation,and we got an answer that we can come.When we enter and asked a manager to sit us he showed us a table by the door and it’s super rainy and cold outside.When we asked for another table(6 tables in a row are empty) we got an answer that we can sit if we will finish in 30 minutes for one table,1:30 minutes another or 2 hours for the third table we showed to him. Not to make this a big deal but I am a hospitality manager for almost 15 years with international experience,and tried to explain to the gentleman(manager)that it is not okay to tell us how much time we have on the tables ,his response was that people who called two days ago are priority and will get better tables(I felt like a second grade guest and humiliated) Instead of apology I got another question from I must say a kid who thinks he is good in his job( how would you do do in my place as you are in this business) Well I would have a lot of ideas and teaching to do,but that was a last drop in this I must say THE WORST experience in my entire life,where I didn’t even sit on the table. I don’t want to tell anyone not to go or to go and visit the place,as I find that unethical,considering that I am from that industry,but if owners are reading this,they should really think,what it takes to make this a nice and successful story.With this team of people,I am sure they...

This was my first time here. I wanted to try after other restaurants in Podgorica failed to provide good Chinese food. Pad Thai is my favourite dish and I have been eating it since 1997. In this restaurant they only serve prawns Pad Thai. We also ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken with vegetable rice and an aubergine starter. The aubergine starter was excellent. However, I told them to bring everything together- they brought the starter to share before the mains. No spoon to put the food to our plates. Then we had the mains, my Pad Thai had peanuts aside and something red. I never had Pad Thai served like this and I asked the waiter what was the red spice. He did not know, but he said he will ask the waitress and she will tell us. They never did. I decided to try- it was only red pepper. I was not amused with Pad Thai, they have a lot of work to do there. Noodles were a bit overcooked, no bean sprouts. Sweet and Sour chicken was nice but the vegetable rice was not great. Also, served with no spoon. The rice is not the rice Chinese use and it was too strong. Too many spices. To summarise: not bad but not great either. I would go again to try some other dishes definitely. The waitress was nice and friendly. Surroundings as every other restaurant around. Presentation was nice. I hope they will continue improving the dishes that needs to be improved as I see a lot of...