Chatori Gali — Restaurant in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki

We had visited with the intention of enjoying some chaat items, but the entire experience was far from what we expected. Firstly, the food did not taste fresh, nor did it appear authentic in presentation or flavour. It was clear that the quality was subpar, and the dishes were not prepared with care. To make matters worse, the atmosphere of the restaurant was extremely dull and uninviting — it was completely empty, and lacked any ambiance.

We were also shocked to find that there were no toilet facilities available on-site. When we enquired, the staff member informed us we would have to walk around the corner to use the facilities at a nearby pub or bar. This is highly inconvenient and unprofessional, especially for a dine-in establishment.

Customer service was virtually non-existence. It was unacceptable that for dishes like pani puri and dahi puri, customers are expected to stand at the counter instead of being served properly at a table. For a paying customer, this is not just inconvenient — it’s disrespectful and unprofessional.

Following our visit, my husband unfortunately became unwell the next day. Out of concern, I called your restaurant to raise my concerns. I spoke with a staff member named Eva Chaudry(might be different name as she has mentioned that on phone and didn’t mention it properly)Rather than acknowledging my concerns or offering any form of apology, she immediately became defensive and explained how the food was fresh due to a 25 person catering order. At no point did she take responsibility or express any understanding of our experience.

To make matters worse, while I was speaking with her, I realised that she was recording our conversation without my consent. This is a serious breach of privacy and incredibly unethical. When questioned, she ignored my concerns and eventually refused to continue the call, insisting on written communication only — again, so she could record the conversation. Ultimately, she hung up on us, which is completely unacceptable behaviour.

This entire experience — from the food quality to the service and the disturbing conduct of your staff — has been deeply disappointing. I believe it is important for you to understand that ignoring or dismissing feedback is not how you improve a business. Instead of making excuses, your team should listen, acknowledge, and strive to do better.

I will not be recommending your restaurant to anyone, and I feel it is important to make others aware of the poor hygiene standards, lack of customer care, and overall mismanagement we experienced.

We don’t have any choice so has to give one star but not worth it for any...

Long review ahead but hope it will be worth it. Went there on 17/12/2020 for dinner. The concept of unlimited chat, pav bhaji, chole etc is good but the execution is terrible. It is wrong on so many levels. First of all there are only two options. Either go for unlimited menu of $20 which includes chat, pav bhaji, chole n all or go for $14 menu of unlimited chat only. So if you go with a child and he or she doesn't want to have unlimited than they don't have any options. For unlimited menu they have kept buffet style self serve containers for pani Puri, bhaji, chole, fried rice, manchurian and idli and vada sambhar. Quality of all of these was terrible. Potatos for pani Puri had a foul smell to it. All things were tasteless and had extra salt. Then they come to you for taking order for chat which they serve on table. You have to choose which things you want. We chose dahi Puri, bhel and dahi papdi. All were terrible. Dahi had a stale smell to it. Dahi papdi was just some papdi added to watery dahi. Once you take chole or bhaji from buffet containers than you have to wait for someone to come and take order for pav or bhature so by the time they arrive bhaji or chole which were already cold are freezing now. Bhature were no more than rubber pieces when they arrived. This all was just so wrong and sad on so many levels. I understand the concept of small portions or 3/4 course dinner which fits to the wester food. But when you want it to fit Indian food then one should at least put some mind behind it. And above all this is a kind of food which mostly Indians will come to eat and not the kiwis. Than I don't understand the need for bland and mild taste for all the items. The taste for all the items was like they were made for some hospital patient or for someone who doesn't know Indian food and will appreciate whatever you give them. This is a classic example of how not to open an Indian...

I wish, there was an option for zero star!!! I visited Chatori Gali with my 4 friend for their buffet, but it didn't feel like a buffet at all. The only staff member was the lady providing service, and we had to ask her for everything. For items like pani puri, dahi puri, and chaat, we had to stand at the counter while she prepared each one individually, and we were told to eat them there on the spot. Just one staff (too slow) serving 4 people. When I suggested that, instead of us waiting at the counter for each individual pani puri, she could prepare 4-5 and place them on our plates with the pani on the side so we could mix and eat on our own. She refused, saying that’s not how they serve it and insisted on making them one by one. When we expressed our disappointment on delay, the server's response was dismissive and unhelpful (that includes her boss who responded the same on phone- without paying attention to our humble solution) As for the vada pav, I strongly recommend skipping it—you could probably make a much better one at home. The chole bhature was disappointing, with the bhature lacking flavor and the chole being inedible, so we ended up leaving most of it. The pao bhaji was no better; it was tasteless and also hard to finish. In the end, we were really disappointed with the experience. I wouldn’t recommend spending $25 on this buffet offer...