Chimney Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in North Island

Was visiting Rotorua on a long weekend. My boss suggested me Uncle-G pure veg restaurant since we (me and my family) are vegetarian but when we went there, we couldn't find any staff to attend or assist us. Somebody came from inside and kept walking (while completely ignoring us when he could definitely sense that we all are looking at him and need to be attended). Upon approaching and asking whether it will take some time, he straightaway said "time lagega" unapologetically. Nothing before or after that. Just "time lagega" even when half of the tables were unoccupied. We could have waited for sometime and ate there only but looking at the guy's behavior, we decided to not eat there and searched for another Indian restaurant. Google listed Chimney which was nearby as well. After getting a rejection from Uncle-G pure veg restaurant, we decided to give Chimney a try. The situation looked even tighter here since almost all tables were occupied and only one person could be seen attending them all. We still decided to give it a try. Then came Karan (the guy who we saw attending everyone all alone) Even in this tight situation he was so polite and humble and arranged for a table for us in no time. We asked him the same question about the time it will take but this time we were dealing with a completely different person. He explained the situation that our order may get delayed a bit since the restaurant was full and apologized for that very gracefully. He later served us the food which was well within the time which we generally expect from a restaurant and we didn't see it as a delay. Dal makhani and Garlic Naan were good but would not suggest Paneer Tikka Masala. Overall, the situation at both the restaurants seemed alike but huge difference was seen in the attitude and approach of the staff. No hard feelings for Uncle-G....

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Chimney, an Indian culinary gem that left my taste buds in a state of pure delight. From the moment I entered, I was transported to the vibrant streets of India with the aromatic spices and warm ambiance. Chicken Tikka Masala: The chicken was tender and perfectly cooked, bathed in a creamy tomato sauce that was rich with flavor. It had just the right amount of spice to tickle the palate without overwhelming it.

Vegetable Biryani: This aromatic dish was a delightful blend of fragrant basmati rice, fresh vegetables, and a medley of spices. Each forkful was a burst of flavors that I won't soon forget.

Garlic Naan: The naan was soft, warm, and infused with the unmistakable taste of garlic. It was the ideal accompaniment to the main dishes, perfect for sopping up every bit of the delicious sauces.

Mango Lassi: To quench my thirst, I ordered the mango lassi, which was a refreshing and sweet beverage that complemented the spices of the meal.

The service was attentive and friendly, making the dining experience all the more enjoyable. The staff was more than happy to explain the dishes and provide recommendations based on personal...

Overall star rating would be less than 1 but had no other option to do so. The food was not great at all for the price we paid. We ordered chicken tikka as our main gravy with butter chicken and the chicken tikka had barely any pieces of chicken and if so they were super small and it had pieces of capsicum too it wasn’t creamy or tasted anything like tikka while butter chicken was super sweet and I mean sugar sweet not honey sweet. My Kids couldn’t even finish that:( not happy with the service as we wanted to dine in and called around 9 to book the table and they said no while the restaurant closing hours were till 10pm so we had to do a takeaway instead. We took the order and reached hotel checking everything and see that we are missing the can of cola we ordered. Phone the guy and he says you should have taken one out of the fridge?? How would one know it’s allowed to grab one and their courtesy should be to advise us which they didn’t. So not happy at all With food, or service. I’m from auckland and have tasted way too many curry to know the difference between tikka and jalfrezi or...