Chola Authentic Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Colombo

It seems to be located in a colonial villa type house. The ambience of the house itself is good, however the finishing, painting, and decor can really use some improvement. The washing area and toilets seem derelict. There was water everywhere and you had to go through a corridor with service rooms to access the sink.

On entering, I wasn't greeted by anyone immediately. When I approached the kiosk, I was courteously welcomed by staff. They were in general quite nice and helpful. However, they could improve in considering the needs a customer would have, and a bit of training about slight intrusions into meal-time. There was one server who I could highlight as superb, very courteous, very attentive, and knows exactly what he should be doing.

We ordered some flatbread and biriyani for the main courses, and soft drinks and baadham dhoodh for drinks. The drinks came in good quantity. The flavours of milk, sugar, and almond were of correct proportions, with nothing too overpowering.

The biriyani had plenty of soft and well-cooked pieces of meat, good to see at this price range. The taste, however, was nothing special. The level of spiciness wasn't adequate, and it wasn't enough 'orappu/daiya/chilli spicy' for what you would expect when you ask for the spicy version. The total quantity was lacking compared to other places of similar price range but not noticeably. The colour and texture of the rice was good and was 100% due to spices and good rice. Furthermore, you could see the spices present in the biriyani. The quantity of spices used was good but the quality of spices used can really be improved. There was NO owepowering taste of MSG, a very big plus.

The flatbread was nothing much to talk about either. The filling in the Aloo Parata was minimal and tasted more of curry than of the classic potato filling one would expect. The bread was too flat with little flesh to it. The charring on the bread was adequate to provide a good enough taste but that lack of flesh was thoroughly felt. The cheese and flesh of the Cheese Naan was also minimal and it was, in my opinion, of the wrong type for a good cheese naan. The cheese was a few blobs of cheese scattered with the (presumably) rest melted into oil.

The price came out a bit too high for my liking for the quality of food and environment. However I would definitely pay that service charge and more for the quality of service I received. I would definitely like to visit again and try other dishes to see if they taste better but would really like a redoing of the wall paint and washroom...

Today I went to Chola for the first time in my foodie life. But the experience I personally had was terrible. Because of that we left the place without having a sip of water from there. The reason was, even the staff might well trained they should know how to deal with customers and identify the customer type properly. If not, how much experience you have got in the sector will be useless. I know one of my friends was calling the waiter by snapping his fingers is wrong( he apologized for that), and The waiter came and addressed for that aggressively, also the same time when I was asking his name and suggesting him to ask the management to fix a bell on tables, that waiter asked me whether I have never been to a restaurant. Didn’t he have politely listen to my suggestion rather asking me whether I have ever been to a restaurant before.Then what about my self respect? Shameless!!! Is he kidding? He might have worked in a 5 star hotel previously but he “must” know as much as he values his self-respect I do too. Even though we talked with manager about the situation, what we doubted were in any organization, if too much power is given to the employees, what will happen to the customers. I’m so angry about the incident because we are not beggars, we pay for the service they provide. Of course I know money is not everything. Also the management didn't’ t really address the problem in customer’s side but the employee’s side. Hope the management will do some amendments to their employees code of behavior. Hahaha owner s reply is even funnier. Now they r telling that self respect seeking waiter is one of the owners. why didn’t they tell it earlier. Though the owner or the employee , once a person enters there restaurant doors with intention of having food, they became the customer of the owners as well as...

We have visited the main branch in Colombo last week (3rd Nov 2023). We were planning to get their boneless mutton biriyani but seeing the price (Rs.3200/- per portion) we decided not to try it on that day as it was our first visit anyway. So we’ve got chicken tikka dum biriyani, chicken varuval to share between me and my husband. My friend already had lunch when he met us that day so he got Chicken lollipops. To try I got pani puri and a masala chai.

▪️Chicken tikka dum biriyani:

• Presentation: 4/10 (not very appealing) • Taste: 6/10 (chicken was little bit lack of seasoning for my preference- and I expected it to be more fragrant and delicious but it wasn’t. So that was disappointing. • Portion: very much adequate for a one person for sure!

Rice: just enough for two people if you’re going on a diet 😁 Chicken: we only got 5 breast pieces hidden inside of this rice

▪️Chicken lollipops

The star of the show. This was the only dish that we liked. It was well seasoned, well cooked and the presentation itself was great!

▪️Chicken varuval:

• Presentation: 4/10 (not very appealing) • Taste: 6/10 - again not very tasty. • Portion: Adequate

▪️Pani puri

Honestly… the worst I had! 🥴 My friend said it’s what it was supposed to be but all I got was punched up papadam with badly smushed potatoes with no seasoning.

The tamarind sauce was way too sour even for a sour tooth like me.

The green sauce: had no taste at all. I thought it was just water with green food coloring. So bad!

▪️Masala chai

and the only thing I loved amongst the food we had. It’s a good masala chai! Absolutely loved it! The aroma, the sugar was just right.

would we visit there once again? Yes. but only to try the boneless...