Botiwalla by Chai Pani — Restaurant in Asheville

Visited on May 26, 2025. I have been to many Indian and Bangladeshi Restaurants in different places in the US - NYC, Boise (a good one indeed), LA, Georgia, Atlanta, Virginia, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Maryland, LA. One thing I always complained about is that no Indian restaurants have been able to uphold Eastern food culture. Besides, most Bangladeshi Restaurants have terrible interior design and are disastrous in terms of welcoming other cultures (I think Karai Kitchen in New Jersey is different. Haven't been there yet). The only reason most Indian Restaurants became popular was because of the number of restaurants started without competition (especially in Orlando/Tampa)

Botiwalla is the First Indian Restaurants which is a classic rendition of Indian Culture with a great fusion of Western Openness vibe, that welcomes guests from all around. Every restaurant owner should use the strategy of Botiwalla as a Template.

The first thing that made me happy was the absence of "Butter Chicken" on the menu and no special focus on dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala. Besides, the highlighted etiquettes on the wall (pic attached) often disregarded by people from specific cultures, found it extremely necessary to run Indian/South Asian restaurants.

They have successfully provided a concise menu, the most perfect one I have ever seen in any Indian Restaurant with a diverse selection category (pic attached). And their categorization is fantastic.

The serving style is efficient, and classy. I like the way they served Parle G with the Tea (Chai).

We ordered Drinks - Chai, Mango Lassi; Street - Dahi Puri, Smashed Potatoes; Extras - Naan; Skewers - Malai Chicken, Lamb Sheekh Kabab. I think our order combination was really good ( feels like a perfect match with the rain outside).

Food quality was really good. I am surprised that any Indian restaurant could be this good in ambience and serving style. This is the first Indian Restaurants where I found most of the servers are not from South Asian cultures and guess what - they are doing a fantastic job. I have to say this is a great step by the owner. Their attitude was professional as well as cozy which I don't find in most Indian/South Asian restaurants.

I hope Botiwalla continues its venture in full swing and becomes the template for all other South Asian...

Tried here tonight for the first time. They have been open 7 days. I walk in and see no menus clearly posted at the counter where you order from. The employee near the counter looks at me and says, "Can I help you?" like he is being bothered. Instant turn off. How about, "Welcome," "How may I help you?" "Our menus are here and I'll take your order here when you're ready." Maybe at least fake a smile. You have been open 7 days and the face walking in already acts like they hate their job. This same employee missed an item on my order, so I had to order twice as they were distracted while taking it. There was only 1 out of the 5 employees there who acted like they wanted to be there or cared about any of the food or didn't look like a walking zombie. Weak first impression for 7 days in. The booths on the floor move around every time you try to get in and out of them. The smashed potatoes were underwhelming, and the ketchup that accompanies it is only enough for half the dish. The okra fries tasted like a whole bottle of salt was dumped on them-less is more sometimes. Water station is in a bad location, hidden and hard to see. No real atmosphere inside, just tall ceilings and some pictures, no fun music. It seems like pushing for another business to expand and open, but maybe the candle has been burned at both ends too long in too many places?? In the process skimping on quality of staff, atmosphere and unfortunately even the food. Not impressed, would...

For starters, I am not at all a picky eater. I love all kinds of food.

I came to this restaurant expecting a quality indian cuisine. What I was greeted by was a white washed money hungry establishment with no service and obnoxiously loud music. But that's neither here nor there, my biggest complaint has to be the food. For starters they have an extremely limited menu with outrageous prices for the quality of food you're getting. For starters the food manages to be bland and obnoxiously flavored at the same time. It's as if they season 1 single ingredient in every dish. My date said the only thing they enjoyed slightly was the chicken, which was still underwhelming, and managing to be burt and wet at the same time. The rice was dry, the flavor was lackluster. What I got was so expensive for what it was. It was somehow spicy and still so bland, but sauce on it but it was still dry, and oddly sour for what it was supposed to be. I didn't like it, my date didn't like it, didn't like it so much that we were actually compelled to write this review AND eat somewhere else after. The fact that you pay for your food before you try it is lowkey robbery. I've genuinely never been so underwhelmed by a restaurant experience, and every bite was more...