Charcoal Chicken - Pakistani & Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Chantilly

Updated: 12/17/2023: Dropping the rating to 1 star, if there was a zero star, I would probably go with that. We had a small get together today and someone in the group suggested this place, although I had a really bad experience before (see preview review above), we decided to give this place another shot. Ordered Butter Chicken Biryani, Chicken Biryani and Chicken Seekh Kabab (again). Charcoal Chicken should be ashamed calling themselves Pakistani and Indian. They DO NOT know what Biryani means. The two so-called Biryanis we ordered just barely tasted like some really mildly flavored/colored rice. It wasn't even pulao style .. just some "basic" flavored rice. For $20 per dish .. it had not more than 3-4 small pieces of chicken and it was a treasure hunt. The pieces of chicken we were lucky to find were undercooked, hard and flavorless. Please DO NOT waste your time and money .. find something else. The Chicken Seekh Kabab .. well all I can say is that I have to give it to this place for it's consistency - the chicken Seekh Kabab was exactly as bad as the last time (see previous review).

Ordered Butter Chicken, Chicken Karahi, Chicken Seekh Kabab - for 2 adults and 1 toddler. The quantity was not enough - the butter chicken was about the size of a "side dish" that you get at another other decent Kabab restaurant. Karahi was slightly more than the butter chicken but still not enough for 1 adult. Not sure why they added a ton of red food coloring in the butter chicken. Karahi Chicken didn't Taste like it at all, just regular bland onion+tomato gravy with half-cooked/hard-to-chew pieces of chicken. Taste was mediocre at best. Kabab had absolutely zero flavor and was probably re-heated since the outer layer of the Kabab was hard and chewy. Kabab was just minced chicken with some salt and sprinkled with a pinch of some powder masala - most likely pomegranate powder. Overall, it cost almost twice for half the quantity as compared to other places in the area - I will not...

Update I've since ordered multiple times and it is consistently DELICIOUS and the orders are always accurate. I'm just really impressed. The flavors 🥴🤤. I've ordered the paneer versions of several and they are also good. They know how to cook and they clearly care about the food and service!

Original: Ordered delivery through their website linked vendor last week. THE FLAVORS ugh I've been waiting to find delicious, spiced, FRESH take out like this with rich, deep flavors. Have only tried it this once so will need more meals to test consistency.

We ordered: Lamb Karahi (spicy) - 4.5 stars Butter Chicken(medium) - 5 stars Lahori Grill Fish - 4 stars Chickpeas - 4 stars for freshness and flavor, 3 stars for chickpeas being overcooked (I prefer more bite to mine rather than mushier textures) Naan - 4 stars fresh Mango Lassi - yogurt forward, a good middle blend, tasty

The stews/sauces are crave worthy. I don't know what is in the butter chicken but it is really, really, REALLY good. I ordered medium (heat) on that but it didn't seem to have any heat..maybe I've upped my tongue's heat game unknowingly or they list heat levels for the unaccustomed palate? Still delicious. Not a huge portion, so be aware. I liked the Lahori Grill fish- it was flaky and fresh..a tad on the salty side but nothing to pause over becauseonce mixed with rice/sauces it's perfect so perhaps this is intentional. I ordered Lamb Karahi spicy and it was more a medium heat if anything but this could have been a fluke. Heat levels can be pretty subjective so suffice it to say I'll order with extra peppers next time. Karahi was served in a larger container than the butter chicken and had a lot of meat in it. I will try the paneer versions of these dishes next time! Oh and there will def. be a next time.

All in all my feeling is 5 out of 5 when rated against comparative options in the area....

I rarely leave 1-star reviews, but the service here was so shockingly poor it completely overshadowed the food.

To be fair, the food wasn’t bad—definitely not the best chicken Karahi I’ve had, but still flavorful. The butter chicken, however, was a letdown; it oddly tasted like pizza sauce, which was off-putting and not at all what I expected.

But the real issue was the service, or rather, the complete lack of it. Our waiter never once checked in on us—not to see if the food was okay, not to offer water or refills, nothing. He walked past our table multiple times to tend to other guests, deliberately ignoring us. When we did manage to flag him down to ask for very basic things—extra plates to share, some water, a bit of chutney—his reaction made it seem like we were asking him to perform stunts. He was visibly annoyed, rude, and gave off an energy that made it clear he did not want to serve us.

To top it off, staff began clearing our table while we were still eating. At one point, I literally had a spoon in my hand mid-bite when a waitress reached for my plate. Only after I made a comment did she back off. It was beyond disrespectful.

As we were wrapping up—well before others were done—the waiter came over and bluntly said, “Can I take your payment now? We’re closing soon.” No “please,” no “thank you,” no polite heads-up. And again, this wasn’t said to any other diners still enjoying their meal, just us. I genuinely felt like we were being pushed out, and frankly, the treatment felt racially motivated. It’s deeply upsetting to say, but the difference in how we were treated compared to other tables was hard to ignore.

Good food cannot make up for being made to feel unwelcome. I won’t be back—and I wouldn’t recommend anyone...