Red Chili Indian Cuisine & Bar — Restaurant in Chesterfield

I recently had the opportunity to treat my large family to a meal at Red Chili. We are very familiar with North and South Indian cuisine, the foods and flavors available, and Indian culture, so we were excited to try it. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what we had anticipated.

The first issue we encountered was the pricing of the entrees. I found them to be significantly overpriced for the portions and quality offered. While I understand that dining out can come with a premium, the cost did not seem justified, given the overall experience.

The service was another major disappointment. From the moment we walked in, it was clear that the staff was not attentive or concerned with ensuring a pleasant dining experience. We had no less than five different folks help us, and no one seemed dedicated to our table. Additionally, we had two people at our party with celiac disease, and no one we were able to talk to seemed to understand our concerns or care that they could get very sick if there were a misunderstanding in what they ordered. We did not want to take any chances, so those two ordered plain rice entrees. Luckily, no one got sick.

While the food was well-presented and visually appealing, it lacked the robust flavors and spices one typically expects from Indian cuisine. The dishes were bland and not what we were hoping for in terms of taste. The rice, generally seasoned with cardamon and bay leaf, was just plain white rice with natural flavors. Seeing such beautifully arranged plates fall short of delivering the essential flavors that define the cuisine was a letdown. Also, at the end of the meal, the wait staff tried to pull a fast one by getting me to add an ADDITIONAL gratuity via the electronic device when the gratuity had already been added to the total bill. When I asked about this, again, the staff seemed unable to understand me and why I questioned the additional gratuity.

Overall, I regret that our visit to Red Chili did not meet expectations—the combination of overpriced entrees, poor service, and bland food made for a disappointing dining experience. I will never go back and tell everyone I know about...

My friend and I wanted to try something (cuisine) out of the norm from our Culture. I asked a colleague and was provided their favorite restaurant of Red Chili Indian Cuisine & Bar. My, my, MY...I am SO glad I asked! Red Chili has become one of my top go-to's now just off of One Visit! I went this past weekend and my friend and I sampled many dishes. I had (pics attached in this order):

Samosa Chat Lucknavi Chicken Dun Biryani Paneer Kulcha

First of all, the service is Impeccable! From the time we walked in the door, to drink orders (their Expresso Martini is now in my top three), to assistance with understanding the menu, suggestions for us according to our pallets, to even giving us dessert options. We are not dessert people but just had to try on the strength of how awesome our meal experience was. The manager even came out and helped us with some decisions and talked to us about their region's Indian Cuisine (Great Guy by the way!). I tried my friend's Paneer Chili and was INSTANTLY jealous! I tried not to help myself to too many, LOL, even though they did not mind. My friend had many dishes as well and I noticed how fork-worthy the lamb was. I certainly will be going back to Red Chili and trying more of the menu and letting my taste buds journey into territory they have never gone...plus my own order of Paneer Chili 😍. I did not experience in children during my visit so I did not check off "kid-friendly"; however, I am more than sure that Red Chili accommodates children...eh, hem: They have s children's menu 😉. In reading other reviews, I can honestly say that our table was appropriately bussed in timely manners and I could tell which piece of chicken I was eating...thigh and some breast pieces without a bone in sight. Lastly, per a major promise to the manager, I will make sure that I tell my friends and fam about Red Chili and encourage them to take a drive to Chesterfield (also heard from the manager of their new location that just opened in Wildwood) and taste for themselves, which I am sure they will feel the same way as my friend and I do. See you...

This is the first time visiting this place. Went along with my wife and thought of having the lunch buffet. $18 was a little higher when compared to the other Indian restaurants but wanted to try out this place and heard the ambience is good. As most of the other reviewers mentioned, the buffet was limited but I felt it was enough (Naan, white rice, fried rice, 2 non-veg curries, 2 veg curries, 1 non veg appetizer, 1 dessert, salad + chutneys, papad) and you could eat all the dishes rather than leaving out few. The food was tasting good. Everything was nice except the service. And the problem started when we went to pick the food the second time. As with all the other buffet places, I left my used plate in the table and tried to grab a new one but the waiter refused to provide me with the new one and asked me to reuse my dirty plate. Please note the new plates were not kept near the food tables. It was near the waiter's place at the bar. I was perplexed but since this was the first time visiting, thought it was their policy. Though I felt a little weird taking my dirty plate to the buffet table, I had to do it because I was told so. Fortunately, there was no one else picking the food at that time. Personally, I do not like to waste food so I take little quantities each time and finish up everything in my plate before going another time. Few other tables were filled up with other non Indian guests by the time we were done with our lunch and waiting for the check. That's when I noticed, the same waiter was handing over new plates each time the other guests were going to pick their food. He did not ask them to reuse their plates. I did not know the exact reason why we were singled out to reuse our plates. I hope better treatment is given to Indians in this Indian restaurant in future. I may visit the restaurant again but will go for a la carte or force my way to get...