Chapati — Restaurant in Indianapolis

This is the best Indian restaurant we have come across in the US, so far. The food is absolutely amazing. The ambiance is great and the gentleman at the counter is very friendly.

Food: We tried Aloo Chat for the appetizer, Roti (Flatbread), Eggplant Masala, Basmati Rice and Yellow Daal for the main course and finished the meal with a hot tea. To begin with, Aloo Chaat is great - not much sour-spicy but just right enough for you to enjoy. Eggplant Masala is delicious, especially the gravy was very well made. The amount of acidity in the gravy made it very appetizing. However, what blew my mind was the Yellow Daal. Quite thick and absolutely delicious. I am not completely sure or recall what spices went into that but it was one of the best, I have had till date. Definitely to be tried. While the food was absolutely delicious, I thought to do a final litmus test - TEA. And unfortunately, the tea doesn't live up to the expectations set by the food. I liked the tea but nothing outstanding about it. What is peculiar along with the food is the serving bowls and plates, which I believe is typical of Pakistan, and gives a very authentic feel to the meal.

Ambiance: The restaurant has a very welcoming feel vibrant color walls and open space providing a good breathing space. The variety in term of seating options is great. There are sofas, regular table-chairs and then there is a section with a large table and cushion benches for large groups. There are other things like a carrom board and a TT table if you just feel like relaxing while your meal is being prepared. There is a TV which plays great music.

Staff: Well, in terms of staff, you would meet just this one gentleman who handles everything - from taking orders to serving food, with the entire team of chefs behind the counter. Very friendly person and always attempting to lighten up the mood. The service was pretty good - not so quick, but for the quality of food that they serve, every second is worth the wait. The payment is very convenient and you get the receipt on your email ID itself, so you don't have to worry about that.

Overall, a great restaurant, definitely serving one of the best Indian food in the country. This is one place for which I can drive down to Indianapolis from Cincinnati.

One point on location of the restaurant: If you are using Google Maps to navigate, it shows a weird way of reaching to this place, which is driving down to Lafayette Road from exit 121 -- West 52nd Street -- West 53rd Street -- Moller Road -- back to West 52nd Street -- back to Lafayette Street and then to the plaza in which the restaurant is located. Not sure why this happens. So, you can just keep a watch towards your left after Exit 121 and take a U-turn as you cross the plaza where this restaurant is located.

REVIEW #2: So, this time, we were on our way to Cincinnati from St Louis and it was evening, so we opted for Chapati as our dinner destination before heading for a two-hour drive back home.

With rainy and cold weather freezing us out, what could get better than a plate of Pakoras and Hot Chai. For the main course, we ordered Aloo Tarkari and Chapati. Just like the last time, the food was delicious, especially the Onion Pakoras. However, the mess up happened when everything came together. Ironically, the Chai was the last to come. So, by the time we finished Pakoras and Chai, the Aloo Tarkari was dead-cold. We had to send it for reheating but if one knows the Indian cuisine, reheating doesn't go that well and within a minute or two of it coming back, it was cold again.

Maybe we did not specifically mention that the chapati and Aloo Tarkari should come later on because it is logical. However, I realized that restaurants in the US have this habit. In the entire US, it was only Aladdin Eatery in Cincinnati, that we were asked by the waiter that we should get entrée after...

I recently revisited Chapati, a Pakistani restaurant, after five years, hoping to relive a cherished memory. Unfortunately, this visit was deeply disappointing and tarnished my previous fond impression. Here’s my experience:

We ordered three entrees, two naans (one garlic), and three mango smoothies. The total bill came to $124.50 for three people. Here’s why the visit fell short:

No Prices on the Menu: The menu provided had no prices listed. This lack of transparency felt unprofessional and left us uncertain about the cost until the bill arrived.

Forced Tip Selection: After placing our order, the staff directed me to a computer and required me to select a tip—15%, 20%, or 25%. Under the pressure of being watched, I selected 15%, but the situation felt uncomfortable and inappropriate. Tips should reflect service quality and should never be forced upfront.

Zero Service Provided: Beyond bringing the food to our table, there was no service. No explanations of the dishes, no interaction, no effort to enhance the dining experience. For a restaurant charging premium prices, this was unacceptable.

Shabby Silverware: The silverware was shabby and visibly dented, giving off a cheap and poorly maintained impression. It didn’t match the prices or atmosphere one might expect.

Food Quality: Most of the food was disappointing—overly salty and greasy, making it heavy and unbalanced.

Empty Restaurant: We dined at 6 PM on a Saturday evening, and we were the only customers for the entire 40 minutes we were there. The emptiness was surprising and added to the overall awkwardness.

To be fair, the mango smoothies and garlic naan were excellent. They were the only highlights of the meal, offering a glimpse of the quality I remembered from my previous visit.

Overall, I was deeply disappointed. Spending over $124.50 for mediocre food, poor service, forced tips, shabby silverware, and an uncomfortable atmosphere was not worth it. The fact that this was a re-visit after five years made it even worse—it ruined what was once a cherished memory.

Unless Chapati makes significant improvements, I can’t recommend it. What was once a delightful dining spot has unfortunately become a...

Having never had Pakistani food, this place made me a believer!

The decor is modern and classy, not crowded. It's very clean, well lit and colorful. The staff were very informative and helpful, spoke excellent English and the prices were, in my opinion, plenty fair. Bollywood music videos played from mounted flat screens lent nice ambiance without being overbearing.

We went during Devour Indy and ate from that list. My wife had a sweet chaat, butter chicken, goat beets and a mango lassi. I had an aloo chaat, eggplant masala, aloo tarkari and a kulfi.

The chaats are yogurt based items and the yogurt is a pretty tart, rustic one. Not bad, but if you're used to yoplait, it's waaaay different. The sweet had little balls of fried dough, a strawberry syrup swirl and some crisp element of some sort. I loved it, my yogurt hating wife didn't.

The aloo chaat was the same yogurt but a much different dish. This one was mint chutney, cilantro, very small diced tomato, small diced onion, chickpeas, the dough balls and crisp from the sweet chaat with a sprinkle of masala. Lord, this was GOOD. If you like Indian style spice mixes, this will please.

The four entrees were all excellent, with my fav being the eggplant masala and hers being the aloo tarkari. However, the thing I really remember is the goat beets. I love goat Ana I think this was by far the best I've had. Super, super tender, flavorful but not gamey, well seasoned and moist. Perfectly executed.

The mango lassi was essentially a mango yogurt smoothie. The yogurt was much now subdued here as they mango flavor was just incredible. Very fresh and pure tasting, overall very refreshing. The kulfi, however, was the start of dessert. It was a cone of ice cream with a sprinkle of seasonings and a drizzle of strawberry sauce, topped with a dash of chopped pistachios and almonds. I'm not sure what was in the seasoning, but it was surprisingly savory with pepper and anise being probably the more prominent notes. Overall was a very tasty and refreshing, if not different, type of ice cream.

All in all I guarantee you I will be back and shortly at that. I would highly suggest you give it a try if you're in the area and looking for...