Chowrastha - Indian Eatery — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Food = good ; ambience = good ; atmosphere = well-lit ; quickness of service = good ; now, with all this being good, why did I give one star? The mode of operation brings total shame to Indian culture, whose codes of love and care are outstanding. We grew up learning that guests are to be treated like God (Athithi devo Bhava - meaning, guests are akin to God). From start to finish guests 'have to'bbe shown high levels of cordiality and hospitality.

Let me walk you through my experience. 1. Two of us walk inside, with a huge appetite. No one to meet or greet or lead us to a table. 2. We notice one person standing behind the billing counter who keeps staring at us, expressionless. 3. I ask him, do we just find a place somewhere and he nods in the affirmative. We go and sit. 4. Even after 5 minutes no one is at the table to take orders. 5. I walk to the billing counter, (this time with a different person standing behind) and asked her do we have to order at the counter? Is it self service? In a very polite way she said, yes you have to order here and we'll bring food to the table. 6. She also pointed to the far end of the dining hall and said, you'll have to take plates from there. So we paraded there and took plates and cutlery, walked back and sat. 7. Food was then served. (As I mentioned earlier, food was good.) 8. After food we took our plates, glasses, serving trays, to drop them off in the designated area. 9. After this I came back and asked a person there, if we were supposed to go the billing counter to make the payment, and she said yes. So we did. 10. Besides this, there were other things that I don't want to discuss here, like LOUD music (unnecessary); staff talking to each other with their volume raised above the 'sound of music'; and machinery sounding like vacuum cleaner running for extended periods of time. (I do not know for sure what it was, because I was turning towards the other side.)

This is my first visit to this place. As one hailing from India, I felt ashamed of the way things worked in this place.... This is not McDonald's or KFC or any other fast food joint. (There is absolutely nothing bad or wrong about these places. I go there too.) This is 'MyIndia' hospitality, which is torn to pieces here.

FRIENDS, THIS IS NOT INDIAN CULTURE. Any amount of justification in this regard would not do any good. I am sorry to say this : I am not going here again...and I am advising my friends...

My wife and I went in expecting a meal of unknown quality but we've driven by a number of times and tonight all the pieces just fell into place. So glad they did too. They were very accommodating with adjusting the spice level to whatever we wished. Food? Perfect. The in-house mango lassi? It was so good at cooling the burn. (They also have like a juice/smoothie type bar there for more than just the basic peeps like us) where was I—The garlic naan? I locked eyes with it, and I swear it whispered, “You are home now.”

By the time we finished, and ran back to the counter to try some of their beautiful desserts, I was fully prepared to abandon my old life and start a new one as a humble dishwasher just to stay close to the kitchen. Scratch that, I know I'm not good enough to wash those dishes, so you are now looking at the soon-to-be proud resident dumpster hobo of Chowrastha.

Staff were great! So helpful and kind. We ate like barbarians and only about halfway through did a worker come up to us and show us the plates we literally just walked right by when getting silverware. OMG, hilariously embarrassing stuffing faces from containers but the worker had such warmth in him, we didn't feel judged... Which we totally should have been. Dear reader, plz feel free to judge.

Menu is expansive which is cool. We snuck a look at Chowrastha's Door Dash which was helpful seeing pictures of some of the more unfamiliar items to us.

Watched some Cricket on some huge TVs and the wife enjoyed spying on some romance music and dance videos playing afterward. Very cool experience.

It's a casual spot, so don't worry about the dress code when you go on a date here... Just go on...

My recent visit to Desi Chowrastha on E 82nd St in Indianapolis was a huge disappointment, especially after a great experience at their Herndon, VA location. As someone who loves the bold, aromatic flavors of Indian cuisine, I was shocked by how bland the food was here. We ordered the chicken dum biryani and veg dum biryani, expecting the rich, spiced essence of Hyderabadi biryani. Both were a let-down—lacking the saffron, herbs, and depth that make biryani special. The chicken biryani tasted like plain rice with barely seasoned meat, and the veg biryani was equally flavorless, with no vibrancy in the spices or vegetables. In Herndon, I enjoyed creative dishes like jalapeño chicken and chilli baby corn, which were bursting with flavor, but these weren’t on display here, and the dishes we ordered fell flat in taste. The only highlight was the dosa—easily the best item on the menu. The dosas were crispy, perfectly cooked, and served with a steaming hot sambar that had a nice tangy kick. The dosas saved the meal from being a total miss. Service was average; the staff seemed busy, and the ambiance is functional but not particularly inviting, with bright lighting and minimal decor. At $15–$20 per person, the value doesn’t match the quality when most dishes lack flavor. I give Chowrastha Indianapolis 2.5 stars purely for the stellar dosas and hot sambar. I hope they can bring the consistency and bold flavors I loved in Herndon to this location. For now, I’d only stop...