Chatni Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Montclair

Food: 5/5 Drinks: BYOB Service: 5/5 Hostess: None College Student Friendly?: Yes. Two appetizers (Large Portions) and an entree filled me up with plenty leftover. All around costing under 50$. Covid-19 Standards: 3/5

This is a spot I've always walked passed. Not that it wasn't appealing as a spot itself, but a persistently empty dining room seemed cause for caution in my opinion. Nevertheless, I was hungry. I wanted food with flavor, and desperately needed a change from the Italian food scene. I walk in and was greeted by a young man in a black shirt and Apron and he immediately escorted me to a table for myself. Upon sitting down I was given a menu with some odd crusted food remnants on it's middle pages. It didn't look like the book had been cleaned or wiped at all. This wasn't much a trigger to my appetite but I soldiered on regardless. They started my meal with a sort of trio of fresh sauces and two crisp bread looking chips. I hadn't asked for it and I wasn't explained what it was until I asked. Not a safe habit to have as a restaurant should someone be allergic to a potential ingredient. Moving past that, the starters were incredible. A delicious array of well seasoned chicken "dumplings" of some sort, that came with a cold tomato sauce with spices and what appeared to be cream. The flavors were fantastic and with just the right amount of heat. The fried cottage cheese starter was crisp and not dry. I didn't care much for it's filling, but It was good enough to finish. My entree was a Lamb Vindaloo, which I additionally ordered a garlic naan alongside for. The sauce was the perfect level of seasoning and spiciness that any vindaloo should have. I made a request to my waiter to bring a sort of yogurt (or any sauce really) that might help me should my dish be too spicy on my end. He was prompt, efficient, and excellent in bringing exactly what I was looking for. The Basmati rice was cooked well. The flavors for each aspect of the dish were layered wonderfully and made for a truly satisfying dinner. The Garlic naan was buttery, warm, soft, and not under-cooked. As far as Indian places go, in terms of food, this is not a spot to miss. I hope they can patch up in some respects their maintenance in cleaning small things. Regardless Chatni, I will be returning. Your food has seduced me into coming...

We stepped in here somewhat randomly while we were in Montclair, mainly because someone opened the door and we caught whiffs of something fragrant and delicious. Like the famed Toucan Sam, we followed our noses inside.

There are two menus here, and if you arrive while lunch specials, your server will automatically bring you the menu with the specials. I overheard a nearby table asking for 'the other menus', and based on their conversation, it seemed like they wanted the bigger portions of the dinner menus. Something to keep in mind if you're especially hungry.

That said, my husband and I were more than satisfied with our lunch specials. We were given a metal pot filled to the top with rice AND a basket of four naan, each of which were branded with tandoori char and given a generous brush of fat before arriving at our table. Both were excellent eating vessels for our curries. We ordered the Our surprising favorite was the baigan bharta, a curry made with fire-roasted eggplant. We couldn't stop dragging pieces of naan through this tasty bowl, leaving us to nickname it thereafter the Indian Baba Ghanoush.'.

Service left something to be desired. When we walked in, there was a single server who clearly wanted to be anywhere but by our table side. Interactions were kept short and curt, and there was such little warmth and welcome from the moment we arrived, when we awkwardly waited by the entrance and waited to be acknowledged.

In the end, we're so glad we came in, because the food is outstanding. If you make it in time for the weekend lunch specials (which includes your choice of two entrees, rice, and naan), know you're in for a reasonably priced and decently filling meal. Weekday lunch specials are even more fairly priced, with...

Edit: At 9:03 PM I got an email confirming a refund. I have updated the star ratings due to this. I will also try their food one day since the review doesn't include the quality of their food.

My friends and I ordered from Chatni Indian Restaurant today at 10/11/2019 7:50 PM. At 8:23 PM, Chatni Indian Restaurant reached out and gave me an option to have the food delivered in 2.5 hours or refund my order. Their reason: They are busy, they have 1 driver, and the delivery guy doesn't want to drive that far. As per google maps, the mileage is approx 19 minutes and within BeyondMenu's bounds. I advise the rep to update those bounds if they cannot service.

To refund my order, I'd have to call BeyondMenu myself. This is a nuisance because it would be my word against theirs whether my food was ever delivered to me. Also, there isn't a contact number since I can only use their comment form which means I won't be able to speak with a live customer representative right away.

After explaining this to them, the manager reached out to BeyondMenu to have my order refunded. I will have to wait to see if the pending charge drops off. The Rep stated he did his best to service me. I had to explain, he did not serve me - it was pretty much a refusal of service (he hung up). They cared more about how to serve more guests than to fix their operations or make it...