Chai Chenak Restaurant — Restaurant in New Brunswick

In NJ there are a lot of additions to Desi Restaurants. This new kid on the block, I have to give them good score on concept and decor. Coming to food ... there is a lot of room for improvement. First of all Karahi is weigh over-priced for half a chicken $24. I would happily pay that if it is full of flavor or have real Chars in it.. you know what I mean. Naan is good. Daal lacks flavor and salt. Reshmi Karahi was better than Charsi but also is over priced. Tea I was told by my friends was really amazing. Falooda and Kulfi was good. Overall I would say it's an OK joint nothing extraordinary.

UPDATED Nov 26, 2021

There are a handful restaurants in NJ where you go and then have difficult time deciding what to eat and what to skip. Chai Chenak is one of them. I am always critical with my reviews but this was a very pleasant experience and it firced me to write this. I am going to review the newly introduced menu by Khizer Ali Syed & his hard working team.

Hands down the best Poori Paratha with extremely well marinated 1/2 chicken. The star item was paired with excellent mint chutney. 9/10

Malai Tikka no introduction extremely flavorful mildly spiced and well cooked chicken chunks. 8/10.

Choolistani Chicken Karahi - Will balanced and different flavored Karahi. For us we were all enjoying the other items that we cannot recommend this. 8/10.

Matka Biryani - The most authentic aromatic flavored Biryani in East Coast. The rice is like a Deghi Biryani which shows the skills of master chef. 9,5/10

Roghni Naan - this is a new for me. I have to agree with my party ... not one place in US can make this good of a Naan. This is game changer experience. 9.5/10

Falooda - The Authentic Karachi Style Falooda ... this is nostalgic for many. Must try if you are missing home. 9/10

Gajjar Halwa - Extremely well cooked with quality ingredients available in US. 8/10

Over all experience is pleasing. Attention to details are in decor, service and attentive staff. Front of the house is very very courteous and accommodating. Thanks again for a great dining experience @ Chai...

A must visit restaurant for the Desi food lovers! We ordered Charsi Mutton kadhai, Chicken Baloochi tikka kadhai along with laccha paratha, aloo paratha, Roghni kulcha. The foods were finger-licking yummy!! The kadhais were very tasty, full of spices with perfect blend, texture & flavor. Also tried out the Sindhi biriyani. The chicken in the biriyani was well marinated with enough flavors, but the biriyani was a bit dry for me.

We also tasted their gulab jamoon, it was so warm, soft & juicy! Their mango lassi & mint mojito were out of the world, too good!!! Lastly, we tried their Zafrani chai & Doodh patti chai too. Those were absolutely worth of all the hypes.

Overall Chai Chenak is a great place for yummmmmilicious meal & hanging out with friends! The interiors are mesmerizing as well. Anyway, crossing 1 star for their service. They charge 18% for service but the staff service wasn’t enough good. May be the guy who served us was having a bad day!!

Update:

We had an incredible Iftar at Chai Chenak this year, and it was truly delightful. It cost us approx 38$ each including tax + 18% service charge. The menu offered an array of some awesome items such as pakoras, fries, samosas, nuggets, chicken biryani, beef haleem, mutton curry, chicken karahi, chicken malai kabab, butter chicken, and more. Among these, the standout dishes for me were the chicken charsi karahi and the pakoras, both of which were exceptionally flavorful. For dessert enthusiasts like myself, the selection was a bit limited, with only fruit salad and gulab jamun available. However, the quality of gulab jamoon was so good. The beverages, including chai and juices, complemented the meal perfectly.

The Ramadan decor added a special touch to the ambiance, creating a festive and welcoming atmosphere. The service was also commendable this time, with friendly and attentive staff ensuring a pleasant dining experience. Overall, our Iftar experience at Chai Chenak was truly amazing. So, giving the 1 ⭐️ back...

If I could give this 0 stars for service I would. Let me just start off by saying this place is racist towards anyone who is not Pakistani and will treat them as a less important customer. I walked in here to dine with my mother. We put our name on the list and waited for him to call us in. The host placed us in a table not even 1 foot away from the door. Right before I sat I saw a couple leave so I kindly asked the host to place me in that table because my elderly mother was cold. The host proceeded to tell me that I couldn’t sit on that table because It is a table for 4 … even though there was just two individuals that left and that if I wanted a different table I would have to wait because there are people before me in the waitlist. I know that as I walked in I was the first person in the queue so I asked him to let me see the list…all of a sudden he got flustered because he was caught up in his lie and showed me the list only for me to be the first person in the queue. Not only did he do that but he proceeded to place TWO people in that table that I asked for proving his claims for It to be a 4 person table incorrect. He then came back 5 mins later apologized and took me to another table…and I thought that would be It and was really hoping to enjoy my meal with my mother. As we are eating our food, the owner (not the waiter) kept walking back and forth to our table as we ate giving us dirty looks rushing us to leave. EVEN THOUGH THERE HAS BEEN PEOPLE SITTING THERE AND DINNING FOR FAR LONGER THAN WE HAVE. We were there for less than an hour and there is no time limits in dinning. He asked us to leave the place as we didn’t even finish our desert, kicking us out. He was so rude. NEVER GOING AGAIN, have never been treated worst at a restaurant and so so...