Chola — Restaurant in New York

Overall this place is definitely one of the best Indian restaurants at which we've eaten. Service was relatively quick and friendly (we had a nice chat with that main waiter/host on the way out) and the food ranged from good to outstanding. It's not cheap (about $100 for two of us, with tip, and we had only 2 beers), but I would definitely eat here again if I were looking for a moderately upscale Indian restaurant in the midtown area. I've been wanting to try this place for a while, so on our recent trip to NYC we made a quick reservation on OpenTable for 6:30pm on a Friday night. Turns out we didn't really need the reservation, it wasn't very busy, probably due to the time (early) and that fact that it was a very cold weekend in January. But they had us down in their computer and seated us right away when we arrived. The service was relatively friendly.....not overly helpful, but not bad. The waiter did suggest that my dish (Aunt Murali's Chennai Goat Curry) was very spicy and that goat meat is served on the bone (if I wanted it boneless, I should choose lamb). I stuck with it anyways, since I've always wanted to try goat and you don't run into it very often, and ordered mine medium spicy. Well, he was right, it was definitely spicy. I like some spice, but damn, this would have been on fire if I had ordered it "regular". Overall, I liked the dish, it had good flavor and a definite kick, but as for the goat...I think I'll stick with lamb next time. It was a little more "gamey" than lamb and also a little fatty. My wife ordered the Butter Chicken, simple and easy to approach, and it didn't disappoint. She said it was the best Butter Chicken she's had, and I would agree that the sauce was really good. The chicken itself, however, had a little grizzle and could have been a little more selectively cut, or of better quality. The appetizers were ordered were both very good, Vegetable Samosa and Sham Savera. The samosas were giant, had a good crust, and nice flavor to the filling. The accompanying sauces were also good, once more spicy (green) than the other (red). But the Sham Savera really stood out, this is probably the best Indian dish I've ever experienced. It's described as "cheese spinach rounds in a nut sauce", and is essentially just that. It's cheese curd formed into a ball, surrounded by a spinach casing, lightly fried, cut in half, and drizzled in a nut sauce. Both the texture and the taste were truly outstanding. Tips: Try the Sham Savera! It's not spicy, actually just a touch sweet, but the flavor and texture our outstanding and it's something unique, I've never had anything quite like it before. Portions are decently sizeds, do don't over-order, enjoy and share. If it's marked as "spicy" on the menu, it is definitely hot! If you like most of your food spiced medium/hot, you'll definitely want to ask them to tone it down a bit. But if you like it on...

Nestled in a quiet neighborhood somewhere between Hell’s Kitchen and Midtown east and not too far from Central Park is Chola. Our travels in the day had taken us far into the city towards JFK airport and then back to the Flushing Ganapati temple in the morning. Heading back, we drove back into the city which was not so crazy being a Sunday afternoon!

Chola focuses on coastal Indian cuisine and hence you have the choice of dishes from Konkan, Mangalore as well as the eastern coast all covered in a unique yet traditional menu along with your favorite vegetarian and meaty curries that a lot of people always recall about Indian food.

The Bong Dum Aloo was earthy and had a good round flavor that reminds you of the Panch poran - it’s the way they make it. Was a perfect go to with flaky Laccha paratha. The paneer tikka was grilled perfectly and the kurkuri bhindi was lightly battered to leave enough room for a splash of lime before you took a bite.

The highlight was the Bhoger Khichuri which came in an earthen pot. Lots of ghee, very lightly spiced with slices of potato, egg plant and no surprises there in terms of flavors. The sweet mango chutney played its part very well.

All in all good experience on veggie choices and I heard good feedback on their chicken 65 and the dak bungalow chicken curry as well.

A perfect Sunday meal, at leisure, very well taken care and everything on point. I will definitely come back here and some of you all should too! The only intrigue was the Thanjavur Avial which geographically did not sit right for the dish but has stirred enough curiosity to try it next time.

#venkysveggietales #chola #khichuri #chicken65 #coastalcuisine #dumaloo #paratha #chutney #midtowneast #centralpark #classic...

I went there for a dinner for special life event. I was expecting tasty food based on their MICHELIN star rated Chef. The restaurant space is not that big and as a result they have tried to squeeze as many tables as possible and so it becomes super noisy when its packed ( felt bit of claustrophobic) . Initially we were given a table in back but we asked them to move us to front of the restaurant, it was less noisier there but the AC wasn't working fully in that area ( they had informed me that before seating there). We started with drinks, my cocktail lacked taste & alcohol ( Mojito Shandaar). Then for starters we had Ragda Pattis (Potato fritters with chickpeas and sweet & sour sauce) & Jinga Koliwada (Fried shrimp with some kind of sweet & sour sauce) we didn't enjoy either the only thing good was presentation, lacked flavor) For main we ordered Chicken Biryani, Kadhai Gosht(Goat curry) & Malvani Fish Curry, Nan and Rice. Out of three entrees we thought fish curry was decent and goat curry was also OK. Chicken Biryani was not good at all ( lacked authentic taste of dum biryani). For dessert we ordered Ras Malai the presentation could have been better, one of the ras malai patty was broken (even with that, it was the only thing that tasted good). The prices for what you get are slightly higher. If the food tasted good, I wouldn’t have minded. I would say that a plus for this restaurant is the service they offer. The servers were polite and keen to the needs of their customers. I hope they can improve the taste of the food just as good as their service is. That will make them a winner. Overall, I think you can pass on...