Restrooms were filthy!!! No bathroom tissue. No soap. Won't be going back!

THE BEST EVER! Between my husband and myself we have lived in 5 countries other than the U.S. and this just brings us right back to our delicious global dining escapades! I lived in London for a while and there is a huge Indian population which makes it hard to eat at any other restaurant unless it is purely authentic Indian food. Who knew in the heart of Chapel Hill that I would feel like I was right back in the U.K. again! The head of the kitchen comes out to talk to the customers too which is probably one of my favorite parts. Being able to ask questions or just to tell him how great the food is is such a treat! I LOVE this place. Nice atmosphere and the servers are super nice and friendly which is a rare thing to see these days! Fav. things to order: -Soft Shell Crab -Kothu ParotaK -Chicken Dosa -Tropical Beachside Lentils -Mango Lassi read more

Excellent South Indian food with a good selection. I have not been here for lunch but it is a dinner favorite of mine here--good for a night with a group or even a date. The variety of meat, vegetarian, and vegan options made it a hit with my friends. Service isn't great but the food makes up for it. read more

Food isn't bad at all, but the service is questionable at best. Walked in on a Saturday night without any reservations, one guy says he is going to go check on something but obviously takes his sweet time in doing so, felt a bit disrespected to start off, and that is never a good sign. Our waitress at first was pleasant, but then I just realized it was to make up for the lack of service we were about to receive. Drink orders took a good 15 minutes to get to our table, the food itself wasn't bad. I am not used to this "traditional authentic" food, but for what it was, I liked it. The service kept getting worse as the night went on. When I asked out waitress for a new set of silverware after we were done with our appetizers, she said that wouldn't be a problem. Not until 5-10 minutes after our entrees arrived did she finally come with the silverware, she explained that they didn't have any left and that she had to polish it herself (I don't know if she wanted me to praise her for doing her job, or feel bad for her cause she had to polish some silverware). Anyhow, the table next to us who also had her as a server had it worse, she was very slow for both our table and the theirs and even suggested to the next table when they ran out of clean wine glasses if they wouldn't mind being served wine in a water cup instead. This place would have picked up four stars if they even had average service, but alas this is not the case. I really wanted it to be a good experience as a friend highly recommended Cholanad to me. read more

Cholanad - Keep it classy, keep it classy - Indian Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Good ambiance. Very friendly waiter who helped us decide what to order. Went with their crepe specialty with mutton- excellent! Food was good and spicy- but we were warned on that front and it was delicious. read more

Loved the food here! Being a south Indian myself I can vouch that the dishes had the authentic taste with the right amount of spices and flavors. We love spicy food and so we were happy with the spice levels in the dishes.We ordered the enna kathirikai, kurma with parotta and chettinad cauliflower curry and masala dosa. Everything was delicious but our favorite was chettinad cauliflower curry. Definitely coming back again. A great place for Indian food esp for vegetarians. Another plus for the friendly staff here. read more

I try not to write vindictive reviews, but my experience there was just so bad, that I will discourage my friends from trying the restaurant. My husband's previous visit to the restaurant was so good that he decided to bring me here and now he regrets. I'm not an expert on South Indian food, so I can't speak about the authenticity, but I do have comments about the service. First of all, my husband ordered a grouper, since red snapper was not available, but the waitress said that we "may end up getting yet another fish", but she couldn't pronounce the name of it ... Later on she brings a tilapia... Seriously? If we had known it was going to be a tilapia, one of the cheapest fish at the local market, not a more expensive and more tasty grouper or red snapper, we would have changed the order to lamb or something. I can make a tilapia at home! That made us feel like we were cheated. Definitely not worth the price. Secondly, throughout the dinner, we felt rushed. Maybe it's just this one (bad) waitress. Then our dishes arrived 5 minutes apart -- not a big deal, but it certainly makes for an awkward moment when one person has to wait for the other -- why didn't they just wait for both plates to be ready if it's just a few minutes??? I had the CHICKEN TANDOORI, KASHMIR PEAS PULAO, TROPICAL SALAD which was a safe choice, but also didn't taste any more special than what I used to get at cheap Indian bars. Lamb kofta were good, though. Overall, it was a disappointment. The place is trying to bring some of the big city flair to Chapel Hill, but, at least in our case, they were not professional enough. read more

Amazing food, ambiance and staff! We thoroughly enjoyed our delicious meal. A Chapel Hill must!

Best Indian in CH alongside Vimalas. Decor is a penalty but good is excellent especially for the price. Almost 5 stars

After 2.5 years in US. I could say I found my best South Indian food. It was my first visit to Raleigh area. We were planning to go to a different place but suddenly a friend who studies at NCSU mentioned about this place. We were a party of 3 including me. We ordered Spring Dosa (my yummy dosa finally), Malai Kofta and another dish(I dont remember the name). I was awe with the taste of the dosa. One of the friend who wasn't easting also started eating dosa. I was so amazing if I get a chance I will specially visit this place. The Malai Kofta was amazing.They served it with a very large Garlic naan.I have never had that kind of Malai Kofta in my life. The dont even serve this kind in India. The overall ambience of the place was amazing. The servers were helpful. My friend and the server told me that the food preparation is done from scratch which is really nice.Being a vegetarian I also ordered the "Tomato Soup". But it turned out to be "Tomato Shorba" which is healthy as compared to soup and the spice level was also perfect. I would love to visit this place again just for Spring dosa and Malai Kofta. read more

I live in LA which means I get a lot of solid Indian food. So, I was surprised to find such a good Indian restaurant in North Carolina. I ordered the Dosa and it... was... amazing!!! I never had Dosa like this before. Their chef is masterful in his cooking. I also ordered the special feast, which came with over 8 different types of curries and dishes. Each one was distinctly tasty, and I particularly enjoyed the lamb. The only reason I didn't give this place 5 stars is because the service was extremely slow. I saw only 2 servers working the entire restaurant during a very busy lunch hour. I asked my sister (who introduced me to this place) about the service and she told me that it's always slow. Aside from that, everything was good. I enjoyed the food, ambiance, and authenticity, read more

Nice presentation. Good food. Nice ambiance. And not that expensive for fine dining. And it's def not a typical south Indian restaurant with a typical menu. read more

My friend and I went to Cholanad last Friday for dinner. We had the samosa chaat as an appetizer, and then split three entrees between us: vegetarian briyani, curry dosa, and chicken tikka masala. Everything was delicious, but the curry dosa was a bit onion-y for my taste. Definitely the best Indian food I've ever had. I was very impressed with the fine dining ambiance. Our meal wasn't cheap, but I felt it wasn't as expensive as traditional fine dining. I brought home leftover briyani and chicken tikka masala, and the food reheats very well. Cholanad has its own parking lot, too, so you don't have to deal with regular Franklin Street parking. read more

It is fascinating how Indian restaurants in the Triangle area age so badly. As with others, Cholanad started out as an awesome Indian culinary experience. How ever, like its colleagues, once the original chef departs to greener pastures, the notes left behind are lost and the taste suffers. Indian cuisine is unique in that the art is in the spices. Specifically, one cannot simply replicate the taste by following a recipe. How the whole spices are selected, stored , handled, and prepared are one part. Knowledge on "a pinch of this and a dash of that" is key. The former chefs had this and it was as I said an awesome place for great Indian cuisine. However, it now joins its aging brothers and sisters in the area as simply another place for Chicken Tikka that could have been straight from a sauce jar. read more

Finally a good quality Indian restaurant. This is by far one of the best Indian food that we've had in the RTP area. The food is amazing and the service is fantastic, our server was very attentive and had great recommendations. We're defintively coming back and would highly recommend this place. read more

I have very mixed feelings about this place. The food is definitely very good and the ambiance inside of the restaurant is beautiful. The service and execution of the meal, however, can be severely lacking at times. For example, a group of 10 of us went out to Cholanad for lunch to celebrate a birthday. Three people in our party decided to share the tiger dosa. So, the waitress brings out everyone's meal except for the tiger dosa, which then comes out a full 25 minutes later. This made for a very disappointing experience for everyone at the table - the people that had their food felt guilty eating and the people without their food had to sit there hungry watching others eat. Honestly, I find this somewhat appalling consider the classiness that this restaurant is trying to project. We assumed, of course, that at least drinks or dessert would be comp'd for - if not the whole table - at the very least the people that were left waiting. Not a mention of it, and really very little apology for the delay from the staff. We were later informed that when someone orders a tiger dosa that the kitchen can't make anything else at the same time (as it requires so much room to prepare the tiger dosa), thus the delay. That seems like a poor model to me. Either buy a second griddle dedicated to tiger dosas or take it off the menu. What would happen on a crowded Friday night if more than one person orders it? Everyone else in the restaurant would have to wait? What if one group orders two? Very poor planning. read more

Cholonad is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill. Writing about it is only making that favoritism more real. I wish I were eating there right now. I'm probably less well versed in Indian cuisine than one should to be fully trusted- so keep that in mind. The only other Indian restaurant I've frequented was in the heart of Los Angeles. It stole my heart as well (I guess I have a weak spot for Indian food and, when introduced, I fall in love. Hard.) Also, while I've only visited the restaurant twice, my tried-and-true-heart insisted that I order the same dishes: Samosa Chaat - a modern take on a traditional samosa - and the Tikka Masala Naan bread with Chicken. The Tikki Masala makes me feel like I'm cozy, next to a fire, in a snug, snow-laden house in the middle of a Minnesotan blizzard. It's an odd description - I suspect you're thinking - but as a native Minnesotan I think this is the best way to describe the contented happiness I feel while eating this dish. The only criticism I have of the restaurant is oddly random. The bathroom sinks are miserable. They're aesthetically pleasing but barely functional. The end of the faucet lands so near the surface of the sink that I could barely fit my soaped up hands underneath, and my hands are tiny. My husband - with his large hands - simply walked out of the bathroom with a look of bewilderment. Anyway, restroom sinks aside, go eat at Cholonad! read more

THIS PLACE IS SO GOOD. The food was great, the staff was super friendly and helpful, and it was a chill little place to hang out. Definitely get the bread basket if you're a fan of naan and try the pistachio creamsicle margarita for a fun twist. I will definitely be back next time I'm in town! read more

They don't make the same thing every other Indian restaurant serves, but the flavors are classical Indian. Freshly made and delicious.

We've been here a few times and have loved the food we ordered every time! We've gotten numerous items off the menu and they have all been delicious. I do think that the food here is noticeably spicier than other Indian restaurants, but I think it just speaks to the authenticity of the restaurant. I've appreciated that the owner has stopped by at our table to see if everything was to our satisfaction every time we've been there. This was the first Indian restaurant we've tried in Chapel Hill and we've loved it so much that we haven't tried other Indian places. I highly recommend it! read more

This is the best Indian restaurant in the triangle. Though the menu is centered around south tamilnadu cuisine, the food is very well made and the restaurant ambience is also great. read more

Best So Indian food I've had in a long time. Comfy decor makes former IHOP-like space into a nice place to eat. Menu was just enough, and the service was friendly, although some of the staff seemed a little rough around the edges. The food was delicious. Fresh, creative, inviting, and fun was tempered a bit to its Carolina hosts, and even though I would have personally preferred more authentic spice and more heat, the deference to the local environs made the food even more interesting. We had a great take on samosa, a light but lively paneer and peas dosa with three fresh chutneys, and a nicely decadent shrimp masala with fresh nan. Desserts looked great too -- although we did not have them. This is a great resource for Chapel Hill -- I hope it can be appreciated. Bravo, Cholanad! read more

Excellent! The mutton biryani is to die for! Have had it on both occasions. The dosas are solid and the chutneys that come with them are delicious. Also had the whole fish in banana lead and it was amazing. For appetizers we really enjoyed the rice balls (and they were vegan!). Our servers were very helpful an evryone was friendly. The cook came out to talk to us on multiple occasions during our second visit. On this visit we were there with my brother in law who is vegan and we had lots of suggestions from the staff and were given lots of attention and support for specific dishes. Also, the Friday night drink special when were there last week was $1 well drinks! A welcome surprise. Can't wait to go back- our new fav Indian restaurant. read more

Best Indian food I have yet to have in the triangle. Great cocktails, great service and great food. Literally ate there two days in a row the first time we dined there. read more

Cholanad is just genius. One of the most unique and amazing experiences ever. Nice decor. Very good value. I have been here countless times now. Its one of those places where everything on the menu is good, nuanced and unique. The chef takes suggestions pretty seriously. This place has real Dosa. Yay!. read more

I love this restaurant. Last month we were there every Friday. The taste of food, service, personal attention from the chef/owner is just fantastic. Our favorites are Madurai Mutton Biryani and Whole Fish . The taste is just awesome. I would recommend to book table on weekends to avoid waiting time. read more

Hands down the best Indian meal in the research triangle area - the dosas are out of this world. The menu is so varied, you'll find anything you're craving. Start with the Spring Dosa and naan. Then keep going back! read more

This is one of the best places in Chapel Hill & best indian food hands down. It's definitely slightly expensive, but the quality is so good that it's worth it. The service is always good- if you go on graduation weekend or something, of course you can expect things to be a little slow. The people working there are always friendly and helpful. I highly recommend the Spring Dosa & the paneer tika masala. The naan is also always fresh & warm. read more

Authentic South Indian Food! Satiating Quantity and best quality. I was also impressed with waiter service. I prefer eating vegetarian dishes, so haven't tried any non-veg item. paneer peas dosa and spring dosa are my favorite. They serve Tomato Chutney with every entree, which is awesome! If you are going in group, must try Tiger on Diet! Little bit expensive, but food and service is worth it. You wont regret visiting Cholanad! read more

First, be aware that "Southern Indian" implies heat. Even though they claim to do some milder dishes as well, there is hot oil, pepper oil, or some form of hot spice along with the flavor spices in pretty much everything. Asking for something "mild" will only yield a relative difference - just less hot than the rest of the menu. Be advised. We came on a non-traditional restaurant evening (Monday) to celebrate something, and we appreciated the ambiance (not to mention the dedicated parking, limited but great if you get a space). Our server, who seemed to be doubling at the bar, was attentive, welcoming, and exceptionally enthusiastic about the food. There were some surprises, including the hotness of dishes said to be 'mild' (the "tikka's" and grilled entrees), and the presentation of the dosa in triangles instead of rolls. Even the "cooling" raita was spiced up, with some lovely flavors but also some of the ubiquitous hot oil or pepper. Seasonings and flavor combinations were very good, esp. for those not bothered by (or preferring) the spicy-heat, but the trademark whole fish was rather overwhelmed by the spice coating (the menu does designate it a spicy dish, but white fish is too delicate to sustain aggressive heat). Lassis were luxurious, as were the desserts. Suspect this will continue to be enormously popular among those who do know what better Indian cooking should taste like, expect South Indian food to be hot, and have youthful and/or hardy palates. Those more sensitive to the spice-heat may enjoy it somewhat less. Re: cost - it's a bargain in that it's top-level cooking of that particular cuisine but still less expensive than other white-tablecloth restaurants. For 3 without alcoholic drinks, we paid $90 and took home some of the food. read more

We had a little if everything. My kids all loved the "street" fried rice and the tandoori chicken. I ordered a type of chicken curry with amazing flavor and the chicken was so tender! The saag aloo that I ordered for one of my kids was my favorite! Amazing flavor. Service was great, especially considering I brought 3 kids along read more

This place has quite a unique/modern take on Indian cuisine. They have lots of South Indian dishes, and everything we tasted was superb! The star of the evening was the Curry Dosa! Yummy minced lamb in a spicy curry, wrapped in thin egg-coated dosa. We were blown away! The prices are a bit high, but so is the quality of the food. read more

Dabelli thali is good. Thali is a grand style so better go empty stomach to finish it :)

One of my favorite Indian food spots, though do not expect the typical menu choices. Creative recipes and wonderful flavors in an upscale atmosphere. I've enjoyed everything I've had there. read more

Went here for dinner with some friends the other night, and it was PHENOMENAL! Every part of our dining experience was amazing! We ordered a few entrees to share, and every one was better than the last. I would highly recommend the potato soup, the original dosa, the salmon and pineapple kabobs, and the chicken tiki masala curry pot. I also had the Flying Horse lager, and it was yummy! The prices are good too. One of the highlights of the evening was when the owner came over to our table, and chatted with us. He is very personable, and an amazing chef! If you haven't checked this place out yet do it NOW! You won't regret it! read more

The food was good, but the management and dining experience was atrocious. First they lost the reservation and the hostess told us that in order to give us a table we had to be done by 8:30 pm for the next table. We said fine, because we had actually been waiting for a while to try this place and had heard such good things about it. Then the computer system was having issues so the waiter had trouble with the iphone ordering. It would have been much easier if he had a pen and pad. Then when it came time to pay the bill they again had trouble with the computer system. We waited 20 minutes before we were told that the computer system was down. So they asked us to leave our card numbers so they could run it through later when it was working. They also asked us to sit at the bar and wait. We went to the bar, but we declined to leave our card numbers and instead went and pulled out cash from an ATM. It was very,very disappointing. AT the very least a manager could have come out and explained the situation to us. Or offered us a free drink or a dessert since they asked us to vacate the table for another party. And I can't believe that asking customers to leave their credit crd numbers behind is an acceptable alternative. They should have let us know when we came in that they were having issues and then it would have been much smoother. We still left a 15% tip for the waiter, bacause we see this as a failure on the part of the management and the hostess. The latter was utterly incompetant and unhelpful. In the future I and my friends will not be coming back here. Instead we will walk down the street to Mint where the food is always good and the service is excellent. Addendum: The manager responded to my review very promptly and addressed my concerns. I really appreciate that so I have changed my review from a 1 star to a 3 star. Because the food actually was really good. read more

Still delicious, but the service here is absolutely terrible. I have pretty much stopped getting takeout from there because they always quote you a long wait and then have you wait longer when you are there, and the restaurant is often empty while you are waiting 45+ minutes. Wish they would get it together because this place is so good. read more

This is the best Indian restaurant in RTP area. There are others in Cary which offer a wider selection, and regular/spicier Indian food and are considerably cheaper. But Cholanad is for the food connoisseur who craves for delightful flavors and values quality food. read more

Impressed by the food, friendly staff (v. enthusiastic chef), location, and decor. As a South Indian, fish is a big part of our meal. So, I got the Curried fish with rice for the entree - Loved it! It had the right amount of spice (it does have a modern twist to the food) and quantity. Also, the presentation was good. About the decor, I liked the openness & modern ambience. The food is reasonably priced plus, the drinks are cheap...~$4 for a glass of good wine! The only minor flaws were - the music (did not fit well with the ambience), the restaurant board outside (easy to miss the place because the sign board outside is not very noticeable). Will go again to try more dishes. read more

BF and I had lunch at Cholanad last week while visiting Chapel Hill. The restaurant was not very busy when we arrived. We were seated by a very friendly and attentive man who described himself as a consultant. He chatted with us for a while and we found him to be helpful and entertaining. The waiter was less impressive, didn't seem terribly knowledgable (told us he usually works dinner - as if that were a good excuse?) The food was quite good, particularly the tikka masala. The decor/atmosphere was clean and contemporary, which was refreshing for an Indian restaurant. They also had lunch specials (no buffet). Great place. I hope to return someday. read more