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    Kahani

    4.0 (63 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    Kahani Photos

    KAHANI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Classy
    Upscale
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Kahani

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    Place setting
    Kerry S.

    Came here with friends to celebrate my husband's birthday, and it was such a great experience. The space is beautifully decorated with warm wood tones, earthy colors, and subtle pops of red. Our friends were a little hesitant at first since they hadn't enjoyed Indian food in the past, which is actually the exact same conversation my husband and I had before our first visit. But just like us, they ended up loving every dish!!! The food came out quickly, everything was flavorful, and we all left completely satisfied. Each dish is like a work of art. The attention to detail is spectacular. Our server was also very sweet and attentive, which made the experience even better.

    Kahani at the Ritz-Carlton is simply exceptional. From the moment we sat down, Pinak and Singh made us feel like honored guests -- their knowledge of the menu was impressive, and every dish they recommended was a revelation. The food was absolutely splendid: bold, refined flavors that tell a story with every bite. What really set this experience apart was the level of care and attentiveness we received throughout the evening. Pinak and Singh struck the perfect balance -- present when you needed them, never intrusive -- and their passion for the cuisine genuinely shone through. This felt less like dinner and more like a Michelin-star experience. If you're in Dana Point and looking for a meal that will stay with you, Kahani is it. You won't regret it.

    Ronnie F.

    Beautifully appointed restaurant serving outstanding Indian food from a curated menu with a mix of perfectly prepared perennial favorites and innovative chef's creations. Now, down to basics! We shared the 'Sampler' (thali) anchored by the rack of lamb. All 5 dishes we selected were really top class. Have to mention the 2 chicken dishes (tikka masala & Chettinad) and the coconut shrimp. Lamb chops were perfect, cooked medium, very tender and lightly seasoned. Service throughout was consistent with the standard of the food. Full disclosure: Indian cuisine from all regions of the country is my favorite food and I lived in the UK (where Indian food can arguably be described as the favorite cuisine!!) for 20 years. Lastly, a shout-out to Larry the host. He had the knack of making us feel welcome and graciously accommodated our move to another (better?) table...

    Rakhi B.

    Ambiance..so elegant and love the paintings. Just need some bollywood music Service..fast and friendly. It was amazing to meet the chef too at the end. Food. We did taste of kahani..amazing food and plenty of diff flavors and choices and accommodating to our dietary needs. I also love the papa in beginning and the chai and biscuit at end and thet they had thumps up. Loved my chai old fashion as well. Just amazing and good price.

    Saag Paneer
    Tara H.

    From the moment we arrived at the Ritz Carlton, our experience was elevated thanks to Curt, who helped us with our bags and kindly offered to make dinner reservations. Though we initially declined, he went above and beyond by placing tentative reservations for us at Kahani -- and what a wonderful surprise that turned out to be! When we arrived at Kahani, Larry warmly welcomed us, already expecting our arrival thanks to Curt's thoughtfulness. Larry was incredibly kind, friendly, and such a fantastic representative for the restaurant. Our server, Summer, was equally amazing -- attentive, personable, and full of great recommendations. The cocktails were outstanding (highly recommend the Pink Lotus!), and the curry sampler was beyond delicious -- so much food, bursting with authentic flavors. The ambiance was gorgeous, the service was impeccable, and the entire experience left us thoroughly impressed. We can't wait to return with family and friends to share this gem of a restaurant. Kahani is truly a must-visit!

    I love elephants
    Elisa G.

    We came back tonight for our 4th time and Larry greeted and seated us at a beautiful table which is very private. It took a while for the waiter to come over but once he did, the service was exquisite!! I love the vibes and the food is sophisticated and delicious! We came back tonight for our 4th time and Larry greeted and seated us at a beautiful table which is very private. It took a while for the waiter to come over but once he did, the service was exquisite!! I love the vibes and the food is sophisticated and delicious! My favorite was the gluten-free spinach pakora! I ate so much of it, it was delicious, now I'm going to have to work it off. Our waiter was amazing, he was so sweet! The sea bass is sensational and so is the scallop appetizer. A+.

    Pakoda chaat
    bhakti p.

    Start with Ambiance it small cozy restaurant on Ritz Carlton property. Anything that is dark wood panel with low lights with candle lights looks romantic. Live music was nice touch. Next for food: its overly priced indian food. We had pakoda chaat for apps( 2 pakoda in a pool of smooth sweet foam yogurt with ONLY 1 or 2 pakoda. We paid whopping $25.00 2 pakoda. Serously! For dinner we had sampler curry for 2. It came with only 1 naan 4 curries from their prefix menu, with panner tikka and raita and chutney. Paneer tikka paneer was too hard.all the curry were ok not great tasting. For dessert we wanted to order Apricot Rabdi( it said Chantely cream) that is hard peak whipped crem, well thats not rabdi. Mabe its good for theAmerican crowd not for Indian. At the end they serve complimentary tea with cookie. For our server Pinak was very nice and attentive. He did great job. Also since we decide not to go with Apricot rabdi, he gave us Mango lassi bar dessert to tey on the house. He gets 5 star for service.

    Gulab Jamoon

    Everything was perfect. From our appetisers to desserts everything cooked and presented with perfection

    Rana Y.

    Thank you to the staff for making our anniversary so special. From the beautiful set up to the personal touches. Our dining experience was amazing! We ordered the sampler and every single dish was delicious. We couldn't pick a favorite! The post dinner digestion tea and cookie was such a nice touch. We can't wait to return

    Veg curries. Faves were Methi Chole and saag paneer
    Nisha G.

    A 4.25 for me. Kahani has delicious food that's authentic Indian and serves up Indian fusion too. The food here is NOT Americanized as many have mentioned. Faves were - Chilean Seabass, malai chicken, Methi chole, saag paneer, masala chai, cucumber raita, mango lassi cheesecake. Their chai was such a lovely ending to the meal. Notable - chicken tikka masala - good, but had a higher than normal smoky tandoori flavor. Needed a little more sweetness. The issues. Food was delicious, but an hour later felt very lethargic. Leftovers - The next day I had 2 pieces of shrimp with some rice and felt so sleepy. The day after I had the leftover raita and literally 4 bites and I felt so heavy and bloated. It makes me wonder what's so heavy in their raita. This is so common when eating Indian food outside, most places do this to me, but not all. Second, this restaurant is very overpriced. My guess is cuz it's at the ritz, but defi overpriced. $35 for a vegetarian entree and $21 for dessert is insane. $68 for seabass. Understood prices are up, but still very high. Again, maybe it's due to location at the ritz. Still worth going. I will be back for their afternoon tea at some point. I prob need to stick to their nondairy items. I can't handle the dairy and heavy food.

    Cardamom Cheesecake and Gulab Jamun
    Elizabeth H.

    Been looking forward to come to Kahani for quite some time. Because of prices it offers we decided to wait until a special moment comes around. And when that special moment finally came, it is sad to say the food and service didn't deliver what we expected. We had the set menu for $65 a person which isn't that bad considering it's a three-course menu. For starters the Poppadom served with chutney on the side was delicious. Crunchy with a hint of Indian spices but not traditionally peppery. Next came the Corn and Cardamom Bisque. We tremendously enjoyed it. Creamy and lightly sweetened with a slice of toasted ciabatta, decorated with little flowers. After having the bisque it seems that particular dish was far too heavy already. Then came our second course the Roasted Chicken in coconut curry with seasonal vegetables and Masala Paneer. Both dishes' descriptions on the menu sounded delicious. However the dishes were not quite we thought would be based on the descriptions. Unfortunately they tasted dry and bland. The last course was the Cardamom Cheese Cake. It was very good which came with blueberry jam and the popular Indian Gulab Jamun. And lastly we were served chai latte with a cookie. By the end of the meal with service long in between, we were feeling very stuffed. I would say Kahani is a fusion dining experience not the traditional Indian fare we were hoping to be.

    Corn and cardamom bisque being served.
    Jonathan H.

    I love Indian food, especially fine dining Indian cuisine. When I lived in Asia I was lucky to be able to dine at such legendary Indian restaurants as Rang Mahal in Singapore and Bukhara and Dum Pukht in Delhi. Finally, I thought the wait is over and we have a fine dining Indian restaurant like those here in the OC. After dining here, I can say the wait is not over. I'll start with the positives. The restaurant's decor is beautiful. Although I did notice that the painting that was hanging over our booth had a price tag of $10,000 on it. I'm not sure it's classy for a fine dining restaurant to double as an art gallery where you can buy the paintings. Now the food. In Indian cuisine spices are a key component. The layered flavors, the symphony of tastes. The food here is bland --- which for an Indian restaurant is a shock. The food is more inspired by Indian cuisine. So if you want an authentic Indian meal, this definitely isn't the restaurant. My wife, daughter and I had the three course menu. Our first course was the corn and cardamon bisque --- herb crema, spice blend, with ciabatta bread. It was by far the best dish of the meal and it was delicious. (It also wasn't Indian cuisine.) My wife ordered the roast chicken with coconut curry, seasonal vegetable thoran, grated coconut, and mustard seeds. What she was served was dry chicken in a little bit of brown gravy (ie. curry). This is an Indian restaurant and yet there was a tiny amount of curry served with the chicken. It was a really disappointing dish and my wife didn't finish it. My daughter and I got the Masala Paneer En Croute - paneer cheese, makhani sauce, mango relish, yogurt, cilantro oil, masala oil. It was good but not great. And the pastry surrounding the ingredients was like you would find in a chicken pot pie. The description of the dish sounds like a complicated, multi-flavored dish that only a top kitchen could prepare, when it was really chunks of cheese surrounded by a somewhat soggy pastry. The third course was a cardomom cheesecake with laddu crumbs, kala jamun, almond tuile, and blueberry roochatza. It was good but not great. The blueberry roochatza tasted like a blueberry jam. The kala jamun was on the dry side. The service can best be described as dreadful. Our server was chilly and inefficient. When she first spoke with us she answered questions about the menu and asked if he would like a minute or two to decide. We said, yes, and 15 minutes later (seriously) she returned to take our order and our water glasses were still empty. Throughout the meal our water glasses were never refilled. The pappadom and chutney was never refilled (a first - not a good first - for an Indian restaurant). When the server came to serve the soup he shoved the dish I used for the pappadom and chutney out of the way with the soup dish. That's something you would see in a canteen, not a fine dining restaurant. Our 3 course set menu took 2 hours with half hour and longer waits between courses and not a single staff person saying sorry for the wait. The only fast part of the meal and the first time we saw the server smile was when the bill was served. They did run our credit card quickly. The meal was expensive and frankly at half of the price it would still have been not worth it. I won't be returning.

    Curry sampler

    Simply amazing food paired with superb service. This authentic Indian restaurant is set within the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel. A must try if you are a hotel guest. We were greeted promptly by the host and sat in a very welcoming and well appointed dining room. Our server was delightful as he explained the menu to us and offered his suggestions. We decided on the curry sampler with chicken as our protein. Every single dish was delightful and tasty. The Naan was especially memorable and the chicken was best I've had anywhere. We will definitely be back the next time we are back in the area.

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    6 months ago

    Fantastic Indian food! Best in Orange County with the best ambiance and excellent service

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    11 months ago

    Great spot, one of the rare great Indian restaurant that you can dine in. Food was amazing, service was excellent

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    Ask the Community - Kahani

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    BASANTI

    BASANTI

    4.6(420 reviews)
    4.3 mi
    $$
    7 years in business
    Catering service

    What an amazing experience for a random week night gathering. Service was beyond comparison and the…read moredishes very high quality. The combination of the tasty food, service and relaxing atmosphere made the evening very memorable. Highly recommend!

    We get takeout from Basanti almost every week, and it has quickly become one of our absolute…read morefavorites in San Juan Capistrano. The food is consistently delicious, packed with flavor, and always hits the spot. I usually go for the channa masala with medium spice, and it's perfect--just the right balance of heat and flavor. It's rich, satisfying, and a great vegetarian-friendly option. My partner switches it up, but most recently had the chicken tikka masala and said it was great just like all the other dishes he's gotten in the past. Their tikka sauce is so good that we always order an extra to dip with the garlic naan or to use with other meals throughout the week. The staff is always kind and quick. Whether it's the chef or the gentleman at the counter, everyone makes you feel welcome and appreciated. We haven't dined in yet, but the interior is beautifully decorated with an authentic feel that adds charm to the space. The restaurant is located in a small plaza with plenty of parking, which makes pickup easy and stress-free. Basanti is everything you want in a neighborhood spot: flavorful food, great service, and a welcoming vibe. We'll absolutely continue to be regulars here. Highly recommend!

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    BASANTI
    BASANTI - Tava Sabzi

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    Tava Sabzi

    Rangeen Kitchen - Bowl Chicken Tikka Masala (G,N)

    Rangeen Kitchen

    4.6(368 reviews)
    5.8 mi
    $$

    So freaking good that couldn't even do the cool photo before I ate it. Portion size good with a…read morenice range of spice levels.

    Rangeen calls itself Indian-Californian, which in a tired little strip mall can sound like the kind…read moreof identity crisis best avoided. I'd driven past it plenty of times on the way to the dog groomer and never once felt compelled to stop. Friday night changed that. We were hungry, but not sit-down-for-two-hours hungry. We wanted something better than fast food, but not some overproduced evening of cocktails and self-importance. We wanted food worth getting out of the car for. Rangeen hit that mark beautifully. Getting my wife on board took some work. She's not a curry person. But a few online photos of fresh, vibrant salads were enough to win her over. Inside, the place still showed traces of whatever came before it, a blank quick-serve menu screen hanging awkwardly over the counter, like a relic from another life. But this was table service, and a perfectly comfortable one at that. There were maybe eight or nine tables, and one lone server holding down the front of house. Casual, older, thin, moving with purpose. She greeted us warmly, dropped menus, answered the phone, checked back often, kept the table tidy, and somehow managed to make the whole room feel cared for without a hint of drama. I went for the spicy mango chicken. My wife chose a healthy-looking salad with grilled sweet potatoes, nuts, and all the things I generally avoid unless someone smarter than me orders them first. We added naan, because not ordering naan would have been foolish. The food took a few minutes longer than the impatient part of your brain might expect. But then it arrived, and suddenly none of that mattered. My dish was excellent: nicely seasoned bite-sized pieces of chicken, rice, a fresh side salad, and a spicy sauce that pulled the whole thing together with real intention. And the plating, that was the surprise. This wasn't tossed on a plate like an afterthought from the spot next to the grocery store. It looked like someone actually gave a damn. And that, really, is what stays with you. Not just that the food was good, but that care had gone into it. The ingredients may not have been expensive, I say that as someone who owns restaurants and knows roughly what things cost, but value isn't about raw food cost. It's about what arrives at the table, how it's presented, and whether anybody in the building seems to care if you enjoy it. At $19, this was a steal. For about the price of a drive-thru burger meal, I got something thoughtful, well executed, and satisfying enough to remind me why local places like this matter. And to the party of four next to us who only left a five-dollar tip: do better.

    Photos
    Rangeen Kitchen - Inside seating and order to go

    Inside seating and order to go

    Rangeen Kitchen - Papdi Chaat. This arrived as a beautiful chaos of crunchy wafers, cool yogurt, tangy tamarind, and bright herbs.

    Papdi Chaat. This arrived as a beautiful chaos of crunchy wafers, cool yogurt, tangy tamarind, and bright herbs.

    Rangeen Kitchen - Curry (Saag Paneer). Mild and earthy, this features soft cubes of paneer in a smooth, velvety spinach sauce.

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    Curry (Saag Paneer). Mild and earthy, this features soft cubes of paneer in a smooth, velvety spinach sauce.

    Kahani - indpak - Updated May 2026

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