The most underwhelming and disappointing dining experience in a while. I took my family here to celebrate a birthday and had been excited to finally try one of Ms. Waas's restaurants. Based on all that I have read about her impressive career, I think she would be disappointed in the dining experience provided by her team.
Our items were cold and bland. Between requiring diners to present a card when needing service and our server's disinterested demeanor, our entire party felt as though we were a burden and not welcomed guests.
Our family has dined at premier Indian restaurants all over the world - from New York to London, Mumbai and everywhere in between - and we enjoy trying new places. We are proud of the quality Indian restaurants throughout North Carolina (both simple and fancy), and were so excited to finally try a James Beard-touted place. It was unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons.
When we called the next day, our politely-shared feedback was met with the same disinterest and apathy. We were excited for new twists on flavorful, refined food from India's different regions and were disappointed in the tasteless, uninspired dishes we were served.
The decor and atmosphere in the restaurant is neat, and I am a fan of open-kitchen concept restaurants. Lots of room for improvement. This experience was unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons.
Molly Rosett
We had a wonderful meal, great service, and loved the atmosphere! Highly recommend the lamb samosas and fish moilee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Esteban Bartlett
What a fantastic dinner. Great ambience, friendly service, amazing food.
If your looking for real authentic Indian food head over to Viceroy. This restaurant is overhyped due to the chef.
Haley Shier
The service was excellent and the food was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Zoe Flavin
Felt like eating in a home. Drinks were so good and unique
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Ho
It was painfully noisy inside. There was a large table having a party in the middle of the restuarant and they were very loud—but not in a crazy way. There was just no sound proofing in a small square space. Whenever they got loud everyone had to shout to hear the person next to you which made it progressively worse. We ate our food which was excellent but had to leave early. It was also very chilly inside. I would go back but not at 8 pm peak time for Friday night. Maybe 6:30 before it gets over 50% full. The restuarant at 8 was about 80%.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Naan, Keema Samosas
k wills
This was prob the worst Indian food I’ve ever had. Ordered the samosa chaat, chili paneer, and chicken ishtu. The samosa chaat was the best thing we had there but my complaint was that all of our food was like warm at best. Just sitting at our table for a few mins everything was cold. The chaat did have good flavor but that’s where it stopped. The paneer was like nothing I’ve ever had before and I’ve had plenty of chili paneer. This paneer looked like it came straight out of the package and has Chinese sweet and sour sauce bumped on it from a bottle. Very terrible. The chicken ishtu was just a grey on grey mess. Barely any flavor, no color, looked like slop. The paratha that came with it was dry, hard, and seemed stale. The garlic naan was dense. You can see the chefs cooking from where you’re sitting so I don’t understand how everything was almost cold and seemed like it had been sitting out. The restaurant itself is pretty and had nice decor. My boyfriend got an old fashioned which he liked. I got the lychee drink but tasted like very artificial lychee. Didn’t help the drink itself was purple. Service wasn’t bad but neither the ambiance or service can make up for the food. Overall I would never go back or recommend this to anyone.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Liz Loader
Ordered take out: Chicken Biryani, Lamb Vindaloo, Chili Paneer, and Garlic Naan. Overall very underwhelming, overpriced, and disappointing. A lot of the food seemed like frozen ingredients. Meat was overcooked and dry. I don't really understand the hype for this spot.
Food: 2
M Fowler
My god the food was phenomenal! The spices had just the right amount of heat while being able to enjoy the full flavor of each dish. Incredible execution and everyone is so nice and hospitable! Will be going back!
BEST SAMOSAS OF MY LIFE! Service was great, staff were so nice & brought us biscuits for the tot ? Lots of great vegetarian and vegan options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Keema Samosas
H T
Amazing food, wonderful staff, fun atmosphere. Truly lives up to the James Beard award.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Keith
The absolute BEST Indian food we've ever had. Wonderful atmosphere, wonderful staff, the owner walks around checking on tables. The food made me upset there's not a Cheeni in Raleigh as well! Definitely our future go to for Indian food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Naan
Manisit Das
Following along with Cheeni’s journey has been a tremendous joy. My wife and I were thrilled to visit Cheeni in its new location in Downtown Durham!
The food was familiar, yet the vision felt grander. The space and decor have so many intricate Indian touches (from the handicrafts to restroom signs to the envelopes for checks) that you think you have used a portal and migrated to India. There are so many delicious cocktails with Indian twists that it becomes challenging to pick one—Satte pe Satta and Chai Martini were my favorites!
We tried the Keema Samosa, Coconut Prawn Croquettes, Pork Aam Kasundi, and Fish Moilee with Malabar Parathas and finished our meal with Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai! The buttery Fish Moilee melted my Bengali heart as it melted in my mouth. I also enjoyed the combination of pork chops with Aam Kasundi (a Bengali-style mustard and mango sauce), a unique menu highlight! Everything tasted so well, and we ate until we couldn’t!
I look forward to the continued prosperity of Cheeni and can't wait to see what it offers in the coming days!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Keema Samosas
Kathleen K
My friends and I had such a lovely dinner at Cheeni last week. The flavors are SOOO delicious, unique, fresh. Service excellent. The owner/chef's daughter was in charge the evening we went, and she came out to our table to have a warm, food-passionate chat with us. We had the pickled veg plate (it's a little hot, but you can handle it!), also the braised cabbage appetizer, which I could have eaten 5 more plates of. Lots of vegetarian options for my two friends who had Paneer aur Mattar Pulao (SOOO GOOD!) and a lentil entree. I had a Tamilian Chicken, also quite spicy. Service was perfect! We will return!!
The most underwhelming and disappointing dining experience in a while. I took my family here to celebrate a birthday and had been excited to finally try one of Ms. Waas's restaurants. Based on all that I have read about her impressive career, I think she would be disappointed in the dining experience provided by her team. Our items were cold and bland. Between requiring diners to present a card when needing service and our server's disinterested demeanor, our entire party felt as though we were a burden and not welcomed guests. Our family has dined at premier Indian restaurants all over the world - from New York to London, Mumbai and everywhere in between - and we enjoy trying new places. We are proud of the quality Indian restaurants throughout North Carolina (both simple and fancy), and were so excited to finally try a James Beard-touted place. It was unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons. When we called the next day, our politely-shared feedback was met with the same disinterest and apathy. We were excited for new twists on flavorful, refined food from India's different regions and were disappointed in the tasteless, uninspired dishes we were served. The decor and atmosphere in the restaurant is neat, and I am a fan of open-kitchen concept restaurants. Lots of room for improvement. This experience was unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons.
We had a wonderful meal, great service, and loved the atmosphere! Highly recommend the lamb samosas and fish moilee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a fantastic dinner. Great ambience, friendly service, amazing food.
Vegetarian options: Lots of great options.
Dietary restrictions: Everything carefully labeled
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bhel Puri, Naan
If your looking for real authentic Indian food head over to Viceroy. This restaurant is overhyped due to the chef.
The service was excellent and the food was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Felt like eating in a home. Drinks were so good and unique
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was painfully noisy inside. There was a large table having a party in the middle of the restuarant and they were very loud—but not in a crazy way. There was just no sound proofing in a small square space. Whenever they got loud everyone had to shout to hear the person next to you which made it progressively worse. We ate our food which was excellent but had to leave early. It was also very chilly inside. I would go back but not at 8 pm peak time for Friday night. Maybe 6:30 before it gets over 50% full. The restuarant at 8 was about 80%.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Naan, Keema Samosas
This was prob the worst Indian food I’ve ever had. Ordered the samosa chaat, chili paneer, and chicken ishtu. The samosa chaat was the best thing we had there but my complaint was that all of our food was like warm at best. Just sitting at our table for a few mins everything was cold. The chaat did have good flavor but that’s where it stopped. The paneer was like nothing I’ve ever had before and I’ve had plenty of chili paneer. This paneer looked like it came straight out of the package and has Chinese sweet and sour sauce bumped on it from a bottle. Very terrible. The chicken ishtu was just a grey on grey mess. Barely any flavor, no color, looked like slop. The paratha that came with it was dry, hard, and seemed stale. The garlic naan was dense. You can see the chefs cooking from where you’re sitting so I don’t understand how everything was almost cold and seemed like it had been sitting out. The restaurant itself is pretty and had nice decor. My boyfriend got an old fashioned which he liked. I got the lychee drink but tasted like very artificial lychee. Didn’t help the drink itself was purple. Service wasn’t bad but neither the ambiance or service can make up for the food. Overall I would never go back or recommend this to anyone.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Ordered take out: Chicken Biryani, Lamb Vindaloo, Chili Paneer, and Garlic Naan.
Overall very underwhelming, overpriced, and disappointing. A lot of the food seemed like frozen ingredients. Meat was overcooked and dry. I don't really understand the hype for this spot.
Food: 2
My god the food was phenomenal! The spices had just the right amount of heat while being able to enjoy the full flavor of each dish. Incredible execution and everyone is so nice and hospitable! Will be going back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Biryani, Aloo Chaat, Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai, Naan
Restaurantji Recommends
BEST SAMOSAS OF MY LIFE! Service was great, staff were so nice & brought us biscuits for the tot ? Lots of great vegetarian and vegan options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Keema Samosas
Amazing food, wonderful staff, fun atmosphere. Truly lives up to the James Beard award.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The absolute BEST Indian food we've ever had. Wonderful atmosphere, wonderful staff, the owner walks around checking on tables. The food made me upset there's not a Cheeni in Raleigh as well! Definitely our future go to for Indian food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Naan
Following along with Cheeni’s journey has been a tremendous joy. My wife and I were thrilled to visit Cheeni in its new location in Downtown Durham!
The food was familiar, yet the vision felt grander. The space and decor have so many intricate Indian touches (from the handicrafts to restroom signs to the envelopes for checks) that you think you have used a portal and migrated to India. There are so many delicious cocktails with Indian twists that it becomes challenging to pick one—Satte pe Satta and Chai Martini were my favorites!
We tried the Keema Samosa, Coconut Prawn Croquettes, Pork Aam Kasundi, and Fish Moilee with Malabar Parathas and finished our meal with Gulab Jamun and Rasmalai! The buttery Fish Moilee melted my Bengali heart as it melted in my mouth. I also enjoyed the combination of pork chops with Aam Kasundi (a Bengali-style mustard and mango sauce), a unique menu highlight! Everything tasted so well, and we ate until we couldn’t!
I look forward to the continued prosperity of Cheeni and can't wait to see what it offers in the coming days!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Keema Samosas
My friends and I had such a lovely dinner at Cheeni last week. The flavors are SOOO delicious, unique, fresh. Service excellent. The owner/chef's daughter was in charge the evening we went, and she came out to our table to have a warm, food-passionate chat with us. We had the pickled veg plate (it's a little hot, but you can handle it!), also the braised cabbage appetizer, which I could have eaten 5 more plates of. Lots of vegetarian options for my two friends who had Paneer aur Mattar Pulao (SOOO GOOD!) and a lentil entree. I had a Tamilian Chicken, also quite spicy. Service was perfect! We will return!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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