We had a very nice dinner here, very happy and satisfied, opened my yelp and ready to post something nice, but surprised to see it has such low rated reviews? First, the place looks clean and quiet. Service is good. The food here is really tasty and authentic! Great flavor!! We ordered chicken masala, lamb biryani and a garlic nann. Portion is not small, especially the biryani..! I cannot finish it alone. All of them taste super delicious and we had a blast! Very recommend this place to anyone and will definitely come here again;) read more

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Normally they are good but order through Uber. Omg what I got was awful. About 4 hard pieces of cubed chicken in Tikka sauce. There was no meat. And mushy Naan. A waste of money. read more

Can I leave less than one star? I love Indian food. To sample restaurants different from the one I think is best in the area I tried Chatni. Bad idea. I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala because that's the best opportunity to put their best foot forward. It was like eating the McDonald's version of Indian food. Each piece of chicken was uniformly the same size. Clearly they simply bought the chicken and added the Tikka Masala sauce, which was subpar. The garlic naan was more than soggy. It was wet and way off in terms of balance for seasoning. Heres the topper. I ordered extra papadum. Bad idea. The papadum was actually burned And inedible! I called the restaurant and asked how they could possibly serve something so unsatisfactory? I threw the entire meal in the garbage! Back to Brick Lane for me! read more

Delicious food. Friendly service. Fair pricing. I recommend it. Especially for a large family.

I want to give this place 5 stars so bad! I've tried Indian food time and time again, maybe it's just not in my tastebud's stars, but I haven't found a place that I like. Thank God we were turned off by- and ultimately walked out of- Cuban Pete's restaurant because it allowed us to find Chatni! The easiest way to review this place is to list all the things I loved! Location: Right in walking distance of all the restaurants on Bloomfield Ave in Montclair, easy peasy! It's also next door to another Indian restaurant that looked hipsterish (for lack of better terms). But you know, it had the modern signage. So, we had a choice. We went with the more traditional-looking spot. Inside: Nothing too fancy. BUT quality ornaments and things that will capture your eye. I loved the little chandelier hanging by our table. The tables have cloths and that's that. Service: On point. Seemed family-run. We were greeted and invited to sit. Our server made suggestions, and he gave us space while taking a long time to review the menu. Also! This place is byob, we had a little bottle of bubbly from the LQ across the street. Food: DELICIOUS! We had veggie samosas to start. We shared a chicken dish and pea dish (sorry I don't remember the names). The servings were filling and we were able to pack to-go cartons as well. From start--papadum with chutneys-- to finish-- scraping rice from my plate, everything was yum! We will definitely be back! read more

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This was my first time ever having Indian cuisine and what a pleasant experience! We started with the Paneer Pakora and could have easily had another two orders - it was delicious! The trio of dipping sauces complimented them perfectly. We each had the chicken tikka masala for our entree and the warm buttered naan was the perfect vehicle for transporting that warm creamy chicken right into your mouth. I would definitely return and try another one of their dishes because everything on the menu was so appealing. The restaurant itself was very clean and the tables are spaced apart. We happened to be the only ones dining in at the time so it was a great experience and we had wonderful service. read more

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To sum up our experience here, "confusion" is the only word that comes to mind. Buckle up. This one might give you a headache. First, we walked in with a Groupon, but I had purchased it a while back so I couldn't remember what was included. And neither could the first server we spoke to, who I shall hereafter refer to as "server #1." The details weren't printed on the voucher, so he went and found out from a second server (server #2) and came back to tell us the Groupon was good for two appetizers and two entrees. This later turned out to be 2/3 correct. Second, the menu is enormous. I get that they're shooting for Indian/Asian fusion, but they could probably trim the 6 pages down to 3 and everyone would still find something to enjoy. Third, yet another server (server #3) came over to take our order. Server #3 approached the table with a pen and pad and literally just stood there without saying a word. We broke the awkward silence by asking for recommendations between one dish versus another. Server #3's response: "I don't know. I'm American." Great, me too! Now how about you go find server #1 or #2? They're both Indian. They might know! Fourth, we asked for naan bread to start, which server #1 told us was complimentary. Then server #3 brought us papadum, which we thought they confused for the naan. It turns out the papadum is complimentary but the naan is not. Ok. I knew complimentary naan was too good to be true, but they had my hopes up pretty high. In the end, the naan wasn't worth the excitement. It was much thicker than I'm used to and a little too crisp along the bottom. Fifth, server #1 brought us a complimentary samosa appetizer, which was both nice and good, but they didn't explain to us what it was. Fortunately, I know a thing or two about Indian food and was able to figure it out. Still, I was somewhat confused because we had ordered samosa chat (samosa blended with curd, chickpeas and spices), which I envisioned being served in the triangular shape of a typical samosa, to the extent there is such a thing as a typical samosa. Sixth, when server #1 solicited our opinion over the appetizers, I expressed my indifference toward the chicken choila - Nepali. Server #1's response was: "Yes, most people do not like this dish." Then WHY are you serving it?!? Seventh, server #1 and #2 were pushing the dessert hard. "Why," I thought to myself. Is it included in the Groupon and we just don't know it? Recall that server #1 told us the Groupon included two appetizers and two entrees. Server #2 corrected server #1 by informing us that two drinks were also included, and that since we were already done our meal, he'd be willing to sub out the drinks for a dessert. Cool. We went with the kheer (rice pudding with cardamom and raisins). It was okay, but the rice grains were kind of clumpy, almost like it wasn't fresh. The Hispanic versions of rice pudding remain my favorite. I really wanted to give this place four stars. Our entrees, the boti tikka masala (lamb), and chicken korma were both delicious and the staff is truly hospitable and accommodating. But I just can't get over the disastrous cluster of the dining experience, the oversized menu, and the little things, such as water spots on the silverware. The reality is this: we enjoyed the main dishes, but there are simply too many other Indian options in the area (including a place literally right next door) for me to want to go back here. read more

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I went with my boyfriend and my sister and her husband. We all tried different dishes and everything was truly delicious. They cooked to our spice level perfectly. I got the chatni special noodle and it was YUMMMMM lamb and seafood!! A little salty but flavor was BOOMTASTIC. The table had an array of items from the menu... We had vindaloo, masala, and something with a B I can't remember (ahhh still delicious). A mix of lamb and goat and YUMYUMMMYYUMM! Their naan was great and their chicken dumplings a crowd pleaser!! The service was excellent and they also have a patio!!! We will be back and it's byob! Keep in mind I believe this place has new ownership after speaking with the hostess. Lovely lovely! Well done! We will be back! read more

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The food is delicious- I think it's a better takeout place and others may have realized it! We saw lots of door dash / Uber ears drivers picking up. We'll join that crew because sitting in this restaurant is painful. Endurable bc of the food food. But the atmosphere is horrible. No music. The kitchen sounds are loud (that's fun and good) but there is no ventilation and there is a haze of grill smoke. So overall not with the drive if you are dining in read more

Food is amazing! Love the surrounding and customer service 10/10 would very much recommend!! read more

Chatni Indian Restaurant - Chicken Biryani Butter Chicken Garlic Naan Jera rice - Indian Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Absolutely fantastic! Fresh.flavorful, and good portion sizes . Will return for additional bites.

Delicious food. So flavorful. No matter what you get there it is delicious. Love their chicken biryani and chicken vindaloo. You can also request it to be made spicy and boy do they deliver! read more

Solid Indian food! I came her for lunch on a Sunday with my husband and toddler. They place was still empty (which we loved because of our toddler). It was buffet style and I thought the quality of the food was great. The server was friendly but a man of little words... the second server was a little more friendly and spoke a little more. I thought the food was fresh but I found the restaurant itself to be a little dark and gloomy. But like I said, the food was solid and I can see myself returning. I find it strange they are right next to another Indian restaurant. read more

Chatni Indian Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

The food here is just deliciously amazing. I ordered the garlic naan ( tasty), chicken tikka masala (so flavorful and delicious), and the curry goat.... To die for. Everything was cooked perfectly, the dishes were bursting with flavor, and the best part is they give you such a large portion of food. This place is a must for anyone who enjoys good quality Indian food. My new go to lunch spot. read more

I've ordered from so many Indian restaurants before always getting the Paneer Makhani/Masala. But this is the first time ordering from this restaurant and getting this dish with lots of vegetables in it which was not stated on the menu. It seems the restaurant adds it to take away from the cheese which is the only thing I wanted. I still ate the food because honestly it is still tasty, I ate some vegetables but got tired along the way and left some. On my very last bite, I came across a shard of hard plastic which actually gave me a little cut, it's not glass, just hard plastic. I've considered calling the restaurant but honestly I'm not sure it will make a difference and I'm sure it was an accident so my review is really for the excess amount of veggies since it is not stated on the menu. I would not have gotten this meal had I known. read more

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Walked in today, and saw numerous drain flies all around on the walls. Found that extremely unhygienic, walked right back out!

Great vegetarian dishes. Vegetable (Navratna ) korma is one of my favorites. Ordered for delivery, came promptly warm and ready to eat. Good garlic naan. Also ordered the paneer, which was tasty.Garlic Nan. Saag Paneer all good. Great delivery. Good place when you have a yen for Indian food. read more

The meal started off good but it went down hill quite fast. The papadum served was the normal. The chutney had more of a minty flavor but it was good. The tomato one was good also. I found the tamarind one less sweet than usual. The menu didn't include drink options which I found out later online. As this place had some Nepalese appetizers, I started with the chicken choila and someone else ordered gobi manchurian. The chicken had a good spice hit and there was quite a big portion for the price. It wasn't that similar to chicken choila I have had in traditional Nepalese/Himalayan places but it was still quite good. The gobi was also excellent and not nearly as overly fried as other places. It was honestly the best I have had in a long time. I ordered the tandoori mushrooms. We also got chicken karahi and some other chicken dish as well as a Kabuli Naan. The rice served was fine and the chicken dishes were comparable to other places in the area. The kabuli naan was unique. It was sweetened but also had some anise or some spice with similar flavors. I found it quite tasty and a good change from the usual. In terms of my dish, there was a large portion of said mushrooms and it was served with some vegetables as well as an excellent (though slightly sweet) Makhani (or similar) sauce on the side. However, the mushroom caps looked slightly unappetizing a s they looked quite burnt so I chose one of the pieces and dipped it in said sauce. Outside of the sauce, I tasted burnt mushroom caps (or more charcoal as I couldn't pick anything up.) I then tried one of the super small ones then and it seemed that while the cap was overcooked, the bottom section was almost raw. Outside of the sauce which I ate with the rice/naan, I didn't have more than a few mushrooms at most. Eventually one of the other people tried it and they said it tasted foul also. We eventually got the waiters attention who brought out the manager whom after we voiced our complaint, he asked me while mumbling if I preferred a replacement dish. As the other two people were almost finished, I decided not to, My barely finished dish was removed eventually along with the rest of the dishes. They asked if we wanted dessert but we stuck with getting checks. The check was in order of the price of dishes and low and behold, a 14 dollar tandoori mushroom dish was there. If they didn't charge for this dish, we might have returned but this left as foul a taste in my mouth as with the mushrooms themselves. If we just ordered appetizers, I'd probably leave this review with a 4 and wonder where some of the reviews are coming from but that was honestly one of the worst mushroom dishes I have had, period. Not removing the dish from our bill just doesn't help either. If the mushroom dish wasn't ordered, I'd probably give this a 3 or so also. 1.7. read more

The cooks weren't wearing masks and my meal had an entire cardamom pod in it which nearly ruined the meal when I bit into it. Spice level of my meal was pretty low, but some may like that. Overall just okay. read more

Chatni Indian Restaurant - Cardamom pod, biting into it was awful. - Indian Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

The food was really flavorful - and fresh made. My in laws were like they have not had the pickled onion that they have there since they were in India. The waiter was very friendly and kind and just trying to do his best for his customers. You know the place is good when the garlic naan has actual garlic one it - and a lot of it. The samosa chaat was fantastic and the veg noodles had the widest variety of veggies I have ever had - with still a lot of noodles in it - so yummy! You can tell they put every effort into the food read more

After nearly two years without Indian food we were desperate to have some again, and had some takeout from this place on Bloomfield Ave in Montclair. Had lunch menu orders of Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo, and Sag Paneer, which came with rice and two types of bread, which were all delicious. The bill came to $24, with enough food for about four adult dinners. We were very pleased and delighted to have fine Indian food again. read more

Staff is wonderful, helpful and extremely polite! Food is always hot, fresh, delicious and yummy! Love this Indian spot! I highly recommend it! :) read more

Very average food. Noodle had some bad sauce, no salt in fried rice, Gobi manchurian burnt, chicken wings in the name of chicken lollopop, veg dumpling also average read more

Dry rubbery chicken. Felt that the meat was not freshly made (bad taste and reactions). The ambiance and service is good.

I just stopped in for the Lunch. I was 4 minutes too late for the "special's, but my bad, they charged me the full dinner Price (close to 100% more) and provided NONE of the sides offered with the lunch special at half the price. To make it worse, the food had no flavor at all... I WILL NOT be returning! read more

Went for Weekday Lunch Special Food - 5/5. The papadum is crunchy with nice bits of cumin. Rogan Josh had tender lamb with a good balance of spice and cooling cream. Alu Gobi was full of flavor with the cauliflower having a nice bite. Naan had good crisp to it and the vegetable pakora had great crunch. Delicious food overall! Service - 4/5. The waiter politely answered all the questions I had on the menu and the service was quick. They threw in some vegetable pakora to sample too. Good service! Value - 5/5. You get a full meal for around $10 that comes with huge variety. Great for lunch! Parking - Street (Metered) read more

Chatni Indian Restaurant - Papadum, Pickled Onions, Tamarind Chutney, Green Chutney - Indian Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

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I work in NYC and always get my Indian dishes there. Since the pandemic and being home in NJ, I haven't been able to. Had a taste for Tandoori chicken and rice and decided to google a place and found Chatni. OMG! The BEST Indian food I've had so far. So delicious, juicy, flavor explosion! Used the accompanying sauce on my rice, so good! Highly recommend this place!!! read more

This is a small hole in the wall place in Montclair downtown. We opted this place for dinner as this was the only Indian place opened around 10 PM near our stay in West Orange. I tried aloo paratha and samosa chat and both tasted average. My friend tried some chicken appetizer which he did not like. Overall, I would say it's a 3-3.5 stars place. read more

My two friends and I had great Indian food delivered from Chatni last night. I came here to leave some compliments and I am very disappointed to see this restaurant rated below other Indian places in the area with lower quality food. The Fish Korma I that had was amazing. In fact, I wish I had ordered 2 servings of it! Perhaps, Chatni needs to improve its in-restaurant experience? read more

Delicious food! First time ordering for take out and I the medium lamb vindaloo. Perfect level of spicy and great flavor! 10/10 recommended!

I am still full from their buffet I had yesterday afternoon even after skipping dinner last night. When I got home after having their buffet I had to indulge in an afternoon nap. My friend and I decided to meet in Montclair and catch up over some Indian food. I saw one of my fellow yelper friend had written a review on this place so I decided to try it out. We got there right at 11:30, the staff was still setting up for buffet. This is more of an"traditional tasting" restaurant. Buffet was mild on spice level. It had four vegetarian dishes. I was having so much fun and laughing with my friend that I decided to be adventurous and order an avocado lassi instead of a traditional mango lassi. I was surprised by how good it tasted. I would recommend to give that lassi a try :) Waitstaff were nice. I had a good experience there read more

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Chatni is a local favorite because they also have a Nepali chef and some key Nepali dishes that I love including Momos (with chicken and sesame chutney), Chicken Choila and Chatni Special Noodle. Also their Goat Curry is really tasty and includes the bone as it should be! You also can't go wrong with their Baighan Bharta or Tarka Daal. read more

This food is excellent. My wife and I totally enjoyed the flavorful dinner dishes and great wait service. Nice ambiance as well. Will absolutely be returning! read more

Pretty authentic Indian food, enjoyed almost everything I had there, but would say you have to be careful and make sure you know what you're ordering as far as spice levels. Even medium is very spicy at times. I preferred the vegetarian curries over those with meat. The shrimp in the shrimp curry seemed over cooked and chewy. But the korma, garlic nan, and samosas were spot on. Overall I would recommend it. The Service and waiters are good, but the furniture needs a serious update. I would say this is the most uncomfortable thing about this place. If you sit in the last booth, the back of the chair is loose and if the person sitting in the booth next to you leans back, he/she will push you forward. Also, the chairs just seem worn out. If this place were to renovate, it would Be great. read more

I was craving some Indian food and decided to try Chatni's lunch buffet. There are actually 3 Indian restaurants all offering lunch buffet within a one block radius but Chatni looked the most appealing. We arrived around 12:30 and the food was just being brought out. When at a buffet, it's nice to be the first to dig into the food before the masses come and breathe on it. Some of the dishes offered: -Vegetable Pakora - eggplant and cauliflower fritters; great when dipped in the tikka masala sauce -Saag Paneer - the cubes of cheese were tender and Saag was tasty -Alu Gobi - cauliflower and potatoes, very good -Daal -Chicken Tikki Masala - very good -Chicken Curry -Chicken Tandoori - meat was fairly tender -A lamb dish -Tiny fried fish -2 types of Indian/Chinese noodles -Dessert - Kheer -Naan - a basket of warm buttered naan is brought to your table There was a good selection of food both vegetarian and non-veg. For a buffet, the food was flavorful and had the right amount of spice. My husband especially liked the "Indo-Chinese" noodles, which is not often found in these types of buffets. For $10.99, it's a great deal. I did take a look at the menu and the prices for al a cart is a bit steep so the buffet lunch is the way to go. read more

Grabbed some take out with a friend. We went with the lunch special which comes with a protein and a vegetable. I had the lamb vindaloo and aloo gobi and he had the chicken vindaloo and dall tarka. The portions were quite large for the $9.99 price which was great. They included some naan, a large portion of rice, papadum and condiments with the meal. I also ordered mulligatawny soup, a mango lhassi and vegetable pakora. The lamb was decent but was not spicy enough and had a sauce which was too creamy. The vegetable sides were okay but also needed more flavor. The appetizers were good and the soup portion was large and had a rich flavor. The mango lhassi came in a soup-style take out container instead of a to go cup and they also forgot to give us utensils. I am still waiting for a truly great Indian restaurant to show up in Montclair. read more

So in attempts to find a cheaper alternative to Brick Lane, it has come to Chatni and its immediate neighbor Mausam. The place wasn't too busy which is nice. The servers were all very nice and I can say that was best thing about this resturant. The free papadum with sauces was ok but I've come to expect this now from these spots. So nothing special there. I got the goat vindaloo and while not terrible, it was the worst I've had when going up against other Indian spots. The meat was chewy and really hardly any at all, mostly bone. The actual spice of the curry was just ok. The naan was standard nothing special about it or that I could tell and lukewarm, the portions were ok but I've seen better and am overall pretty disappointed. The prices are ok and the menu is large and the service was pretty good so perhaps I had a less than great visit here but the 3 star avg. now looks about right. read more

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What. It's my birthday. Table for 15. Great meal. The starters where wonderful The pakora and cauliflower excellent. Well done on the naan. Split many different dishes. All fresh all wonderful. They gave us free birthday dessert. Cheers to them. My jersey city friend. Commented on how great the price was. There was a girl at another table who had a glass of wine spilled on her white sweater. So some entertainment. I will return. read more

Chatni Indian Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

This place was empty for sunday for dinner. It is BYOB so that's awesome! We got all meat items. We got two apps which one was a tandoori mixed grill which had shrimp, lamb, kabobs, and chicken. The other was chicken in a cream sauce. Both were good but the spice level wasn't there. We asked for medium and it wasn't spicy at all. For our meal we got the chicken tikka and another chicken item which I forgot but all were good too. We got mixed naan and that was also really delicious! Service was good but I would expect that since we were the only table there. read more

Love this place. Great selection and have never been disappointed. Stoked to have tasty Indian food in the neighborhood.