It fell short of 5 stars for me. We were here for dinner mid week for our anniversary and I was not blown away by the service or the food. Our reservation was at 6:15 but we got there at around 5:30 and the place was quite empty and we were seated right away. Service wasn't great. We weren't asked if we were celebrating any occasion and server did not attempt to explain the menu items. Maybe she was having an off day? We ordered the spiced burrata which was yummy and I had the over priced Chenna sea bass, which was tasty though. My husband being vegan didn't have too many choices and felt the dal had too much cinnamon and the mushroom masala was just ok. Didn't get the upscale dining feel and just overall felt bleh. The cardamom cheesecake was definitely the highlight. Maybe we would have enjoyed it more if our service had been better. read more

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Best Indian food I've ever had. Definitely will come back for a special occasion. Loved it! read more

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

Second time eating here. We got the curry sampler both times and tried different things both times. They care about the food they serve and whom they serve it to. Top notch place. We are novice at Indian food and all the servers really explain everything so well. read more

Very good fish, a little bit picture but was a fun experience! There are only eight chairs which makes it super fun! read more

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To the Management Team, The main reason we came to try Kahani is because we had tasted the head chefs cooking as a guest at 2 Indian events that was catered at the Ritz and just loved the food. When we heard about this pop-up we just had to come try it. The menu at Kahani was very different from what we had eaten at the events. The chefs creativity to the Kahani menu definitely showcased elevated Indian cuisine and the presentation of every dish was just exquisite but maybe we had high expectations and towards the end it did not meet our standards. Maybe because we were vegetarian and the dishes we ordered were not as incredible as the non-veg dish that our guest had ordered who loved their meal. The only veg dish we loved was the Paneer Croquette. That was definitely innovative and different and tasted amazing!! The malai kofta on the other hand was overall salty, the sag paneer was not that thick and it was bland. The appetizer paneer gula had a weird taste but the yogurt and fruit that came with it was delicious. The cheesecake and rasmalai were also bland but the ladoo crumbs used as garnish was probably the better part of both desserts. Overall we just felt that all dishes were a bit off in taste and eventhough they were some of the traditional Indian dishes with a twist, they were definitely overpriced. Seems like we just paid for the art of the dish as they did look amazing. Sorry for the mixed review as I just wanted to be honest and give my true feedback so it could be shared with the kitchen staff and maybe at the end of the day only slight adjustments are needed to enhance the veg dishes. Our waitress was also a bit slow. I guess since she had other tables she could not service us faster. Hope this review does not put a dent into anything and as the Chef truly is amazing but may his team was just having a bad night when we went. Hopefully we get to attend another event at Ritz where the chef can cater his amazing Indian street food menu or maybe even add from items from the catering menu to the actual Kahani menu :-). read more

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I hate to give this place a 3 star because the service and ambiance deserved a 5 star. But the people deserve to know the food is ok. We had the chicken tika masala that had an overpowering mint flavor. The paneer masala again just bland. The short rib was probably the best dish we had. The burrata just didn't belong in the combination it was placed in. The naan was decent. I think maybe my expectations were too high as it was more fusion and not authentic Indian. So I was sorry to say I was disappointed. read more

I can't really rate the food or the pricing because they refused for us to enter the restaurant. When we booked the dinner we made the effort to call and ask if our service dog will be welcomed, and we were reassured that as long he will stay on the floor it will fine. We arrived on time. The manager at the door started to question us why our dog is a service dog and what kind of disability I have that I need a service dog (embarrasing). According to ADA.GOV staff are not allowed to inquire about the nature about a person's disability. When I started to feel unwelcome I decided to leave, but not before I asked to speak with a manager. The manager was as rude and just as snoby as the door manager. She promised to talk to door manager but offered no relief to the situation. As i mentioned, I didn't have a chance to taste the food, but based on other reviews I read here it wasn't such a big loss. Just inconvenient. Rude management and not so great food is not something the the name Ritz Carlton should be associated with. read more

Amazing food and ambiance. The chef came out and visited us and gave us an overview of the restaurant.

Very good take on Indian food, amazing location and service. Had a very good experience. Looking forward to visiting again.

An amazing experience from start to finish. This is authentic Indian food elevated to perfection with a combination of traditional and regional flavors. The service was impeccable, the presentation was sublime and I left with my taste buds dancing. We sat in a booth which allowed for an intimate discussion for four adults. Five stars across the board. read more

Awesome place. Loved the food and the service. Got cheesecake as desert and it was amazing. Would be definitely going back.

Food: Does not taste Indian to begin with. Shrimp was over cooked. Curry was too salty. Chaat is named as Pakoda and Mango Lassi is a cake. Quite confusing. Can get much better food at Yellow Chilli and Baar Baar. Service: The gentleman at the entrance had an attitude. The serving staff was well mannered and respectful. Table was not ready when we arrived. Ambience: Poor for the price we pay. We had lunch at Raya a few days earlier at the same hotel with the best view of the pacific and food with better quality. Probably my first and last visit to Kahani. read more

Our dinner at Kahani was the best meal we had during our four day vacation in Dana Point. Every dish was interesting and perfect. The restaurant is spectacularly beautiful. Even on crazy New Year's Eve, the service was calm, cool and perfect. Highly recommended. read more

Incredibly disappointing. The reviews are accurate, it's overpriced and underwhelming. They served a tomato chutney for appetizers, the server told me it was tomato and coconut and I asked the waiter about the ingredients she just made up a bunch, I asked what spices and she said well 40 spices?!! I asked why I couldn't taste coconut only to be told later it was tomato onion chutney not tomato coconut. That was the start. We ordered the spiced burrata for appetizers, the burrata was not fresh, and not at room temperature. The croutons were stale and the dish was not satisfying For main we ordered the seabass which was delicious and well cooked. We also ordered the malai kofta - again frozen koftas and not fresh We ordered lacha parata - again frozen pre-made parathas that had been reheated I skipped desert Very disappointing for what I hoped would be an incredible addition to this area read more

An interesting combination of Indian flavors and "American" food. I'm out party had the seabass, short ribs, paneer en croute, channa and mushroom masala. All was delicious! The channa was pretty spicy, so if you're sensitive - beware. read more

Insanely good food! Ambience and service was incredible. The chef even came over and met us. We ate platter it was enough for 4 ppl, all the kabobs were amazing and the curries in the platter were very flavorful. Even the drinks were so delicious. It was my birthday so the chef sent out a bunch of desserts which were absolutely outstanding! Excellent play on gajjar ka halwa and ras malai. read more

The service was excellent. The surroundings beautiful. The food is for not the best. Do not expect your traditional Indian food.

Assembly of Vegetarian food! Service is good! Nice ambience! We tried everything vegetarian on the menu and some items tasted same. For example: The kofta of malai kofta curry was the same paneer kofta in 'Paneer gulgula' appetizer. It was tasting good but it's just assembly of the same things in different dishes. If you want to pay $200 on assembled food then this is your place! read more

What a fabulous experience to have high-end Indian food at a fancy hotel in the US. These kind of experiences are hard to get, especially if you're vegetarian. The staff was very knowledgeable, and they understood the sensibilities very well and guided us appropriately to order the food . read more

I came here with my husband for my birthday dinner and it was a very good experience. From the food, to the service, to the ambiance, we are completely satisfied. We will definitely make an effort to come back for future opportunities. Highly recommended if you expect true Ritz Carlton quality. (Can't say the same for the hotel, but that's a different review...) read more

How good can Indian food be at the Ritz Carlton? Right? I didn't have any expectations. I didn't even know why my wife wanted me to make a reservation there. Well to my complete surprise this was one of the tastiest Indian dinners I have ever had. Perfect amount of heat (we asked for extra spicy). Service was excellent. My wife and I are lactose intolerant and the server was very considerate with swapping out dishes for us. We had the curry sampler and it was excellent. Pricey for Indian food but excellent. The lamb was cooked perfectly. The rice was decadent and the assorted curries were deliciously dense. I felt completely satisfied as if I had a great workout. The papaya parfait was a great perfect wrap up to a wonderful meal. Two big thumbs up. read more

Mediocre Indian food that is overpriced with exceptional service. My local Indian restaurant in Tustin serves way better food.

Incredible!!! Service and food won't be beat. One of the best food experiences of our life. Get the sampler for two. It's unreal. Service was beyond perfect as well. We will be back. read more

My wife and I have dined here twice and are going back one more time before they close at the end of the month. The dishes are spectacular. The food adds premium quality ingredients and fun plays on traditional Indian and global dishes alike. The Almost Chai martini tastes just like a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte, so be careful. The only dish that has been slightly disappointing is the Nan bread; it has been a bit crispy on both visits so far. For dessert definitely get the Cardamom Cheesecake. We so hope the chef will open a permanent location as the food is so wonderful and we would love to continue to patron such a creative and detail oriented individual. read more

I didn't expect to find Indian food here at Ritz. I asked staff for nice quiet spot where I could eat and work. It turned out to be an elegant spot with superb food. The menu offers both gringo Indian and authentic. Choose the authentic at the bottom of the menu. Superb!!! read more

I wish this was a long standing restaurant and not just a pop up. If you can get in, the experience is totally worth it.

We have been to this place a couple of times at this point. The first time was an above average experience. The second time our experience extremely ordinary. We ended up taking our friends the second time around, and they were just as disappointed as we were. The food seemed stale and the servers were extremely pushy about getting more stuff on the menu. The ambiance was really average and they placed us close to entrance while the entire restaurant was empty, they said that they had full reservations and we ended up not seeing many people show up. The food was so expensive and the flavor was so average. We spent $450 on a dinner for 4!!! This is not a true Indian food experience, and please don't go here. It is a straight disrespect to Indian cuisine and flavors. The naan was soggy with butter instead of having a nice crisp and softness that a traditional naan does. Secondly the curries were oily/butter which overpowered the flavor. The head chef needs to really understand the flavor profile of Indian food before marketing Indian food at such a high end hotel establishment. Ritz Carlton needs to get a new restaurant or a better chef to represent Indian culture. I hope they can change my mind in the future. read more