Kris T.

We have been wanting to come here for years. Ever since we attending Dawali festival at the Ritz Carlton. Sadly, we did not make it before the original chef left. Happily, it did not disappoint! So good! As one would expect, the service was impeccable. The food matched. We ordered the lamb, short ribs and curry for 2. The curry was generous & very interesting. I think we got to choose 5 kinds. Made it great for trying different ones. The chicken & rice was excellent. We also ordered the dessert that is like donut holes. So great. And a pistachio dessert. The venue is so beautiful. Just adds to the meal. Went for a brief walk after dinner. The grounds are so lovely

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.

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.

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!

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...

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+.

Balpreet T.

I was really excited to try this restaurant because I am Indian and love Indian food. Unfortunately, was disappointed with the food. For positives, the service was great. Our waitress was attentive and friendly and our water cups were never empty. Ambiance was also great, felt intimate in our little booth and they had live guitar music. The food was just not good. We ordered the pakora, burrata salad, and short rib. Everything felt like it was trying too hard to have interesting ingredients and look cool vs actually tasting good. The burrata salad was very bland and weirdly had freeze dried strawberries in it which threw the taste off. The short rib was pretty good but just heavy so I'm glad we shared. We also got the galab jaman which was very good and I had a margarita which was average. Overall, will not be back.

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

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

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.

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.

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.