Old southern charm building with a splash of Indian flowers. The drinks are great. East Indian G&T has fantastic tones. The buffet hit the spot. The Saag Paneer was the star of the evening. The waitress kept the water flowing and always had a smile.

We came here during their limited time buffet. The decor is beautiful and very colorful. Service was friendly. There was a good variety of food, but would have loved to see another curry dish. The price was reasonable especially since you can sample all the entrees, street foods and desserts.

Being my first restaurant visited during my stay in Asheville, I was really excited to see what the hype was about and left very satisfied. I had the chance to visit their older, smaller location, which had great ambiance and decor despite being a bit cramped. Wait time was moderately long (~25-30 minutes) without a reservation on a weekday afternoon. However, once my reservation was ready, everyone from the hostess to waitress were very welcoming. Every dish ordered was prepared and plated very nicely and tasted delicious. I ordered several dishes including SPDP, Vada Pav, Butter Chicken and Mango Lassi as my beverage. All the dishes came out together, which I really appreciated as I was able to taste and compare everything side by side. I would definitely love to check out Chai Pani's newer location in the future!

Chai Pani is just the best! My partner is from AVL and has been a loyal Chai Pani diner since they opened. I get to experience it about once a year when we visit and it's always a treat. Living in CA we have a lot of Indian food options but nothing like this. My favorite is the Chicken Pakoras, which were recently re-introduced to the hot bar menu due to popular request (especially appreciate that they reply to social media comments about this!). I also love the Lamb Keema, the Bhel Puri, and the Papadams. The naan is also great. In the new location, I love the upstairs bar area while you wait, as the wait WILL be long (but worth it). The service is very friendly and there's also a gift store area to browse. Cute merch (I get tons of compliments on my tiger shirt)!

This is a must if you are in Ashville!!! One of the locals told me about this place. Has a buffet style. You will not be disappointed. Great for first timers that want to try Indian food for the first time.

Top-tier butter chicken, amazing naan, gorgeous decor, and friendly, spectacular service!

It's very cute inside. They only offer buffet at the moment due to the hurricane. I have heard amazing reviews from my friends about this place, so I think the buffet quality doesn't represent overall quality. I'll be back to try out their a la carte. Overall a very good Indian restaurant

Update, Sept 9, 2024: CP has moved into a very large and wonderfully festive new space - see included pics. Had the saag paneer thali, which featured multiple textures and a panoply of piquant flavors. Samples of daal and chana masala were included, and were perfect slathered over the basmati. Love the raita here - it's nicely seasoned and topped with light, crunchy boondi. Sadly, the parking situation still stinks. Service was outstanding - thanks, Finnegan! I've found a time slot that allows one to escape the crushing crowds and mind-numbing lines one typically encounters here, crowds and lines that will worsen exponentially with the autumn tourist blitzkrieg. Never mind what that time slot is...

This is a longtime standard, but they've moved to a new location. This large converted warehouse is no longer in a place that gets much foot traffic, but they do not seem to be dependent on passers by as this place is still quite crowded. Servers were being trained while I visited for lunch, which caused a bit of a delay but nothing major. The food remains distinctive. While I saw other Indian restaurants in the area empty, large Indian families and all sorts of other people were crowding in here. Whatever they're doing, it's working, powered by their spice mixes which are for sale out front. On the drawback side, it is generally dairy-heavy cuisine. There is a nice vegan uttapam, but the salads they used to offer seem to have disappeared. Can I have my delicious cashews on shredded cabbage back please, Chai Pani? Thanks. I will say that my thali had more paneer in it than a lot of entree-sized paneer dishes, with some other fun stuff for variety. Also notable was that having ordered a delicious, ginger-heavy chai, I was offered a free refill for the road. I've tried most of what they offer at this point, and I am in no hurry to stop eating here.

The new location & space are beautiful. So many flowers in the lobby and dining space. The taste is consistent and we even tried some new things that we enjoyed a lot. Our favorites were the okra fries, SPDP, naan with ghee, pav vada, and the sabudana vada tots. Each dish's flavors were great. The whole family enjoyed their meal. Our server was attentive. Food comes out quick. There are lots of paid lots within walking distance, so parking was pretty easy to find. We had a large group and only waited a few minutes to get seated.