Chai Pani Asheville

"A restaurant serving Indian street food, known for its matchstick okra fries and gradually reopening after the hurricane."

"After winning the 2022 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant, chef Meherwan Irani’s lighthearted homage to Indian street food outgrew the tiny downtown space where it earned its reputation, and in May, moved to much larger digs in the old Buxton Hall Barbecue location on Asheville’s South Slope. The move has allowed the restaurant to expand its menu as well as its signature buoyantly colorful decor and joyful Bollywood verve. Menu favorites like the kale pakoras and lime-kissed matchstick okra fries remain alongside new additions, including crispy sabudana vada tots and bihari steak kebab. Chai Pani still doesn’t take reservations, but on weekends guests can wait for their table with a grand view of the dining room from the upstairs cocktail and pani puri bar." - Gina Smith

"The 90-minute waits for a seat in Chai Pani’s tiny starter home on Battery Park Avenue are no longer a thing with the move to the spacious historic building in South Slope that was most recently Buxton Hall Barbecue and originally, a roller-skating rink that served Black Asheville. The big reveal on May 21 was a show-stopper, an eye-popping explosion of color, texture, marigolds, murals (including some original to the roller rink,) and what founder Meherwan Irani describes as “happy chaos.” The world-famous matchstick okra fries made the move, but a larger kitchen means an expanded menu, and new soon-to-be world-famous items include the KFC (Kashmiri fried chicken) sandwich, sabudana vada tots, kale pakora chaat and pav pudding." - Kay West

"Chai Pani forever changed Asheville’s dining scene when it began serving Indian street food dishes like chaat, pakora, sloppy jai, and uttapam back in 2009. The owner, who grew up in Ahmednagar, India, helped popularize Indian street food throughout the American South, and has since expanded with an Atlanta location and a retail shop Spicewalla (which you can find down the street). Be warned that there’s no reservation system and the line regularly creeps halfway down the block, so you’ll probably have to plan your day around getting a table, or at least an hour to secure takeout. It’ll wholeheartedly be worth it, though, especially when you taste the okra fries. " - laura hackett

"Chai Pani has moved to a new location at South Slope in the building that formerly housed Buxton Hall Barbecue. The new space features vibrant decorations and significantly more seating capacity." - Erin Perkins