Chai Pani Asheville
Indian restaurant · Asheville ·
Indian street food: chaat, thalis, okra fries, and colorful decor
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Indian street food: chaat, thalis, okra fries, and colorful decor
"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
"Opened in 2009 by restaurateur Meherwan Irani, this Indian spot became an Asheville staple and was awarded Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation in 2022; the same team has expanded with Botiwalla and outposts in Charlotte and Atlanta." - Gina Smith
"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 2024, moved to much larger digs in the old Buxton Hall Barbecue location on the South Slope. The massive kitchen and dining room have allowed for an expanded menu and an explosion of Chai Pani’s signature buoyantly colorful decor and joyful Bollywood verve. Menu favorites like the kale pakoras and lime-kissed matchstick okra fries remain alongside newer offerings, including crispy sabudana vada tots and bihari steak kebab. Chai Pani still doesn’t take reservations, but on weekends customers can wait for their table with a grand view of the dining room from the upstairs cocktail and pani puri bar." - Gina Smith
"Co-owner Molly Irani recalls the emergency plumbing help fondly: “We called the World Central guy the pirate plumber.” The group prepped, cooked, packaged, and distributed thousands of free meals daily while remaining closed for normal service, then resumed paid service with an eye to feeding the community practically and affordably. The super-sized South Slope location reopened on October 25 with the Hurricane Hot Bar, a lunch-and-dinner buffet; Molly says, “The priority for us was how our town wants to eat right now and plated meals did not feel right,” and adds, “What we did was fast, value-oriented comfort food in abundance. We had linemen from all over the country filling their platters, locals in muck boots who spent all day getting through the day.” The Hot Bar was planned to extend through at least the end of February. On costs and recovery, Irani says, “The cost was insane,” and explains, “The math was upside down, and we would be lucky to break even or come close, but we needed to open and take care of our teams.” She and her partner also report insurance shortfalls: “That has not come through for anyone we know. Not one cent.” Irani reflects on the community response: “Asheville restaurants are a genuine, generous reflection of our community,” Irani says. “What we saw happen was a gritty community come together to save itself by giving away whatever they had, and that was especially true for restaurants. Now we need visitors to come back to us.”" - Kay West
"A restaurant serving Indian street food, known for its matchstick okra fries and gradually reopening after the hurricane."