Chaiwali Harlem

Great food, worst service ever. I can just
Leave now without paying my bill, nobody checks In for a really wrong time. Got my desert wrong, no fork provided and no tea, 10 minutes later. The waiter is great, just slow service.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve written a review MID-​MEAL (if ever). But this food I’m experiencing right now is ridiculously good.
Came in between lunch + dinner, so just the bar snacks menu was available. No problem whatsoever. Their bar snack menu is small, but packs a punch and hits you so good in all the right places. After asking my darling server (Daphnie) if the Tandoori Chicken Wrap and Crunchy Kale & Avocado Salad would be too much, she answered with «Yes,» I thanked her for her honesty, and just went with the wrap because it actually comes with a side salad. Score!
The Chicken Tandoori Wrap, let me tell you. Spiteful, but not too spicy. It gets your taste buds going crazy just enough in the best way. It’s described as being served with chutney, but it’s more like a heavenly dipping sauce. It’s definitely cilantro-​based. I can’t pinpoint any of the other ingredients, but it’s got a smoothie, silky, savory, herbal taste. The perfect condiment to this amazing wrap. And the side salad just freshens up the whole dish, lightly dressed so it doesn’t interfere with any of the other flavors.
Highly recommend. Will be back.

Amazing location, great service, just right spices, yummmm tea, fried fish was just right

The place is very cute and has a tranquil ambiance to it. My roommate and I had the roses drink which had lychee and was pretty good, girly but not overwhelmingly sweet, refreshing and sparkling. The only reason for the 3 stars, the food took a very long time to arrive. We had the black pepper chicken and the vegetable stew. Besides being really hungry the food was delicious, we cleaned our plates pretty much. Also they have a good number of vegetarian and gluten-​free options. I see myself going back with my family and friends.

Outstanding food, cool environment… and, alas, friendly but clueless service. This place would have received 5 stars if they knew how to serve their amazing food. Basics like napkins and silverware, bringing the appetizer before the main course, follow ups after serving the food were all missed. But, the food was good enough to make up for the lacking service. The kale burger was phenomenal and the lamb chops were literally thrilling!

They dug the Shrimp Chickpea Curry dish and everybody loved the Crunchy KaleFritters. They were so healthy.

I wanted this to be my favorite place in Harlem. I really did. Today was my second time in Chaiwali. I initially went when they opened, but the service was so poor that I told myself I was not going back. Fast forward six months. This place is beautiful inside so I wanted to show my boyfriend. We weren’t greeted at the door, and we had to ask to be seated. No big deal because there was live music and it was a little busy.
We’re seated upstairs. I ordered a Chai, and my boyfriend gets water. A woman (not our server) accidentally brings two teas, and we tell her that we only ordered one. She offers the second tea for free. For a brief second, I thought the service was better than the last time. No less than a minute later, I see our male server yelling at the woman who brought the teas. I can hear him tell her that we only ordered one tea and that she shouldn’t have left the tea for us. He tells her that she should have thrown it away, and he loudly tells her that we’ve got to pay for the tea. I then see him add a tea to our bill.
There are multiple things wrong with this. 1. The server was incredibly rude to his coworker who was simply attempting to be nice. 2. We didn’t ask for the tea so why should we pay for it. 3. Why would anyone behave like that in front of customers?
After I saw him add the tea to our bill, I politely informed him that we never asked for the tea. He took the charge off and took the tea along with him. 10 minutes later, he brought back the cold tea as if he was doing us a favor. My boyfriend didn’t touch it. The server’s attitude ruined my experience, and I can’t understand why the owner doesn’t read these Unilocal reviews. It’s pretty clear that the service in this place needs a major adjustment.
I won’t be back.

This is my favorite place in Harlem. The teas and coffees are on point and I really love the atmosphere. It’s great place to work if you bring the wifi or mifi with you because they do not provide it. If you’re looking to impress a date or just trying the amazingly fresh as hell lunch options it’s worth it.
I’ve been on several chai or green chai binges here and it’s all worth it.
Love this place! Have all of your meetings here!
PS — the dinner options are not that filling. Just an FYI.

More kitsch than taste. Was really disappointed as there was little to no flavor in the food and pretty much everything was under seasoned. There was also no cohesion or thought behind the menu. We were a big group so got to taste a lot of what was on the menu.
The eggplant dip tasted close to something someone would serve at a cafeteria or even a hospital. The samosa felt that it was refried and was over done. The lamb chops were probably better than the other things I tasted but nothing to write home about. Don’t bother with the quinoa pulao you can probably make it urself … Okra fries were meh … Don’t even think about the pasta it was penne in a lot of cream and some mushrooms and truffle oil that over powered the tastebuds. The fish like the lamb was average. It was soft and flaky but again under seasoned. I didn’t taste the kale burger but my friend said it was good so that might be the saving grace.
If you do end up here I would suggest instead of ordering the food get a carafe of their rose, Ginger prosecco and enjoy the kitschy décor and the awesome ambience. Whatever the ambience promises the food doesn’t deliver.

My lovely daughter who is a foodie took me there. The restaurant has a unique and inviting ambience. Kale burger is to die for. Two days later I still have the lingering taste of butter chai and olive oil and almond cake .
It’s fascinating how they serve chai at the bar
The ceiling in the bathroom on the main floor is done in a creative manner.
The best thing about Chaiwali is the dishes in the menu … Its exactly the way I would cook at home. From very traditional khichadi, samosa and butter chai to blended kale fritters served with green chutney and hummus .
Felt so much at home with the food .
Will certainly go back and will give it five stars.

I got to experience a wide variety of the food as my group decided to go family style on 5 dishes, 4 apps and 3 desserts.
We were thoroughly impressed with their ability to create Indian dishes outside the norm of tikki masala and vindaloo. My personal favorite dishes were the Whole Roasted Garlic App, The Vindaloo Lamp Chops and the Alice’s Jamaican Rum and Biscuit Pudding.
To be honest I could eat that dessert every day and not get sick of it. The whole experience was wonderful. The restaurants ambiance is extremely unique and inviting. I would definitely come back

Truly beautiful space, so much love in the details here. Kale burger is my absolute fave veggie burger ever. House chai is comforting and delicious. Great place for dinner or afternoon tea and conversation. I love to meet girlfriends here.

So I’ve read some pretty tough reviews about Chaiwali’s service and I even experienced the bad service for a good 10 minute period before someone even brought a menu — but! The kale veggie burger is literally one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten so this place is getting 5 stars, no questions. The okra fries were also great.
Chaiwali is among a few trendier, hipstery restaurants popping up in Harlem — it’s amazingly cute, white washed bricks, charming accessories — there’s even an outdoor space with a large table literally in a giant bird house. The space is absolutely great.
Prepare for bad service but get over it, the food is awesome — get the veggie burger!

I had the Masala Fish & Okra Fries. I suppose with the Okra Fries this is their take on «Fish & Chips.» The fish was very good, very small serving size, however. Temperature hot (though I wasn’t sure what to expect, bones or no bones. It came without bones). It’s a soft flat fish. The seasoning is nice (mustard and fenugreek). The okra fries were nice and crispy. They didn’t come piping hot as I would have preferred.
I thought the meal was over priced at $ 24 and certainly didn’t leave me thinking «I’d come and order this dish again.»

As an avid chai drinker, I absolutely LOVE the concept and implementation of this little café/​restaurant.
Now, to start off, I’ve only had the take out because it’s a half a block away from where I work, which makes it super easy to get my afternoon pick-​me up here. And the only two things I’ve tried are the thandi chai and their chai biscuits. The chai is okay, I like that it is the closest thing to authentic chai in the area. And maybe I’m not so excited about it because thandi chai is basically hot tea poured over ice, which dilutes the pop and spice of chai.
HOWEVER, the chai biscuits are AMAZING. I absolutely love them, they remind me of the chai biscuits my grandmother makes but with the perfect amount of spice and sweetness. It’s so well executed that I have been frequenting here strictly for them.
I definitely want to explore more of the menu because it so perfectly reminds me of treats and drinks that I grew up seeing, tasting and smelling. Definitely will continue coming here and trying more of their creations!

First review:
Beautiful beautiful restaurant! The ambiance and décor is fascinating. A true gem in the middle of Harlem.
The food is pretty good too. Not the best Indian I had but definitely a nice dining experience. It has a couple of plates that are worth trying. The roti was my favorite, a cheese quesadilla like plate, which came with a green sauce that was addictive! Crunchy on the outside and melty cheese inside is the perfect combination.
The rice cakes which came in the southern Indian breakfast were too tasteless for my palate. Good sauces and toppings on them but the actual rice cake didn’t have any flavor.
The chili is great for winter and cold weather. It’s a little bit on the heavy side since you can see all the oil they use. Literally the meat is floating on sauce and oil ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. Very good flavor though.
The samosas are not what I expected. Too small, a lot of fried dough and little filling.
Overall good food but I guess not the right choices. I would like to try the kale burger, eggplant spread and lentils next time. I like they have many options to go back.
I’ll be back.
Second review:
I’m not going to be back to this restaurant ever! 1 hour and a half waiting for our food. The three times I came to this place the service was horrible. Understaffed, with an attitude and didn’t care for the clients.
This time nobody was coming to our table from the beginning and we had to literally get up and go looking for water every time. But it doesn’t end there although we were starving and we order appetizers for the table which they forgot to put them as appetizers so they brought everything together. No, when the plates came they forgot one of them and although we talked several times with the owner he did not do anything to compensate for the waiting neither for the basic behavior of the restaurant. He should have told us that there were few waiters and that the kitchen was running slow. Instead he didn’t tell us what was happening and when the check came everything was charged. An owner needs to keep the clientele at all costs and I’m not saying that you should get free food all the time. You need to be compensated for such a bad service and mistreatment. At least the coffee is on the house or complimentary appetizers for the delay.
People don’t know how to manage a restaurant.
You just lost 4 clients ChaiWali, so Chau Wali!

Had a variety of dishes here with a decent group of people and have to say, we were sort of confused?
We were expecting Indian cuisine or a fusion but there were so many different flavors it was hard to enjoy them all properly. Okra fries are great though.
Service was lovely and décor was amazing. Go upstairs if u have the chance and check out the animal room :)

I had some issues with this place, but I’ll focus first on the service and food. Came here on a weekday night and was seated right away in the corner. They had live jazz, so we were right next to it. It was nice listening, but hard to have a conversation. The waiter was great, very attentive, but not overly. His timing was just right and it really stood out as some of the best service I’ve experienced. I split the samosas, flatbread, and the vegetarian casserole/​pie. Food was decent, good flavors, decent portion sizes, and an interesting twist of indian fusion.
When I walked up to the restaurant, it looks so adorable. A perfect date spot, and I was excited for a new Indian place in the area. I walked in and was greeted by the hostess who was wearing a Chinese shirt/​dress. This is clearly an Indian inspired restaurant – it’s in its name, its flavors, and its tag on Unilocal.So… why the heck is the hostess’s uniform a CHINESE outfit!!!
Then, I notice 2 of the male workers were wearing turbans as part of their uniform. They were wearing turbans as their uniform… they were wearing a religious garb as their uniform! My Indian boyfriend didn’t find this too offensive, but as an American Chinese, I found the hostess’s dress VERY offensive. Although both cultures may be labeled generically as «Asian» we are not all the same. And, establishments need to be more careful to ensure they are not appropriating other cultures.

Delicious HEALTHY Food that taste like it was prepared with care and love.
We ordered the lamb a second time it was so good.
The 3 desserts were special, rum pudding was the best, halva was nutty and mango goat cheese mousse wasn’t too sweet, just nice and delicious.
The naked Chai was amazing.
We started with the Drinking Flowers, a nice balance of St Germain, Prosecco and rose water.
Not dry or sweet.

Awesome new café in Harlem that specializes in coffee, chai, Indian home cooked snacks like samosas, desserts like nutty olive oil cake, gluten free food, and overall a gorgeous venue. Spacious and warm interiors with lots of seating, a communal round table outside, and a beautiful upstairs area with a nice birds eye view of Lenox Ave. Definitely worth checking out.