Chutneys Grille On the Hill

This place is closing and being torn down to make way for condos/​retail space, and it shows. Went there with a large group for a birthday dinner, and it was not an enjoyable experience.
Took almost an hour and a half before the last person was served, and about half the food was wrong or not the right spice level. My friend’s Tandoori chicken was basically red-​dyed plain chicken. No flavor at all!
I mean it sucks you have to close, but if you’re going to stay open until the last day, at least put some effort into it, make people want to come back in case you decide to reopen in the new building.

I’ll miss you — please open up soon in a new location!
If you are a fan of Chutneys — get there now!!! Only 5 days left!
This has been our goto Indian restaurant in Seattle for the last 7 years. Besides having killer Tiki Masala, the owner has been so personable over the years and got to know all of our family.
After a long span where we have not been there, I decided that this is where I wanted to have my «Father’s Day» dinner. The owner still remembered our usual drinks and orders. How often does that happen? After a wonderful meal we found out they are closing in 5 days. they hope to open up somewhere else, but have not found a location yet.
We will go back this week just to support a local restaurant. Please join us so it will inspire Chutneys to open again soon.

I used to come here a lot years ago, but recently the quality of food has gone downhill quite a bit.
I was here for dinner bit long ago, during my meal, I just wanted to get up, pay and leave.
First of all, the service was great! The host was very friendly and talkative, which is nice when you are dining for one.
I ordered Naan, Chicken Tikka and Chai tea. The Naan tasted horrible, doughy flatbread, very similar to the subway flatbread, yuck.
Chicken Tikka– The chicken tasted great, but the rest tasted like tomato soup.
Chai– it was fine, had a lot of sugar.
The host seemed a little taken back when I didn’t want to box anything up.
Try Annapurna on Broadway, so good!

* Food was bland and not amazing or so
* Food wasn’t cheap either
* Waiter wasn’t courteous at all. We felt that since we were not American, we didn’t get served well.
* Service was slow
* Funny part — we entered the restaurant at 8:30PM. At the end, we showed our Groupon which was valid till 9pm. The guy refused to accept it at first, saying that you did not enter before 9pm. When i argued, he said in a rude way, OK, i will take it. Later, he realized we may not tip him well for poor service, food and being rude — he charged 15% TIP by default.
This is not based on a 1 time visit by the way :-)

Butter chicken was bland and kind of sweet.
Waiter was rude and the service was really slow.

I’ve been to this place several times and it was always fine. tonight I had the worst service I’ve had anywhere in years. It took a really, really long time before our order was taken. We saw only one guy and he never helped us. Then we saw another guy, but we weren’t sure what his position was because he was chatting with some people. Eventually those people left and he finally came over to our table to take our order. I was visibly irritated and he had the nerve to say I looked uptight. Then he tried to explain that he was the only waiter this evening. As if he was really busy working and not standing around talking to his friends.

I generally like Chutneys and I live right next door, so it can’t be beat for convenience. I love their chicken korma, but we have generally enjoyed everything we ordered here. I stopped by for lunch a few weeks ago and ordered the biriyani which was fantastic and only $ 8 or $ 9 for a huge bowl that kept me fed all day. They have a huge cocktail list which is a bit surprising and the drinks are really, really good. I’m not sure if this is a family business, but usually I see the same guys running the front of the house day in and day out and they are extremely gracious, attentive, and friendly. Ram not only remembered us from our first visit, but remembered that we were apartment-​hunting at the time — two years ago!
Prices are a bit on the higher side, especially because rice and naan are sold ala carte rather than with the curries, but there are always plenty of leftovers, so it all evens out. The décor is generally more upscale than most Indian restaurants, and as a nice bonus, they have a small parking lot behind the restaurant. While the U-​district has an overall better selection of Indian restaurants, Chutneys makes it worthwhile to stay on the Hill.

I honestly don’t know how this place stays in business. I’ve been there just once but the food reminded me of what I used to cook in grad school when I had no time or ability to use cooking skills. Back then we would throw vegetables and store-​bought masala in a pot and let it go for a while with water and salt. The food there reminded me of that level of skill. I’ve not dared to step foot there since and am amazed at the resilience of this place. People in Capitol Hill, yearn for better standards, stand up for it!

We stay literally 1 block away, but I’ve always feared the sports-​bar look of the Mercer Street side (which now actually has some swank-​looking lounge areas with Indian cushions). After a week of holiday eating out, however, we were getting tired of duck confit & poutine & all of pub fare’s rustic friends. The lamb was tough, but the okra was nicely cooked & seasoned, the breads hot & light, and they brought me a bowl of super-​hot chutney from the kitchen. The owner was a total kick! I’ll definitely be back for him and to make my way through the fun East-​West cocktail list — Vanilla Stoli with Chai? Ginger-​infused vodka with cardamom syrup? Yes, please!

The food is average, but the service is severely lacking. The female owner is terribly rude. She likes to argue with customers and make people feel unintelligent, even when asking questions about food. Worst customer service ever.

Been here a few times now. Went last Saturday hoping to take advantage of their lunch buffet but apparently do not offer that on the weekends anymore. All in all, spent $ 40 for 2 mediocre dishes, bad chai, and naan (even though i ordered paratha). Certainly not terrible food but definitely better Indian options around Seattle.
With that said, our server was trying to be helpful and accommodate us when he could tell our disappointment from there not being a buffet available.

This is more of a 3.5 review. I love Indian food and this place is close to my home so convenient… They have tons of choices be it vegetarian, seafood, meat, or poultry. They also have a few different naan options. They bring you flat, chip like bread and some good sauces to start. The prices are pretty standard for Indian restaurants. Keep an eye out for Valpak or newspaper ads because they tend to run 15−20% off coupons.

Their business name says ‘Chaat Lounge’. I expect better chaat items. We ordered some and they were more like ‘wanna be’ fusion chaat — Nothing great (I’d make better at home)
Dint try proper meal — so may be their other items are decent.
They have decent interiors, lounge and a bar though…

I really don’t know how to rate this place since I’m not sure I like Indian food so I’ll give it a 3 star (average), although I will defer to others on a star rating.
I saw the place in Capital Hill today and thought I was going into a Grill, such as Capital Grill, Daily Grill or Metropolitan Grill. I should have picked up on the music as I entered and my nose, which picked up on the aroma of curry. I had a curry something wrap, which I though was a little bland, but not knowing how to compare this place, I guess it was okay.
I should have Unilocal’ed this place first, but the name just threw me off! :-) Next time… follow my nose!

Curry-​less curry?
Something has happened here, and it’s not good. Maybe the brown crud in the men’s room urinal made me think this place had changed. It was probably my fifth time eating here in the past ten years. This was the first time it was horrible. Even the dining room (our party of six were the only folks at lunch time) was needing a good scrub down — dust on the fixtures. How can you do a lunch buffet under these circumstances.
We ordered curry with meat because the buffet is now all vegetarian. Plus they don’t include the flat bread either — usually yummy naan arrived cut up, and maybe reheated? Not good. Worked out to about $ 11 each per person. For that much, I demand a non-​brown urinal.
But, I’m feeling generous and sentimental in awarding two stars. I really want this place to survive, since I got engaged here 35 years ago, when it was a packed and rather hip sandwich shop (Block’s).

I’ve only been here once, but no matter what, I’m not sure I can justify paying almost $ 20 for indian food… Especially when it isn’t even all-​you-​can eat buffet… Now granted when I came, I did not eat any main entrees, (my friends and I only came for appetizers), the mere fact that their dishes do not even include rice is a disappointment.
On the good side, their appetizers that we did order were alright. Not spectacular, but not that bad either. (I wish they had a happy hour) Their spinach naan was pretty good, but we were not even given any extra chutney. Only the tiny cup fulls for the «complimentary snack crackers» that they give you at the beginning. This place called Chutney’s doesn’t give you chutney with naan??? What? Next dish we had was the curry mussels, which was alright. Exactly what you expect, indian curry with mussels. Last appetizer was the crab cake, which happened to contain waayyy more potato than any crab. Don’t let the size fool you, it’s mostly potato.
Other than all that mentioned before, there isn’t much else to say about this place. Make this trip at your own risk… be ready to open your wallet pretty wide.

I’ve been here a lot. I can’t come up with a single strong opinion on it OR CAN I? Wait, no, yes? Sure, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll explore my various memories (in no particular order!) and see!:
MEMORY ONE: Take out. When I got there I remember I forgot to order papadums. They give those for free when you dine in so I hit them up for a few on my way out with my 50 bucks worth of food. He says he wants $ 3 or some such at which point I blow a rod. I make a stink and tell him I even tipped on the to-​go order and please appreciate my benevolence. Free papadums and I feel like a jackass.
MEMORY TWO: Dine-​in. Our first trip in via the Entertainment card. Free entrée! Why do businesses always look at you like you’re proffering food stamps when you pull out that card? Ever have them forget to punch the square? So you file it away like you’ll remember to come back once they’ve forgotten you already used it and get a bonus free entrée? They didn’t forget to punch but I would have forgotten anyway but even if not I would have felt like a jackass for gaffling free tikka masala.
MEMORY THREE: Take out. They forgot the Raita. I did not find out until I got home (forgot to check). I called and screamed bloody murder and made them refund $ 3.95 to my credit card. I checked the B of A website daily for a week until it hit. I am really petty.
MEMORY FOUR: Take out. When I got there they had taken out a whole section of the restaurant and turned it into a fancy Indian steak-​house style place. Smelled good, looked empty. A weird white guy talked my ear off hyping the new end of the restaurant and claimed to be a ‘regular’ but was clearly an owner or investor. I never tried the steakhouse and have clearly forgotten the name.
MEMORY FIVE: Dine-​in. Outside on the patio. A homeless guy comes to the wall and bums a few bucks off my cousin. Starts to walk off and then says «hey man, why don’t you give me some of that meat?». Cousin shoots back, «I already gave you X dollars!», guy says «hey, why you gotta tell everyone you gave me money?», cousin yells, «why you gotta tell everyone I got meat?!». I still find this response funny.
MEMORY SIX: Take out. They forgot the raita (forgot to check the bags, they tie a big knot in the top and I sort of feel guilty about undoing it with them watching it like I don’t trust them). I let it slide; I’m out $ 3.95 plus tax.
MEMORY SEVEN: Dine in. The food was REALLY GOOD. Just a good night by the staff. We enjoyed some big Indian beers and had a very nice evening.
MEMORY EIGHT: Take out. I called from downtown and got here way too early. I wait in the bar. The steakhouse is gone, yes, now it’s a bar (or lounge, I think they call it a lounge). I’ve never seen anyone in here and that’s no different tonight. I wait there, there’s no bartender but there is a remote control for the TV. I turn on Monday Night Football. An old man comes in and one of the staff follows and pours him a beer without him asking, clearly a regular. He tells both of us (separately) that he’s already ‘pretty tipsy’ (Monday, 6:45 p.m.) The bartender leaves us there alone and the old man says something about hating football but then starts a running dialogue with the MNF game. Had some real strong opinions on the Dolphins punt coverage.
MEMORY NINE: Take out. The whole order was correct. I cry a little bit.
MEMORY TEN: Dine in. New Entertainment Book! Give him the card when the check comes and he tells me they’re not in the Entertainment Book anymore. The other two Chutney’s are, just not this one. Well, I’ll be damned, he’s right. I suppose I would have gone anyway and ordered the same thing so no loss (except the $ 13).
MEMORY TEN: Take out. I ask for ’ a little extra mint chutney’. I get a $ 3 tub of Mango chutney.
MEMORY ELEVEN: Take out. They make a big production of checking everything off against the receipt and double checking. I am really impressed. I take it to my car and double check anyway. No raita. See, I’m not even miffed anymore as I just expect it, so I trundle back in and they dig up some raita. Food was good.
Looking at all this, what have I learned? The power of double checking, yes. That I haven’t found an Indian place I like better within reasonable range. That having an actual parking lot on Cap Hill is outstanding. That patio dining is one of life’s unassailable joys. That Indian beer in the big bottles makes the meal a minimum of 25% better. That eating a huge spicy Indian meal late and then getting up at 5:00 a.m. and getting on a long flight and having three cups of coffee is a devastatingly bad idea. That if you want to ensure you get extra mint chutney, buy a big bottle (I get it at Umajimaya) and keep it in your refrigerator and never be disappointed. WOW, I am way off track… so I’ll be back and hey, five stars!

Now, I’m no connoisseur of Indian cuisine but I had a pleasant experience here. One: it’s near my house… that’s always a bonus because parking is so difficult in Capitol Hill. Two: the service was quick, the prices were decent, and the food was good. What more can one ask for? In fact — just thinking about this place makes me want to go back. YUM.

I don’t know how this place isn’t always full. They have delicious food, friendly and quick staff, quick service, awesome patio.
We had the stuffed halibut (out of this WORLD!) and the stuffed chicken (⁴⁄₅ in comparison).
It’s a bit on the pricey side though… One Naan, the two dishes above, rice, and two beers came to $ 52 or something. Seems a little much for Indian food, but it WAS really good!

*WARNING: DO NOT EAT THE PAPADAM…”
Because it is only after you’ve begun eating this complimentary hook that you’ll realize you’ve been snagged into an overpriced a la carte dining experience that skimps in a lot of ways.
To preface, my wife and I are fans of the Queen Anne Chutneys and we were fans of the now defunct Wallingford Chutneys. Chutneys Grille on the Hill is the bastard child of the family.
We dined early on a weeknight in an otherwise empty dining room. We were planning on sharing an entrée and an order or two of naan as we had done on countless occasions at other Chutneys. After my wife ordered the Chana Chicken, the waitress turned to me for my order. I replied that we would be sharing the Chana Chicken.
She responded: «Oh, well, we do charge a $ 4.00 fee for sharing entrees, so I might recommend that you just order an entrée. If you’d like, I could count a couple of appetizers as your entrée, if you’d prefer.» In two plus years of eating at Chutneys, I’ve never paid a split fee. She pointed out the new page in the menu that mentioned the fee, but (realistically) we couldn’t leave because we had taken the bait — THE FREE PAPADAM.
So I ordered another entrée, and she asked if we would like rice with our dinner. I responded, «Do the dinners not come with rice?» «Oh no, no they do not.» Now we are paying $ 4.00 for a small bowl of steamed rice.
When the chicken arrived, it was lackluster at best and it tasted way too gamey for regular chicken. The other entrée was tasty, but nothing worth writing home about. The service was adequate. The bill weighed in at nearly $ 50.00.
All in all, the Chutneys Grille on the Hill does a major disservice to the brand. If you want more reliable Indian without all the silly tricks, head to Cedars or Bombay Grill in the U District.