November, 2006

Rating: 9 out of 10

Tariff : Dinner for 4

• 2 entrees
• 1 order chaat
• 2 stuffed naans
• 3 mango lassi drinks
• 2 desserts and a chai tea
• tip
• $47

Atmosphere

Chaat Cafe is an attractive, casual Indian restaurant along University Ave. in Berkeley. It is painted in rich earth tones and decorated with simple, framed posters of classic Indian movie stars. There are a combination of booths and tables and the right hand wall has bar-style seating with stools for single diners or perhaps those waiting to pick up an order. Chaat cafe has tandoor ovens, visible through a window into the kitchen at the rear of the restaurant.  For those unfamiliar with this northern Indian style of cooking, these special deep circular ovens go down into a counter (as opposed to going into a wall) and are great for baking breads like naans (soft, bubbly flat breads) and for roasting meats (a well loved dish being tandori chicken).  Like going to a brick oven pizzeria, diners can wander back, peek in the window, and see the chefs slapping the bread dough onto the walls of the oven or removing long skewers of meats from it.

Service

The atmosphere is casual, but it is still a step above luncheonette, as far as decor goes. However, patrons line up at a counter to the rear of the restaurant to order and then receive a number to place on their tables. The counter staff have always been friendly as long as I can remember. Water and flatware are self serve, but the rest of your meal is brought out by a waiter or waitress who will gladly get you a sauce, answer your questions, bring you a to go box, etc.

Food

The restaurant is named for the appetizers or snacks it serves so many of--chaat.  These can easily be substituted for a meal and they can be ordered by a group and shared the way you might try tapas. Some of our favorites are the samosas--deep fried fat triangular packets of dough filled with spiced potato or vegetable mixture, the pakoras, batter dipped and fried pieces of veggies, and fried paneer (fresh cheese cubes). These are all served with several dipping sauces. Another favorite is the chole bhature. Choles are a saucy spiced chickpea dish and although I have had more flavorful versions of this, their fresh deep fried puri or bature--a huge puffy round bread--is fabulous (a bit heavy, though!). There are several stuffed breads that are our favorites: the keema naan is a thin layer of spicy lamb inside a naan and the aloo naan has a spiced potato filling. For dinners we like the chicken tika masala plate or the boti (lamb) kebab wrap--both of these meats are cooked in the Tandoor and are succulent and flavorful--served with naan and cucumber salad. This last visit I tried the paneer tika masala, cheese cubes in a highly spiced sauce. It was too hot for my taste (I am a bit of a whimp when it comes to very spicy foods), but my dining partner ate every bit of it! You can have beer, wine, or soda, but we always order mango lassi--a yoghurt based mango milkshake--because it is so delicious here and the perfect antidote to hot Indian foods. For dessert the gulab jamun were huge and soft--perfect! These soft, fried balls soaking in syrup defy comparison to western sweets. What makes it hard to relate to is that the main ingredient is milk. Milk is boiled down, curdled, and made into sweet, fresh cheese and then formed into a dough, and balls of this soft dough are fried and then put into sugar syrup to finish cooking /soaking. Also, on the dessert menu is homemade kheer--a more delicate, saucy version of rice pudding. In a nearby freezer case are readymade ice creams such as rich pistachio kulfi pops, or mango icecream in a little Dixie cup. A hot cup of homemade chai is always a welcome digestive aid after an exciting and varied meal at the Chaat Cafe.

Chaat Cafe
1902 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA  94704
510-845-1431