Chai Pani DC

What a fun spot! Had a little bit of everything including the pani puri cart as our amuse-bouche with drinks while we waited for our table. The menu is very gluten free friendly which we appreciated. The two standouts for me were the sweet potato chaat and the mango black peppercorn sorbet. I would return just to eat these again. The sweet potato chaat was like a more bountiful, flavorful, deconstructed pani puri, glazed with both the tamarind and green chutney sauces. Huge portion and the cornflakes were a delightful addition to the mix. The mango black peppercorn sorbet was so creamy despite being dairy free, and the hint of spices made the mango flavor taste like nothing else I've had before. We also ordered the tapioca tots, wild mushroom uttapam (kinda like flatbread), KFC chicken sandwiches, daal makhani (had a nice hickory smoke flavor), housemade sodas, chai tea (only letdown), and the gajar ka halwa which is like a carrot cake pudding.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at this lively and cheerful place. The menu is well designed and the service is good. We tried a bunch of things, and I enjoyed the appetizers more than the mains. The tots were my favorite, followed by the sweet potato chaat and the okra fries. We ordered the Dal and Paneer too which were decent but not the best I’ve had. My friends enjoyed the tandoori chicken and the naan too. I am grateful for plenty of labeled gluten free options. I’ll be back to try more stuff next time and give the desserts a shot!