BARR - Chaat House
Thursday, August 4, 2005 at 10:16PM Chaat House as the name suggests is a Punjabi Chaat place at the corner of Wolfe and El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. We dont go here that often, but we do go for an evening snack once a month or so.
I usually go for the aloo paratha here. Reminds me of munna maharaj's aloo paratha!. People who went to school with me in india and stayed in Vishweshvaraiya Hostel will know what I am talking about. To summarize : godly parathas that melt in your mouth!
My wife orders the typical Chole Papdi Chaat or Dahi poori or sev poori. I was going to be very positive about Chaat House, but my most recent experience yesterday is going to cost them a nice rating.
We walk in and the guy at the counter has a glazed look on his eye and cannot focus on us. Ditto for the other two guys (in their early twenties I should guess) who were working behind the counter. After ordering we sat down and figured out why. They were playing a very racy hindi movie on the wall mounted TV. In the fifteen minutes or so we spent there, at least three times women were undressing and we were treated to what can only be called "soft porn". At first we were the only ones in the restaurant but then another family walked in and they were embarrassed too. They tried to place their kids away from the TV. My wife suggested I go complain to the guys, but judging by their focus on the screen, I didnt want to pick up any arguments with these guys (they were much bigger than me). So I told my wife to eat fast and get the hell out.
My daughter watched the screen and lifted her T-shirt above her tummy and that, wasn't funny at all. That goes to show you the type of movie that was playing.
Wait time : 5 minutes
Food wait time from order : 10 minutes
Check time : 3 minutes (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX)
Average price per person : $5
Rating "My wife can cook better" for the food but watch out for the ambience.
Service : Poor
Items sampled : Paratha, Chole papdi chaat
Yummy paratha (kid approved), average papdi chaat. Raita was too strong. Have had better raita here in the past.
NOT A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TAKE YOUR KIDS OR YOUR PARENTS.. not unless these guys change what they play on screen.
Reader Comments (4)
Thank you sir, I won't go there.!
My favorite places these days
Fremont area - Madras Cafe, Spice Hut
San Jose/Sunny vale/S.Clara - Udipi, S.Bhavan
we frequent udupi too... but ever since they started this buffett thing, my wife wants to go only for the buffett during the week.
have you noticed how the new service people in udupi are really bad and indifferent. only two of the old guys are still there and they are still smiling and enthsiastic. but the rest of the servers have an attitude problem !
will write about this soon.
:)
I have never understood whether the TV in Indian restaurants is for the guest's entertainment while waiting for food or for the staff ! Either way it does not make sense since we have no control over what they show (your family's bad experience!) and the staff is supposed to be working anyway.
My wife rates Bombay Paradise in Mnt. View (237 @ El Camino) to be one of the best Chaat places with great service. (BTW, they don't have a TV)
I meant Chaat Paradise located at 237 & El Camino. A buddy told me today that Chaat House in Mnt. View is also good.