Chauhan Ale and Masala House

Someone from this business manages this listing.

659 reviews

#54 of 2,166 Restaurants in Nashville$$ - $$$, Indian, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options

+1 615-242-8426+ Add website

Hours

Sun

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Mon

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tue

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Wed

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Thu

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Fri

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Sat

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Improve this listing

Reserve a table

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

659 reviews

#54 of 2,166 Restaurants in Nashville

Travellers' Choice 2023

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Indian, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

“... the meal up with a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of cheesecake.”

“I ate the chicken tandoori appetizer and the chicken tikka masala and both we...”

“... any time, but we all agreed that we liked the korma just a smidge better.”

“Gulab jamun cheesecake was superb.”

Location and contact

123 12th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37203-3604

Downtown Nashville

+1 615-242-8426

Improve this listing

Can a gluten free person get a good meal at this restaurant?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Spice it up at Chauhan! Devoted to creating a unique dining experience in Nashville’s bustling food scene, Chauhan Ale & Masala House is the highly lauded Indian restaurant from celebrity chef and TV personality Maneet Chauhan. Her Indian roots, zest for travel and affection for Southern cuisine have beautifully collided at Chauhan to offer a menu featuring globally-influenced Indian cuisine that highlights aspects of the culinary scene in India as well as Nashville, perfectly combining Indian fare with traditional Southern dishes. For locals, put Chauhan in your restaurant rotation. For tourists, no trip is complete without a visit to Chauhan. We also have the perfect spot for hosting group events in our private dining room. From business lunches and corporate dinners to family gatherings and birthday celebrations, we have you covered!

CUISINES

Indian

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

Meals

Dinner, Drinks

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Valet Parking, Free off-street parking, Television, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Table Service

Contribute

Write a review Upload a photo Ask a question

4.5

659 reviews

Excellent

429

Very good

138

Average

Poor

Terrible

Mary L

Cape Elizabeth188 contributions

Fantastic food, great service.

Dec 2019 • family

Fantastic food, great service. Mostly Indian food, with a couple of Indian “fusion” burgers on the menu. We had a delicious “hot chicken” Pakoras appetizer, kind of a nod to the local hot chicken dish, but with Indian spices and an ass kicking hot aioli. The Chauhan house specialty burger was excellent. The Bhunna meatball dish was a hearty generous portion, I should have split it with another adult, and the same could be said for the desi bowl that my husband ordered. With a bottle of Cava, lunch for three was $108.89, excluding tip, a great value. Also the restaurant has a nice atmosphere with large comfortable booths.

Written December 31, 2019

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Allison L

Macon7 contributions

Great food and atmosphere in the Gulch

Feb 2020 • none

We really enjoyed the food and ambiance at this restaurant. We love Indian food and weren't disappointed by this more modern take on traditional Indian food. The decor, lighting, and atmosphere were very soothing and relaxing. Not overly loud so could easily hold a conversation with my husband (LOL). We had appetizers earlier so wish we had ordered one meal to share because we were going to a show and could not take any leftovers with us. The portions were very generous, the huge chunks of lamb were perfectly cooked, and the sauces were moderately spiced and very enjoyable. Honestly, we nearly had an entire meal left and were disappointed to leave so much great food. All of the staff were friendly and engaging. Would highly recommend and look forward to returning and eating ALL of our food on our next trip to Nashville.

Written February 25, 2020

julie m

Annandale73 contributions

Yum!

Mar 2020 • friends

My fellow diners (coworkers) and I really enjoyed our visit! The menu is interesting as it offers inventive dishes as well as more traditional ones. We ordered a combination of appetizers (french onion naan, chicken pakora and others) and entrees (chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo, veggie vindaloo) and enjoyed it immensely. Generous portions arrived hot. Service was friendly but also a bit absent-minded. Protracted time between finishing appetizers and entrees being served (20-25 minutes). The atmosphere is festive. I would happily return!

Written March 6, 2020

DAEsmae

Boise686 contributions

Disappointing

Jan 2020 • friends

I love Indian food so I went with high hopes based on the reviews. There are some non traditional options, but the poutine was a huge disappointment - basically soggy and not flavorful. We tried several dishes and a jackfruit dessert. All were average. Service was slow and we had to ask for the drinks we ordered several times to get them. Then staff seemed to think we stayed too long; kept giving us the eye despite the fact there were empty tables and we were obviously not interfering with turnover. Wouldn’t return.

Written March 1, 2020

Taylor

1 contribution

Worst experience ever

Jan 2020 • family

We were visiting Nashville and the reviews were good so we decided to try it out. I would have rather ordered pizza online and be satisfied than this place! The food had zero taste! no salt, or any masala as they claim “masala house” in their name. We ordered paneer tikka masala, it felt like they just put paneer in tomato purée and it’s very overpriced! I wouldn’t pay half the price for the food they served us! NEVER AGAIN!! By far the worst “Indian” restaurant I have ever been too!

Written January 14, 2020

hrobinson1114

Nashville5786 contributions

I’ve eaten here multiple times

Feb 2020 • none

I’ve eaten here multiple times over the past few years, and I should have written a review much sooner! This is one of our Nashville favorites. One of usual go to appetizers is the tandoori chicken poutine, which is a cheesy gooey tasty mess of masala fries (Indian spiced), tandoori chicken, and cheese curds. Easily feeds four. Masala dabba is a good starter for people new to Indian food—it’s a large selection of rotating chutneys with naan. This particular dinner, I had tandoori skirt steak, made with Indian green chili butter, aloo took, and a red wine demi glaze. The meat was flavorful, moist, and cooked just right—and bursting with flavor! My husband had the salmon kebab, made with garlic achar, seasonal veggies, and mint chutney. He liked it a lot, and I thought it was good as well—very light—but I was happier with my steak! Another friend got the duck, and commented that it was flavorful, moist, well cooked. The other friend had their signature meat and three, where you can pick a protein, sauce, and sides. Chauhan’s always has a delicious, incentive drink menu. Some of my favorites: tiki Marsala, Jaipur Nights, moni and the mule. They have multiple drinks made with gin, bourbon/whiskey. They also have great Indian spiced beers sourced from Maneet’s brewery, Mantra.

Written February 2, 2020

The Bull

Louisville108 contributions

Highly recommended

Feb 2020 • couples

Super cool place! The interior of this place was unique and beautiful. The place has so much character and was super comfortable. Our waiter was strictly business. He was not very personable, but was very attentive. I had the Big Easy to start the evening and it was delicious! If you like a sazerac, you will love this. We moved on to the naan, short rib French dip app. I don’t know that I would order again, but it was good. For dinner, I had the skirt steak and my wife the lamb. The lamb was served in a green sauce called saag( I believe). It was cooked perfectly and the sauce was complex and delicious. The skirt steak was cooked perfectly as well. I would have liked a little less sauce on the steak, but that is knit picking. The sauces was great. The Brussels were very well done as well. We had a great experience overall. Enjoy!

Written February 8, 2020

Trista G

Christiana6 contributions

A great night out

Dec 2020 • family

Went out to celebrate my mom's birthday as Maneater Chauhan has been one of her favorite Food Network chefs for a long time. The atmosphere in the restaurant is relaxed and very inviting, and the staff were all welcoming and incredibly nice. Our waiter took the time to explain the heat level and flavor profiles of the different curries as well as make a few recommendations for less adventurous eaters. The mix and match options for protein and curry mean a lot of customization is possible and both paneer and vegetable medlies are available in lieu of meats. Truly a great experience, even if you've never tried Indian cuisine before.

Written December 28, 2020

VintagePlace37215

6 contributions

No Longer Recommended

Mar 2022 • none

Food quality was extremely disappointing. It did not appear to be the flagship restaurant of a revered celebrity chef. We were celebrating my 45th bday, and I specifically chose this restaurant because of the good experiences that I've had previously. My kids were not happy that we were eating Indian, but they obliged since it was my bday. I had not eaten here in over 3 years, and sadly, it was not the same restaurant. We started off fine. Naan tasted like it should, and we even got a second order but upgraded to the short-rib Naan, and it was great. Then, the wheels came off. My wife and daughter both ordered the same dish, Tandoori Chicken. The food runner looked at both dishes and noticed that they looked like two different dishes. One was red, one was tan. He came back and said that the kitchen told them the batches were "just different colors." Uh, what? That doesn't sound like something a celebrity chef would have served...but ok. I ordered the most expensive plate, the Prime Rib Eye, cooked Medium. I asked the kitchen to slice it since I was sharing it with my son. It was served Rare. I would have thought since they actually sliced it in the kitchen, they would have noticed it wasn't Medium. When it was returned to my table, it was Well Done. And still sliced. I'm guessing that the chefs are either visually impaired or just don't care about quality control. The manager removed the cost of the steak from our bill, and we were still charged for the other dishes. I had this restaurant on my list of recommendations that I give to friends visiting the city for the first time, but no longer. I won't be back unless someone else is paying. I hope Maneet Chauhan reads these reviews, because I honestly don't think she would have been proud of the dinner that was served. And we're locals!

Written April 2, 2022

kris l

Shelby65 contributions

Great food. Nashville service.

Sep 2021 • none

The food here is so good. I'm not an expert on Indian food but I enjoyed this very much. We had a chicken poutine that was crazy good. Order all the Naan! French onion short rib naan was out of this world. Two in our party had not had Indian food before, and I was little concerned that we would not find things for them to eat as both are a bit picky. One of them fell in love with the food, the other one was able to find enough to eat to be happy. The service was just ok. In the past, when I have gone to a "Celebrity" chef restaurant, service is generally as good or better than the food. Here the food outshines the service. Our server was nice, but not attentive as far as getting drinks checking in to see if the food was to our liking or if we wanted to order more items. The sauces were so amazing, it should be a standard that the servers check back to see if they need a naan refill. This service is not unique to this restaurant. In general, I find the service to be subpar in Nashville.

Written September 14, 2021

Kevin B

Mount Juliet3752 contributions

Nice Indian restaurant

May 2022 • none

We had wanted to visit Chauhan for a while since my wife and I are a fan of Maneet from her Food Network shows. We didn't know what to expect from here and we had a good meal overall. First off, the atmosphere here is very nice and cozy and it made for a romantic atmosphere (it was our anniversary dinner). The service was also excellent and we had a very good server (can't remember their name, sorry!). We started our meal with hot chicken and curry mussels, both of which were very flavorful and we enjoyed them quite a bit. We also got chicken tikka masala with garlic parmesan naan and the masala sauce and naan were very tasty. The chicken though had slimy skin attached and that was a bit off-putting, which was a shame. We ended our meal with a nice chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and it was a very nice way to end our meal. It's a nice place overall, but I would recommend avoiding the chicken tikka masala if it's on the menu. Parking is a bit of a pain here too given it's location, but there's $12 parking for 3 hours if you park in Whole Foods' parking lot.

Written November 1, 2022

tinkers234

427 contributions

Decent Indian food

Nov 2022 • none

When we arrived for our reservation the hostess tried to fob us off with a high top table at the bar when I had specifically booked standard seating. Not impressed. However after expressing our dissatisfaction they did find us a table in the main restaurant. We had the cauliflower pakora starter which was tasty and spicy. They do describe it as Nashville hot. The portions are large so I would recommend sharing unless very hungry. The cuisine is Indian fusion and I personally do not like that you have a range of curries and select your protein. However the food we had was good if not exceptional. Service okay.

Written November 5, 2022

letsgoazcardinals

Anthem356 contributions

Knew I had to try this restaurant…

Sep 2021 • solo

I made a to go order from Chauhan as I had seen Maneet many times on Food Network. The food sounded good, but I only needed something simple. Went with the Tandoori Chicken Poutine and a piece of naan. The naan was one of the best tasting naan ever. I have spent a lot of time in India and this was even better. The poutine fries were good, fries were thicker cut which is not my favorite but still well done and a nice dish. Due to a small challenge with the online order(I ordered something they didn’t actually have anymore), they threw in a piece of gulab jamun cheesecake and it was amazing. It was totally unnecessary to throw it in, but a pleasant surprise and excellent!

Written September 12, 2021

Jagsas

Wexford258 contributions

Exceptional Dining Experience

Dec 2021 • none

The staff who set up the private dining room were very accommodating. The private room was perfectly sized. The food was exceptional, as was the staff. Our team business dinner went beautifully because of the great staff and food. The meal was served family style. Appetizers to main dishes were exceptionally good, even to those who were unfamiliar with the dishes.

Written December 18, 2021

Eric E

Nashville30 contributions

Mediocre at best and not worthy of a night out

Apr 2022 • none

Nothing lived up to the hype from the website and the older reviews on Trip Advisor. We drove up from Brentwood for dinner thinking this was going to be something extraordinary. The first hint that something was wrong was that only a handful of online menu items were on the current menu. We started ordering from our memory from the online menu and were kept being told that the menu changes regularly and what we wanted was not available. The food was average. There are much better Indian food options in Brentwood. The server was distracted, forgetting multiple requests, while still managing to be smug. The best part of the experience was Ray, the hostess. I keep wondering if there has been a change in ownership.

Written April 3, 2022

…

Showing results 1-15 of 652

CHAUHAN ALE AND MASALA HOUSE, Nashville - Downtown Nashville - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu, Prices, & Reservations - Tripadvisor