It was my final night in Nashville and I decided to go to Chauhan Ale & Masala House for dinner. Opened in November 2014, it’s been named one of the top restaurants in Nashville and has become a popular spot among locals and tourists.
The vibrant restaurant set in a refurbished brick garage serves creative Indian cuisine and cocktails. Combining Indian fare with traditional Southern dishes has created a unique dining experience in Nashville’s bustling food scene.
It’s through those unique dishes that Executive Chef Maneet Chauhan’s brings out her Indian roots and love for Southern cuisine. Chef Maneet is an award-winning cookbook author and television personality. She may be best known for being a judge on Food Network’s Chopped and has also competed on Iron Chef and The Next Iron Chef.
Maneet Chauhan
It was Sunday and the place was already buzzing from a full dining room. The bar had a few vacant seats so I made my way over there.
Bar
Cocktails sounded great and they tasted good too.
Cocktail Menu
The Moni and the Mule is made with Aria gin, lemon, ginger, lavender, chili, and tamarind soda. Good stuff.
Moni and the Mule
I decided to order a few appetizers as my meal. I started off with the Kale Pakora Chaat. The crispy fried kale chips were served atop spicy garbanzo, tamarind, yogurt, and mint.
Kale Pakora Chaat
I give major creativity points for the next dish, the Gol Guppa Shots.
Gol Guppa Shots
The semolina puffs were filled with a black garbanzo and potato mixture and served with a small glass of mint cilantro water. You pour the mint cilantro water inside the puffs and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Very unique and tasty!
Semolina Puffs
The third and final appetizer was the Tandoori Chicken Poutine. I love both dishes on their own, so this was one combination I was looking forward to trying. The masala fries were crispy and well seasoned. The makhani sauce was flavorful. It was all topped with melted Kenny’s Farmhouse cheese curds. Yummm. I just wish it was a bit hotter temperature-wise when served.
Tandoori Chicken Poutine
Chef Maneet Pictures
I was stuffed. That was a good amount of food and I would have taken the leftovers if I wasn’t flying home the next day. I ordered one more cocktail before leaving. The Jilted Lovers had honeysuckle vodka, dry vermouth, cranberry liqueur, peychaud’s and orange bitters.
Yankee Rose
I walked past the dining room to use the restroom. There were digital pictures projected on the brick wall playing Bollywood movies. Very cool.
Bollywood Movies
Dinner at Chauhan Ale & Masala House was good. It was something different and I enjoyed the creative Indian dishes. I walked back towards downtown for live music and a few more drinks. Afterall, it was my final night in Nashville! 😉
Chauhan Ale & Masala House
123 12th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 242-8426
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