Chowpatti Vegetarian Restaurant

My favorite vegetarian restaurant in Arlington Heights! Try any of the Indian food… It’s all good. The servers and owners are very friendly and make great recommendations. Even if you’re not vegetarian, you’ll find some delicious food at Chowpatti!

Friendly and attentive staff. Fresh and healthy ingredients. I had the Premium Bhel. It was amazing. Loved it. I will definitely be going back.

Food was ok. Nothing extroadinary. Our biggest complaint was the place was really expensive. We live in the city and this was more expensive than the places around there. For example, chips and salsa is $ 5. Rice is $ 5. Rice at other places is usually free with a sabji (chana, daal etc) which we ordered. We were still hungry after eating here because the portion size was also very small.
In addition, the Décor needs to be updated as it seems more like a 70s diner.
They have a lot on the menu to choose from which is nice. But when we got there, so many items were crossed out. Perhaps the website can be updated as well. Lastly, medium spicey is very spicy. Be careful.

Wonderfully tasty options for vegans and vegetarians. The tacos were really tasty as well as the other recommendations from our waitress. The dishes had an interesting mix of spices and the waitress was able to accommodate the desire to appease both requests for mild and heat.
I prices are a bit on the high side for the portions, but we felt it was worth it and we didn’t leave feeling stuffed. We had an appetizer and 2 entrees for 3 of us and it was perfect.

I used to come here somewhat regularly with friends. I had a delicious tamarind soup a couple of times. Now, I go but try to eat before I come. That way, I do not have to order anything and deal with the waitress. Also, they cook their food in vegetable oil (i.e., soy) which I am sensitive to.
We started avoiding this place because the owner /​waitress treated us rudely — a group of Caucasians and Indians. Like another reviewer said, the portions are very expensive for the small sizes. The significant other of one of us likes this place.
Pure Juice Café a few minutes away is a much better value and atmosphere. They are 100% vegan and do not use any ingredients that I have a sensitivity to.

We had a few vegetarians in our group and this was one of the only places within a 5 mile radius from my home that we could find. The lot is small and sandwiched in between a few other stores in a strip mall. The restaurant was fairly empty for what should have been «dinner time rush.» The advantage was that our server gave us plenty of attention since we were one of 4 parties in the whole place.
I’m not an expert on Indian/​Pakistani food in any way so we let the vegetarians decide. All the dishes seemed to taste pretty similar and nothing really excited me. One member of our party decided on a pizza because he is not a big fan of Indian cuisine and even that was a letdown (bland). They do have good sized portions so plenty of leftovers. I’m glad that I tried it since I live so close to it but don’t know that I would recommend it to friends.

I was very underwhelmed with my lunch. Out the door for $ 13 I received a bowl of rice with seven pieces of vegetables and curry sauce. Yes I feel like I was taken advantage of.

Best somosa you will ever find! The food is great, but be warned, medium spicy is quite hot even for someone like me who loves spicy food. Yes, it’s pricey, but you get what you pay for and this is the best Indian food you’ll find anywhere around here. Ingredients are fresh and everything is made in house from scratch by the ownership. This is not the place if you want quick and cheap, but if you’re willing to pay for quality authentic Indian food, you won’t be disappointed. Great for us veg heads! Vegans… Check this place out!

I want to say that first off, the food was delicious. I’ve been to India, Pakistan, and Mexico, so I must admit that the Mexican/​Indian fusion is pretty unique. However, RIPOFF ALERT! The portions were so small that I had to order a soup, 2 entrees, and a side of rice just to feel satisfied. Albeit, I had just donated blood so my blood sugar was low, but the portions seemed small even for a regular day. This was especially true for the Indian Nachos, which only had 7 corn chips (SERIOUSLY, 7 chips in an entire order of nachos???)
When I got the bill, there were all these secret charges added on. The server charged me an extra fee for each entrée because I had requested them spicy (isn’t that usually a preference and not an add on?). She charged me extra for the nacho topping (because god forbid you put something on the 7 corn chips). I hadn’t even requested the extra topping on the nachos when I was ordering, that was her idea to add it on so she could charge me more and milk me for every penny. She also charged me $ 5 for a small side of white rice that should have cost $ 2 tops. $ 5 for a cup of white rice, that’s highway robbery! To put things in perspective, my friends and I went to a Greek restaurant later that evening and our bill for 4 people with alcoholic beverages cost LESS THAN HALF of what I payed for JUST MYSELF to eat at Chowpatti. The place isn’t even upscale — it’s like an outdated diner!
Then comes the creep factor, our server was obviously eaves dropping on us from behind the booth because after I privately complained about the hidden charges to my friends, she popped out from behind the booth ready to shoot me down. I hadn’t even made an official complaint and was still debating whether or not I should say something, but It was like the server knew I’d be upset and was waiting in the wings. She held up a menu and pointed out the long article of small print on one of the pages that apparently says that they have the right to charge extra for spice preferences, extra sauces, and whatever else they want to add on. Some restaurants might include a description or family history in their menu, but I’ve never heard of a restaurant that includes a disclaimer!
This led me to suspect that I’m not the only one who got ripped off by this restaurant, and sure enough I logged onto Unilocal and discovered my feelings about Chowpatti were not exclusive. Don’t the owners bother to read their reviews? I work in customer service, so I was shocked to realize how many customers walk away from this restaurant angry when the quality of the cuisine has such great potential. The owners KNOW that the customer will be dissatisfied, so instead of giving the customer a change to express their grievances, they cut in with a power move with the intention of rubbing it in before the customer can say anything. This makes the customer feel dominated and lets them leave the restaurant humiliated and completely dissatisfied. With my head hanging low, I paid the bill while avoiding eye contact, while the server had a big smug smile on her face as if she’d just won some kind of competition.
To add insult to injury, on the way out, my friend asked about their cooking oils. We found out that they use GMOs. When my friend suggested that perhaps they shouldn’t use GMOs since they seem to present themselves as some kind of healthy alternative, the owner laughed in our faces. Just another way that Chowpatti cuts corners at the expense of their customers!
TLDR? To sum it all up, I went from hungry cranky to ripped off cranky at Chowpatti. This restaurant has good food but poor customer service, definitely not recommended!

Chowpattis is amazing! Home cooking style goodness. Everything I’ve ever had there is authentic and delicious. The flavor palette is diverse and tantalizing. Try the Indian nachos for an appetizer, you won’t be sorry… and If you like it spicy, they do it right!

I have been coming to Chowpatti since the 1980’s. The entire Kapadia family are such wonderfully nice and warm people. I have tried many dishes here, but always return to my absolute favorite, which is a mixed plate appetizer (1 samosa and 1 aloo wada with tamarind chutney), and the Pav Bhaji Uttapam with melted cheese on top. So delish! They have THE BEST vegetarian food I have ever experienced, and all menu items are completely homemade. I LOVE Chowpatti!

I love this place so much. Whenever I’m in town it’s my favorite stop. The food is so good and made with love. I’ve been going here for years and the food stays the same wonderful freshness and quality. Non-​vegetarians who I bring here always rave about it too — it’s so hearty and good you don’t miss meat. Bring your vegetarian, vegan, and Californian friends here. Bring all your friends here, actually. Love, love, love.

I’ve wanted to go here for so very long. I’ve long admired the menu and thought that one day I would get here. So, after a festival nearby, it was with great excitement we came here for lunch.
Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.
The prices are incredibly high. I had a dosa, and my goddaughter had the thali. The dosa was one of the smallest dosa I’ve ever had. It lacked the delicious crispiness that I associate with dosa crepes. Instead the pancake was soft and thick, and the filling was very small. This for $ 15? It came with sambar, but no chutney or pickle.
Similarly, the thali came with bread, rice, and three small cups of dishes (dahl, a channa dish, and a potato and peas dish). No soup. No appetizer. No pickle. No chutney.
I asked if we could have some chutney, and I was brought a menu with a list of prices for things like tamarind. I have never been charged for chutney before!
Overall, the food was certainly edible, but nothing special, and the prices were crazy. I would go to Mysore Woodlands (NOW THAT IS A DOSA!) or Arya Bhavan or so many other places before coming back here.

I rate restaurants based on food, service and overall ambiance. I would give this restaurant a 3 star based on food quality and portion size. It is healthy non oily food with good taste. For the portion size and taste, the entrees are considered highly priced. Service was less than mediocre.
When we went to pay, we noticed that they had added 20% gratuity. Yes, I can understand if you have a big party of 6 and above you can automatically charge 20% however we were 3 adults with a 5 year old daughter and twin 6 months old boys. How much service do they provide to expect a 20% gratuity??? They argue that the restaurant rule is for a party of 5 and above including high chair. My boys CAN’T even sit on high chairs!!! Ridiculous!
Not going back and I will let all my friends with kids know about this dumb rule the restaurant has!

Chowpatti has one of the widest variety menus of vegetarian and vegan food I’ve seen. Their cultural richness and emphasis on fresh ingredients makes them stand out. One of the only shortcomings here is a number of their portion sizes don’t measure up to the amount of money paid. There also used to be more vegan dessert options and as of late, these have been discontinued from the menu without replacements. Chowpatti remains a great restaurant that has an authentic feel.

Overpriced and bland.

If i could give them a Zero star i would have.
Worst customer service i have ever seen. Waitress lady over there was not ready to explain the menu properly, rude when we had some questions, but b*itch enough to go ahead and add a gratuity of 20% (as we were a group of 10 people).
In short, place is definitely over priced, doesn’t have good food, not worth the money.

I really wanted to like this place, I had low expectations due to the reviews. The people (I think the owner) that work there were VERY nice. I don’t like to base my opinion on one bad incident either, but here is my review:…
The bad:
1. The place is ok, it looks really outdated
2. The menu is huge, it’s a few pages long, that made me have low expectations, you have American, Mexican and Indian
3. We were offered 2 fresh lemonades for the kids, I usually spend $ 3 at other ethnic restaurants, but when we received the bill it was $ 7.55 EACH!
4. I KNOW Indian food, I love Indian, but the quality here was horrible, I had microwave food that was better. I ordered a combination platter for $ 16. The portion were decent (a cup each) 3 dishes and rice.
They don’t have naan either. They charged me $ 3.00 for flat bread that was ok.
5. This was out most expensive bill EVER for a LUNCH! for 2 adults, 1 10 year old and a toddler $ 75!!! We usually spend ABOUT $ 40 the most for a decent dinner not even lunch
6. The samosas didn’t look fresh at all, nor the sauce, It was cold, but they were still good
7. Be careful with what they offer they will charge you and not tell you upfront
The good:
The waffle fries were delicious
I really wanted to come back even if their food wasn’t that good, but at those prices I don’t think I will.

I really feel bad to just give them 2 stars because it’s a family owned restaurant and they are very nice. With that being said the menu has a table of content and you really needs to happen is to take your best dishes and feature those. We had five small orders and only one was good the rest lacked flavor.
I also hate the real bad taste in my mouth when you add the gratuity. As a server and restaurant owner for over 20 years, my service and quality will speak for itself. I would never grat any party under 10 and only after I informed them. Sadly we won’t be back.

Worst Indian restaurant.
We ordered some chat dishes whuch were flavor less.
Ordered rose lassi which came in a thin champaign glass, one sip and the whole lassi was over.
Ordered a main dish and was asked to order rice separately. Just an FYI most indian restaurants give rice complimentary. Rice is 5 bucks what a joke.
In the end two people footed a bill of 50 $ not including tips which we didn’t leave as we were not satisfied.
Also it’s located in a strip mall, interior décor sucks.
I would definitely not recommend any one go here. Wish I didn’t give even a star they don’t deserve it.