The scents of cumin and curry fill the air at Dublin’s Chaat Bhavan, an aromatic preview of the flavorful, spicy vegetarian dishes here. In the saffron-yellow dining room, families and large groups pass around a multitude of dishes, served family-style on platters.

The Singh family’s Chaat Bhavan has established outposts in Fremont and Sunnyvale; doors to this location in Dublin’s Grafton Station complex opened last summer. The main dining room buzzes with activity as plates of puffed, fried bread and thali platters are rushed to tables.

The kitchen, headed by Surjeet Klair, steers mostly toward Northern Indian cuisine with its breads, curries, samosas, saag paneer and aloo gobi. But you’ll also find dishes from other regions in India, including bhel poori, a puffed rice and noodle snack from Mumbai, and Idly Sambar, steamed lentil and rice patties served with spiced coconut chutney from Southern India.

Many of Chaat Bhavan’s dishes are gluten-free or vegan, and Jain options, for those who follow that stricter vegetarian diet, are also available. No matter the dish, all vegetables are fresh and sourced from local farmers.

The largest part of the menu is devoted to chaat or Indian street food, such as the flavor-packed pani poori ($4.99). Eight small, crisp, puffed wafer balls arrive, accompanied by potatoes, garbanzo beans, sprouts, tamarind chutney and a spiced mint water. You crack open the top of each hollow ball, fill it with savory tidbits and drizzle it with chutney and mint water, for a gustatory sensation unlike any other, a crunchy, sweet, tart and spicy explosion.

Our favorite chaat was the bhel poori ($4.99), a cool and satisfying concoction of puffed rice, crispy noodles, potato, garbanzos, sprouts, green beans, fresh red onion, tamarind chutney and mint sauce. The earthy and tangy spice flavors awakened our taste buds, and we loved the many textures.

For entrees, perhaps the best bet is the house thali platter ($7.99), similar to a sampler. A large round platter holds eight small bowls that include rice; kofta curry — meatball-like vegetable dumplings in a spicy tomato onion sauce; yellow and black lentils; potatoes and green beans; raita; papad, a thin, crisp lentil wafer; roti flatbreads; and tomato chutney.

The thali platter includes kheer, a creamy rice pudding for dessert, as well as soda, tea or chaas.

Throughout our meal, service was smooth, friendly and knowledgeable. Our server steered us to the chaas, a buttermilk drink mixed with powdered cumin and salt. It was delightfully tangy and, well, buttery. You’ll also find yogurt-laced mango lassi ($2.99) here.

We couldn’t pass up Chaat Bhavan’s signature dish, malai paneer ($8.99), nor should you. Paneer is a soft, housemade cheese. Here it’s simmered in a rich, creamy, gently spicy tomato-based sauce. We’d go back again for this comforting dish alone.

When we saw large bread puffs being served elsewhere, we had to add that dish, chana bhatura ($7.99), to our meal. We love naan, but bhatura, a leavened bread that puffs up as it is fried in oil, is our new favorite. These light-as-air shells are not greasy, and they’re thicker than they look. We happily tore off pieces and dipped them in the chana, a garbanzo bean curry napped in ginger, garlic, tomato and onion sauce.

We love Indian sweets, so along with the kheer on our thali platter, we couldn’t resist the gajar halwa ($5.99), shredded carrots cooked in milk with cashews and cardamom, a decadent sweet and savory vegetarian dessert.

Chaat Bhavan hits all the right notes, including affordability. With chaat dishes priced under $5 and entrees under $10, it’s easy to be adventurous. We’re not vegetarians, but we didn’t miss the meat a bit, thanks to the abundance of exotic, satisfying flavors. We’ll be back.

Chaat Bhavan

* * *

WHERE: 4112 Grafton St., Dublin
CONTACT: 925-829-1700, chaatbhavan.com
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
CUISINE: Vegetarian Indian
PRICES: Entrees $6.99-$8.99
VEGETARIAN: The entire menu is vegetarian. Some dishes are gluten-free or vegan. There are Jain options on some dishes, as well.
BEVERAGES: Tea, sodas, yogurt lassi and chaas (spiced buttermilk)
RESERVATIONS: Recommended
NOISE LEVEL: Medium
PARKING: Parking lot
KIDS: No children’s menu, but adventurous young eaters may enjoy the vegetable burgers, poori bhaji, spinach poori, malai paneer, roti and mango lassi.
PLUSES: Wide variety of delicious and exotic vegetarian dishes served family-style. Portions are large, service friendly and prices make this a great value.
MINUSES: The mixed vegetable korma let us down with overcooked veggies.
DATE OPENED: July 2014
Policy

We don’t let restaurants know that we are coming in to do a review, and we strive to remain anonymous. We pay for our meal, just as you would.

Ratings

Restaurants are rated on a scale of one to four, with four representing utter perfection in food, ambience and service. A three is a great restaurant and a two is fair to good. Ones are best avoided.

The scents of cumin and curry fill the air at Dublin’s Chaat Bhavan, an aromatic preview of the flavorful, spicy vegetarian dishes here. In the saffron-yellow dining room, families and large groups pass around a multitude of dishes, served family-style on platters.

The Singh family’s Chaat Bhavan has established outposts in Fremont and Sunnyvale; doors to this location in Dublin’s Grafton Station complex opened last summer. The main dining room buzzes with activity as plates of puffed, fried bread and thali platters are rushed to tables.

The kitchen, headed by Surjeet Klair, steers mostly toward Northern Indian cuisine with its breads, curries, samosas, saag paneer and aloo gobi. But you’ll also find dishes from other regions in India, including bhel poori, a puffed rice and noodle snack from Mumbai, and Idly Sambar, steamed lentil and rice patties served with spiced coconut chutney from Southern India.

Many of Chaat Bhavan’s dishes are gluten-free or vegan, and Jain options, for those who follow that stricter vegetarian diet, are also available. No matter the dish, all vegetables are fresh and sourced from local farmers.

The largest part of the menu is devoted to chaat or Indian street food, such as the flavor-packed pani poori ($4.99). Eight small, crisp, puffed wafer balls arrive, accompanied by potatoes, garbanzo beans, sprouts, tamarind chutney and a spiced mint water. You crack open the top of each hollow ball, fill it with savory tidbits and drizzle it with chutney and mint water, for a gustatory sensation unlike any other, a crunchy, sweet, tart and spicy explosion.

Our favorite chaat was the bhel poori ($4.99), a cool and satisfying concoction of puffed rice, crispy noodles, potato, garbanzos, sprouts, green beans, fresh red onion, tamarind chutney and mint sauce. The earthy and tangy spice flavors awakened our taste buds, and we loved the many textures.

For entrees, perhaps the best bet is the house thali platter ($7.99), similar to a sampler. A large round platter holds eight small bowls that include rice; kofta curry — meatball-like vegetable dumplings in a spicy tomato onion sauce; yellow and black lentils; potatoes and green beans; raita; papad, a thin, crisp lentil wafer; roti flatbreads; and tomato chutney.

The thali platter includes kheer, a creamy rice pudding for dessert, as well as soda, tea or chaas.

Throughout our meal, service was smooth, friendly and knowledgeable. Our server steered us to the chaas, a buttermilk drink mixed with powdered cumin and salt. It was delightfully tangy and, well, buttery. You’ll also find yogurt-laced mango lassi ($2.99) here.

We couldn’t pass up Chaat Bhavan’s signature dish, malai paneer ($8.99), nor should you. Paneer is a soft, housemade cheese. Here it’s simmered in a rich, creamy, gently spicy tomato-based sauce. We’d go back again for this comforting dish alone.

When we saw large bread puffs being served elsewhere, we had to add that dish, chana bhatura ($7.99), to our meal. We love naan, but bhatura, a leavened bread that puffs up as it is fried in oil, is our new favorite. These light-as-air shells are not greasy, and they’re thicker than they look. We happily tore off pieces and dipped them in the chana, a garbanzo bean curry napped in ginger, garlic, tomato and onion sauce.

We love Indian sweets, so along with the kheer on our thali platter, we couldn’t resist the gajar halwa ($5.99), shredded carrots cooked in milk with cashews and cardamom, a decadent sweet and savory vegetarian dessert.

Chaat Bhavan hits all the right notes, including affordability. With chaat dishes priced under $5 and entrees under $10, it’s easy to be adventurous. We’re not vegetarians, but we didn’t miss the meat a bit, thanks to the abundance of exotic, satisfying flavors. We’ll be back.

Chaat Bhavan

* * *

WHERE: 4112 Grafton St., Dublin
CONTACT: 925-829-1700, chaatbhavan.com
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
CUISINE: Vegetarian Indian
PRICES: Entrees $6.99-$8.99
VEGETARIAN: The entire menu is vegetarian. Some dishes are gluten-free or vegan. There are Jain options on some dishes, as well.
BEVERAGES: Tea, sodas, yogurt lassi and chaas (spiced buttermilk)
RESERVATIONS: Recommended
NOISE LEVEL: Medium
PARKING: Parking lot
KIDS: No children’s menu, but adventurous young eaters may enjoy the vegetable burgers, poori bhaji, spinach poori, malai paneer, roti and mango lassi.
PLUSES: Wide variety of delicious and exotic vegetarian dishes served family-style. Portions are large, service friendly and prices make this a great value.
MINUSES: The mixed vegetable korma let us down with overcooked veggies.
DATE OPENED: July 2014
Policy

We don’t let restaurants know that we are coming in to do a review, and we strive to remain anonymous. We pay for our meal, just as you would.

Ratings

Restaurants are rated on a scale of one to four, with four representing utter perfection in food, ambience and service. A three is a great restaurant and a two is fair to good. Ones are best avoided.