Samosa chaat hits the table at Cheeni and the distance between downtown Durham and something far more singular collapses instantly. Tasting Table has named this regional Indian restaurant — led by owner Preeti Waas, a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist — North Carolina’s No. 1 Indian restaurant in a state-by-state editorial ranking. Worth noting upfront: the designation is a curated media assessment drawn from Yelp reviews, Reddit discussions, local press coverage, and other sources, not an official industry certification. Even so, that kind of convergence across platforms tends to reflect something real.
What Makes Cheeni Stand Out
At Cheeni, regional Indian cooking is a deliberate philosophy, not a marketing angle.
The menu is the entire point — not a single standardized style shaped for broad appeal, but a range of Indian culinary traditions brought together with intention. The News & Observer described Cheeni as a warm, home-like destination built around regional dishes tied to Waas’s own food memories.
Details reinforce that feeling throughout. A rattan rocking chair draped with a blanket, noted in News & Observer coverage, signals that the atmosphere was considered as carefully as the food. The menu moves from chaat to Mangalorean coastal cooking, tracing distinct regional roots rather than collapsing them into one generic category. A second location operates at 3151 Elion Drive, Suite 101, in Research Triangle Park, for Triangle diners closer to that end of the corridor.
What Tasting Table Says to Order
Five dishes define Cheeni’s range of Indian culinary traditions — and two of them earned specific mention from Tasting Table.
- Samosa chaat — Tasting Table highlighted this specifically; crisp pastry layered with tangy, textured toppings
- Paneer makhani — the ranking’s other named dish; a rich tomato-cream curry, unapologetically satisfying
- Aloo chaat — spiced potato, punchy and textured
- Bread pakora — battered, fried, and grounded in the kind of comfort that needs no explanation
- Mangalorean chicken — a coconut curry from India’s southwestern coast; aromatic and worth ordering more than once
The Recognition Keeps Coming
Tasting Table’s pick reinforces a pattern of local and regional recognition Cheeni has been building steadily.
Tasting Table’s methodology — one winner per state, selected from online reviews and local editorial coverage — is transparently editorial rather than exhaustive. But Cheeni’s track record gives the ranking genuine weight. The News & Observer included Cheeni in its 2026 Top 50 restaurant coverage, characterizing it as a warm, home-like destination shaped by Waas’s personal food history. Price range runs $$–$$$ according to the News & Observer, consistent with a kitchen operating at this level of care and craft.
Durham’s culinary reputation has been building across years of sustained critical attention. Cheeni fits squarely within that momentum — not as an outlier, but as evidence of it.
For anyone who hasn’t made the trip yet, 202 N. Corcoran St., Unit 100 is the address. The samosa chaat alone justifies clearing the calendar.
