Kanak Indian Kitchen

I love Indian food. Hadn't been to this restaurant until now. What I've been missing!!!
Food was definitely amazing. Flavor, texture, level of spice, complex flavors... everything. Simply great. A bit on the high end of the price range, but all worth it.
Service was cordial and fast.
They had Blue Label at the bar, too!! Most expensive drink I've ever ordered - 😆
I'll return soon.

The food is delicious. We got Chicken Korma and Briyani. Shared an Indian soda that was really good.

We went during lunch, and there was only one server because the other person didn't show up. Our service was still friendly, professional, and surprisingly, timely. The restaurant was fairly busy, but they kept things moving.

Noise levels were not too bad either. We could have a conversation without yelling at each other.

Look forward to going again soon.

TL;DR: Classic, delicious Indian dishes in a very modernly designed restaurant. Lunch sizings are amazingly huge for only $13-$15 (enough for a second meal). Waiter(ess)es are all very friendly and nice.

Specific Foods:
Lamb Rogan Josh: 8.5/10
Chicken Platter: 7.7/10
Tomato Soup: 8.0/10
Lime Coconut Soup: 1.5/10
Naan: 8/10
Rice: 8/10

Special Attention: Plenty of parking in the main parking lot and also on the side.

General Wait Time for 1/2 dishes: 20-35 minutes

General Comments: I was very pleasantly surprised to find this gem of an Indian restaurant in Charlottesville. The food is plentiful and amazingly priced (for lunch, dinner is another story). The Indian cooking is truly authentic. The restaurant doesn’t settle for low-quality Westernized Indian dishes. Also, I can tell there is definitely someone in the back who likes their job, because the soups of the day / side dishes change from day to day and are definitely creative and unique.

Staff is super friendly. Once when picking up, there was a pretty high-maintenance customer and I would say the staff handled it remarkably and with grace.

Room For Improvement:
1. Lower dinner prices. Then, I would eat here for every meal :)

Y’all, it’s the best tasting food in town! The yum factor was off the scale for me! I highly recommend the green & spicy habanero drink and their mango cheesecake. We got the vegetable samosas, aloo ghobi, and salmon biryani for our meals and everything was cooked to perfection. I liked the decor and ambiance, especially the interior and exterior art murals. It was a great place for our lunch date. Intimate and a little bit more on the fancier side. We’ll definitely come back!

So thrilled to have Kanak in Charlottesville! My husband and I are huge Indian food fans and Kanak has really set the bar high! Every element of everything we have ordered has been consistent perfection. Spices are beautifully balanced, textures are unmatched, and the amount of food served is just right. The staff is super friendly, knowledgeable about their menu, always willing to give recommendations, and are attentive throughout every sitting. The restaurant itself is beautiful, clean, and comfortable. Great to see so many people eating there at lunch on a Monday. If we could eat here every night we absolutely would! Can’t recommend Kanak cville enough!

Love love LOVE this place. It rivals the best Indian restaurants we've eaten at around the world (never in India though). Very classy restaurant, and the food is top notch!
The naan is absolutely delicious. I usually order korma and/or shrimp appetizer and cauliflower appetizer. Our excellent waiter recommended a new appetizer to try, which we loved. We were too stuffed for dessert, but this is one of the few Indian restaurants where the dessert actually tempted me. It was our first time to sit inside the restaurant since covid and they nicely spread out all the customers. Sorry to say, but the other Indian restaurants in town can't hold a candle to Kanak!

Best Indian food in Charlottesville.
The environment is clean and the decor is modern. They have this heart balloon on each table for V-day, it’s cute.
We ordered Chivda chicken as the starter which is so good. It’s definitely something they took times and efforts to make it. The chicken is so tender and juicy.
Then we order New Delhi butter chicken and kesar malai lamb, also with a garlic naan. These are our favorite! The curry is not too salty and have many flavors in one bite.
The server is very nice and always check us everything okay.
Want to try their lunch menu.
Update: Mango lassi is super good! Samosa is crispy and potato inside is soft and creamy!
They take Chivda chicken off the menu! Hope it will be back soon!

Lunch today. Ordered Alo gobi, baigan Bahar, bindi Masala..all spice level three. Was an excellent meal. Entrees came with salad and plenty of naan and rice. Flavor profile on all three entrees was excellent. I especially loved the spice level in the bindi Masala. Service was efficient and polite. Overall a delicious lunch and excellent experience. Will return soon.

Returned this Sunday for lunch and was again extremely pleased with the delicious entrees I ordered and the excellent service. For lunch I ordered a mixed vegetable dish and and a bindi Masala with ginger and paneer. Awesome tastes and spice level.

I've been to this restaurant many times and it never disappoints. I really like their food. Even though I'm not Indian, I've been here with Indian friends and they say their food is good too! The place is also nice and the staff is always friendly and helpful. If you are around this area you should definitely consider going to Kanak.

Cozy setting, mood is set perfectly creating a casual yet intimate ambiance. Staff is top tier! Very knowledgeable of Indian cuisine, kind and helpful demeanors and quick to meet customer’s needs. Cuisine is divine!! Classic dishes to new style entrees; the flavors never fail to amaze and the amount of food is more than generous! I highly recommend giving kanak a try! You won’t be disappointed !
P.S. Make sure to ask if they have any specials going as they always have fun new items to try! (drinks, desserts, etc)

Kanak is a wonderful place to dine or get takeout. If you are looking for excellent quality Indian food with thoughtful preparation and attentive waitstaff, you should eat here. The garlic naan is amazing. if you are accustomed to spicy, true spicy, you can consider their spice scale of 1-5 as adjusted for American palates and go for the level 5.

Excellent place for Indian food!

I tried their bhel Puri and also the lamb rogan josh - both were excellent. Particularly the bhel Puri - would definitely recommend it to folks trying Indian food in first few times

Excellent customer service, great atmosphere, and delicious food. Only my 2nd time eating at an Indian restaurant, but the waiter was very helpful with suggestions and explanations. I had a Dus Ka Dum drink to start (rose and strawberry vodka , Belle Isle Blood orange, and mango), delicious, smooth, and not too sweet. We shared Samosas, I have no idea what the 2 sauces were but they were delicious. We also shared Khati roll (chicken) as appetizers. They were very flavorful and tasty. I ordered the Shrimp Caldine at a level 4 heat. While I enjoy spicy food, I probably should have said 3. Now I know, but still enjoyed it by topping with Raita (traditional yogurt with a twist of cucumber). I had it over Basmati rice with garlic Naan. Very delicious layers of flavor. I also tried a Melogu Martini (Ghost Pepper Vodka, Vermouth, olive, and Anchor Reyes Chili) very smooth, warm, slow heat, with a hint of Carmel flavor. I forgot to take a picture. Surprisingly very tasty and not as spicy as you would think, enjoyable.

This restaurant is a great addition to the variety of restaurant at the fifth st station. I went there recently for lunch. Ordered Lamb Biryani from the Lunch menu. It was really a good deal. Lunch comes with Salad or Soup (i picked soup because that day they had lentil soup). Then my meal came with 3 slices of fresh naan, another type of red bean kind of chili and generous amount of lamb pieces. Definitely recommended this place!!

We shared the Chili Paneer as an appetizer, and I had the Patia as my meal. There was so much food! I have a nice plate of leftovers to eat tomorrow. I asked for a spice level of three because I like a bit of heat. It was perfect.

I can’t recall the name of the adult beverage I drank. It had vodka and various flavors including mango. Delish!

Our waiter was friendly and attentive. He was quick too. And he had a great sense of humor….o cube aide he laughed at my jokes. :-)

Great quality service. The restaurant is clean and well decorated. The food is amazing. I have tried many Indian restaurants and home foods but this one is the best so far.
The owner and the waiters keeps checking on you and they make sure you are fully satisfied. The amount of food is so satisfying.
The level of hygiene is noticeably great and usually this turns me off in other restaurants.

Food - 5/5
Atmosphere - 5/5
Service - 5/5
Value - 4/5

A nice variety of dishes and a great cocktail list. Though I didn’t try any, I appreciate the non-alcoholic offerings. Overall, tied for the best Indian place in Charlottesville with one other in the downtown area.

Absolutely fabulous, food is so good and the drinks r fantastic, got a glass of chardonnay and a Dus Ka Dum, plus the house curry and the garlic Naan, and finished with the mango cake and everything was so delicious. Shout out to my server Spencer and host Aurore, who were both super sweet and polite, I loved every second of my meal. Not to mention the atmosphere is so great, I love how quiet and laid back the vibe off the place is, it's just super comforting and I loved it so much. I left so full I felt like I was going to pop, but everything was just so delicious I couldn't stop eating😂😂 10000 out of 10, I will definitely b coming back sooner rather than later

This was a very nice Indian restaurant near Charlottesville Virginia. It’s in a strip mall with a movie theater. The food was very tasty. We ordered aloo tiki and samosas along with mango lassi for starters. For the mains we ordered the Amritsari paneer tikka masala, saag chicken and the mutton biryani. The Aloo tikki and the samosas were really tasty. The sauce for the tikki was tangy and it complimented the spiciness of the stuffing inside the tikki. Three samosas were crispy on the outside and the stuffing was soft, well seasoned. The sweet and spicy sauces that accompanied the samosas were tasty as well. The Amritsari paneer tikka was properly cooked in the tandoor which was evident from the smoky crust. The tikka sauce was very tasty. We also ordered the garlic naan which was very tasty as well. My friend really enjoyed the biriyani and the saag paneer as well.

I haven't had much Indian food but everything I had here was amazing! The service was also super friendly and the restaurant was clean and a lovely modern space. I would say this is the best place for Indian food in Charlottesville!