The Yellow Chilli
Lightly upscale, celebrity chef-curated Indian food in a nice, centrally located Tustin space
Located in The District at Tustin Legacy, The Yellow Chilli is an Indian restaurant we truly want to love rather than just like or tolerate. It’s centrally located, very nicely decorated, and has a pretty great menu representing one of our favorite cuisines. While the staff make a fairly big deal about the menu’s curation by Indian celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor – legitimately famous in India, generally unknown here – neither the experience nor the food are fantastic enough to prefer over other local Indian options in Orange County, or even Tustin. As of today, there appear to be roughly two dozen Yellow Chilli locations around the world, half in India and half spread across the Middle East, United States, and Canada.
Across two visits, more than half of the items we’ve tried were quite good, including the Peshawari Naan, Chicken Chettinad, and Achari Lamb. While there was nothing standout about their presentation (not surprising for Indian food but a miss when contrasted with local Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient Khan Saab), the sweet naan and generally spicy meat items tasted just as we’d expected, though rarely contained substantial quantities of protein – a common issue with Indian restaurants around here. Ordering a few dishes is necessary to feel more than lightly sated.
Our favorite item of all may well have been a giant-sized Gulab-e-Gulkand dough ball stuffed with sweet rose compote. It wasn’t visually striking but was unexpectedly packed with flavor, and a nice end to a meal.
On the other hand, some items – including a bland coconut curry fish, a barely flavored Punjabi rose pudding, and a Hyderabadi bread pudding – were entirely forgettable. And service across our visits was spotty in unusual ways given Yellow Chilli’s price point: After seemingly scripted and somewhat awkward introductions to Sanjeev Kapoor’s importance in India, there was a rush to take orders, little followup before or after dishes arrived, then uncertainty as to whether our servers were focused on individual tables or covering the entire (small) dining room as a zone. Service by or at the bar, where a bartender appeared to be stationed at all times, seemed to be a better bet.
Pricing is another factor worth noting at Yellow Chilli. Already hard to justify before the pandemic and inflation, a la carte prices are even higher now. Most of the cocktails are $16 each, with appetizers and entrees both in the $20 range, often more. There’s also a surcharge for rice, which is pretty much a must-have at Indian restaurants.
Structurally, The Yellow Chilli has plenty going for it – a nice space, great location, good menu, and generally but not always good food. But we hesitate to recommend it given issues with some dishes, the service experience, and the prices. At some point, we may revisit it and see if anything has improved, but we’re not rushing back.
Stats
Price: $$-$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2019 (OC)
Addresses
2463 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782
714.389.5280
Instagram: @theyellowchillitustin