Mon Chai in Norwich

The halwa pori and Haleem both reminded us of home. The food was amazing. And ofcourse chai was the best

Really good experience and chai is just better

Delicious food, reasonably priced. I particularly recommend the haleem and the karak coffee.

Really delicious food, the kala chana were especially good 😋 would highly recommend! Good value for money too :)

One of my favourite cafés in Norwich. The food and drinks are excellent, and it's lovely to have equally delicious vegetarian and meat options.

Extremely nice establishment. Food absolutely delicious and service was great. Prices are also extremely reasonable. Highly recommended.

Went here for the first time. It's a great concept - Bangladeshi breakfast/brunch place with Chai tea. We stopped for a light lunch with friends, and it was nice and relaxed.

Thank you MON for the breakfast and coffee. It was very delicious and the staff were amazing. I will definitely visit again for lunch The food is also halal and cheap

Really nice little restaurant, great value and great good. We've been a few times now and keep coming back.

Oh wow! This place is fantastic! Amazing Chai, wonderful parathas and incredible chana masala. I will happily eat around this entire menu. And the prices are v reasonable. So highly recommended why is there no option for 6 stars?

It was very good the tea is fantastic really good ambience and friendly staff.

Great place to eat! Really nice atmosphere, good food and you get a coffee with your meal rather than paying separately which is a nice perk!

I've been here twice for brunch and both times it was exceptional. Worth going just for the chai, but the samosas and curries are great too.

Food is amazing and the restaurant is lovely!

I popped in to see if they just did a coffee. They did so, and I had a nice coffee and a biscuit which, although nice, biscuit much too sweet for me. Nice sofa type seating area for coffee and tables to eat meals if you are staying longer. Lovely quiet welcoming place.

Finally found a really good place!!!

Went for lunch today Place was completely empty and stayed that way , which is a shame as the food was absolutely delicious Fresh, spicy and generous portions with no hint of the normal greasy Indian restaurants of which there are so many Modern Bangladeshi twist on an English breakfast was genius Prices are very very reasonable I highly recommend this restaurant and hope it gets really busy so it’s still around the next time I’m in Norwich A real gem

So friendly and amazing drinks!

Love this place, what a little gem! We had the delicious deshi vegetarian breakfast. Very satisfied thanks 😋

I've been meaning to write this review for a while now. Without a doubt, this place is one of the finest halal spots in Norwich. I've had the pleasure of visiting multiple times since their opening. Whether I'm in a hurry and only grab a cup of tea or indulging in a big Bangladeshi breakfast, they consistently deliver a satisfying experience.

Walking past we came across Mon Chai and were absorbed seeing the magnificent Bengal Tiger painting; we stepped up to check the menu and order we must some tea. Wow we have an authentic hangout with South Asian flavours and then we saw the creators, J&J 🙌🏽 Thank you both for bringing the next episode onto St Benedicts, we used to House here and what a brilliant transformation, some eye catching colours, the Bengali Alphabet on the wall. Ohhh yesss, the teas were amazing! We loved the secret recipe for Mon Chai J&J. We will be back for some food soon with the teas and bring a couple of friends with us. With J&J, you know that it will be attentive, authentic and there will be a few twists on their treats. See you soon 🐅🫖 GF Vege Neel :D

Chai slightly too sweet for me but food was yummy!

I love it when you go for a stroll and stumble across somewhere different, thats what happened to us today. Mon Chai is where you find Indian dishes and breakfast with amazing chai snd coffee. The Paratha rolls were delicious.

What a little gem, lovely cafe/restaurant with an authentic Bangladeshi cousin. Small menu with traditional dishes and chai, which means that the food is fresh and home cooked. Would definitely be back to try more.

First visit. Great place to eat lunch and relax.

I ordered via uber eats. The fact they took my order at 7.50pm because i didn't check their closing time (8pm) was amazing, I spent 15 minutes expecting them to cancel my order, but they didn't. We ordered handi gosht (perfect lunch size portion and if you have with a starter enough as a dinner), Shingara (4 stunning potato pastries... I'm in love), kebab roll (good but the other items impressed me more), khichri bhuna (again nice lunch sized portion, really great flavours without heat which makes it a great midday meal if you have a meeting soon after) and mishti paratha (nice, it was good to see an affordable sweet/dessert option). I've eaten a fair amount of food in Pakistan and the Middle East and was impressed with the food, though as someone else said I could spot the frozen paratha a mile away, funnily enough we also call it emergency food 🙃 🤣. I now am planning to grab a friend and go to the restaurant to try the chai/brunch.

Nice cafe. Visited twice during the last 3 months. Chai was not so hot and mind-blowing the second time. Samosas are good. Good service and ambiance with Bengali music.

We went to the restaurant because I saw that they have halwa-puri which is a typical breakfast that you have on the weekend in my city Lahore. The puri was nice. The halwa was cooked very differently from what I am used to. It was very decent and if someone wants to try South Asian breakfast in Norwich they should give this place a try. I also had karak coffee because I was curious how that would taste. It probably had some spices like spice tea. It was alright but I don't think I would recommend that. The monchai special tea was sweet and tasted like it had cardamom and ginger.

Only tried the Mon chai blend twice. Tastes lovely with a really nice depth of flavour however very expensive. Was already finding 3£ too much and to my utter shock they increased the price to 3.50£ within one week of my visit! The sugar is also fixed, there's no sugar free/less sugar version available unfortunately. Haven't tried anything else! Nice decore and friendly staff.

Lovely food and drinks. Would happily go again.

Great food reasonably priced, sadly the front of house staff on not as good

Delicious Haleem and delicious chai. Beautiful restaurant! Gem in Norwich for people craving flavor

Great chai, great food, really tasty and reasonably priced. Highly recommend!

Absolutely love Mon Chai, the food is incredible and the staff are absolutely wonderful!

Food was delicious! Would highly recommend visiting, can’t wait to go again

Delicious, lovely staff, and affordable!

The great British Bangladeshi community has almost single handedly turned Indian cuisine into the mainstay of British fast food and lovers of Indian 'heat' and spices. So when it comes to finding a cafe that wants to sell me chai! Well I was all in! I remember drinking pink tea out of a rickety old hand cart in Peshawar, served by a grinning Afghan. The smell, the taste instantly became part of my DNA. At Mon Chai it's top of the drinks menu and pulled me into the cafe, with my daughter in tow. Walking in the cafe is clean and well presented with a gorgeous tiger painted on the wall, surrounded by mock green foliage. I was getting a good feeling about this place. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves and the prices clearly had a nod in the direction of the large student accommodation down the road. I asked the kind server behind the counter if she could show me the pink tea blend. I couldnt wait to see the blend of leaves and herbs they were using. Instead she presented me with a glass jar of what I can only describe as pink milk powder, that looked like mutant horlicks, I instantly shook my head- no to mutant pink horlicks thanks. Disappointed I ordered a cappuccino and mocha before deciding on the reasonably priced kebab in paratha and the lamb curry with two paratha's and went back to my seat. To be fair to Mon Chai I have only had pink tea in one place outside the Indian subcontinent that was remotely authentic, and that was in London on brick lane- the Mecca of Bangladeshi cuisine. The drinks and food arrived in good time. Unfortunately the mocha was thin and wispy and the cappuccino was powdery and lacked a froth worth licking. But honestly what did I expect after narrowly avoiding the pink abomination. The food portions were VERY small, and although not a deal breaker were all the money. Almost £6 for the kebabs was stingingly expensive for what the materials were (I'll come to that in a minute) the £8.50 for the lamb immediately felt better as at least I got two partha's. (See pictures) Now here is what is most frustrating, the kebab and the lamb were absolutely delicious. The lamb masala was thick and had the zing of authentic seasoning. A delicate peppery heat that was perfect with  the soft and tender chunks of lamb. The kebab was equally good, clearly hand made and with a satisfying bite to them. BUT- Mon Chai what's with the reheated straight from frozen Paratha? In my home we call these bad boys 'emergency parathas' (for when you have a hankering for a paratha and your wife is on the phone to her sister... a man needs his paratha's!!) if you say paratha and you charge £8.50 you have to make real partha. Not Sainsbury's frozen specials! The absolute shame here is this chef has real skill. The lamb and kebabs on their own were amazing, how hard would it have been? One star for the food and one star for the great choice in decor and music. If I ever find a place that sells original hand made paratha or chapatis, I swear I'll eat there twice a week (the number of times I beg my wife for them) and I'll tell you too as well. For now, this place is not on the Norwich foodie map. But students will love to snack here!

I had Haleem, Deshi breakfast and my husband had Handi Ghost. It was really good as well and I think my fav is Haleem. I like the taste of gingery, meaty and wheat porridge. Had to get 2 chai, which were Mon Chai and Pink Chai. Pink chai has pistachio in it and pink but I definitely like Mon chai more. Their chai is one of the best I had so far. My only suggestion is probably change the seating a bit. Maybe a long bench seat near wall to be more comfy and relax.

What a treat for a bank holiday Monday evening! Excellent food, very fairly priced, in a nice cafe surrounding. The lamb dish (Handi gosht) with the paratha was exceptional. The chickpea side (Kala chana) wholesome. And the take away Chai, spiced, and sweet with condensed milk a real treat. This is a top recommend for me. Enjoy.

Good place to have pure bengali style foods and tea.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming. The Adraki chai was great and the chicken roll was good. Sadly the haleem was disappointing as it wasn't smooth like it should be. Look forward to trying more from their menu. Great ambience! Would definitely recommend!

Lovely authentic food, affordable and great atmosphere. Really recommend for any occasion.

I highly recommend this place! Nice atmosphere, quick service, and our food was delicious and fresh. I rate the option for all day breakfast and the selection of tasty snacks on the menu - All at a very reasonable price. The staff was very friendly and accomodating (shout out to the barista lady who was dealing with the noisy blender). My only suggestion would be to have some background music (or play it louder?) as I have never heard it in there before.

Yummy!! Lovely experience and the best chai ☕️

Thought I'd try Mon Chai for lunch - I had the handi gosht, and it was delicious - glad I tried both types of bread. Easy recommend.

OMG...I died and went to Authentic, Delicious and Mindfully prepared Food Heaven!! Am going back to try everything on the menu and texted everybody I know in town after my lunch there today!! The young waitress knew the menu and talking about the dishes only added to the whole experience!! 🥳❤❤ A MUST GO TO for any lovers of delicious and interesting foods!!

Oh my word! Randomly walked past this place looking for some food and wasn't entirely sure if it was a restaurant, cafe or just a coffee place. Also had some reservations as it was empty, and all the other places nearby were full. We took a chance and went for it and I am so glad that we did. The food was absolutely out of this world. Tonnes of veggie options, too. Ridiculously cheap as well. Can't believe how good this was and can't recommend highly enough. Will be straight back next time in Norwich!!!

Excellent & very good value. Get it while it’s hot.

Super nice selection of chai. Nice alternative to alcohol or fizzy softdrinks. I will be back and try the food as well :)

Great value, really great food.

I popped in with my wife as all of the other coffee places were incredibly good and I'm glad we did. The staff were really friendly and welcoming and we sat at our table. The menu was fantastic! So many different coffees and teas to try and different Bangladeshi food as well, it was difficult to decide what to go for in the end. Eventually decided on Mon Chai house blend latte and a Karak coffee along with a Pakora basket which came recommended by the staff. So, with that we sat and waited for this to arrive. It took longer than anticipated to arrive and the staff couldn't have been more apologetic. As an apology the owner popped over with a Chana Paratha and the Pakora basket soon followed. Those little nuggets of joy in the Pakora basket were quite simply delicious and I could have quite happily eaten another basket of them. The Paratha was just as nice and I can honestly recommend both. I can also highly recomment the two drinks as well. This is a hidden gem on St Benedicts Street and I cannot recommend enough.

Excellent❤️Delicious food😋 appealing atmosphere, helpful staff, and brilliant service🔥

Lovely staff and service, overall the food was delicious ⭐️

Great cafe, really nice food and drink at reasonable prices. I'm going back to try their all day breakfast!

Lovely venue, relaxed and informal and with a spectacular image of a tiger on one wall. Delicious chai, excellent coffee. My wife had the chili cheese toastie, pakora basket and halloumi roll, I had the deshi breakfast. They were all really good, well flavoured and well cooked, and very well priced. But there is a "but". We had hoped to have these excellent goodies together as a sort of pick and mix, but they were cooked and served one at a time, so Tracey had finished long before my breakfast was served, which was at least half an hour after it was ordered. It would be mean to give them less than 5 stars - they've not been open long, it was Saturday morning and everything else was really good. I'll certainly be going back, but I hope the service is a lot quicker. I'm sure I caught them on a difficult day.

Norwich has been missing a proper chai spot for years and all the staff here are incredibly welcoming and hospitable! Portions and pricing much better than similar establishments in London, Desi/English breakfast, haandi gosht and karak chai's are recommended, will definitely be back!

Exceptional food and drink! I had the Deshi breakfast with daal and Mon Chai blend and everything was delicious. I will definitely be recommending Mon Chai!

Anazing food, with a great selection of interesting and varied dishes. The value for money is great. It's Indian breakfast, lunch, cakes and small dishes made for our Norwich palates.

Fantastic for sure I'm coming again. The drink with dates amazing and chicken Biryani superb. I don't know but I can feel the owners are from Bangladesh

A wonderful place to get a unique tea, staff were very friendly, the Bengal tiger on the wall is an amazing piece of art aswell. Definitely my regular go to for a desi cuppa.