Eet by Maneet Chauhan is now open at Disney Springs

Maneet Chauhan was born and raised in India and developed her skills at the well-respected Culinary Institute of America in New York. Besides being a James Beard Award-winning chef, she has gained fame as a competitor and judge on several Food Network shows, including as the winner of the 2021 Tournament Champions.

Chauhan’s new Disney Springs restaurant (taking over the former home of Wolfgang Puck Express) has been highly-anticipated since it was first announced in July.

Why is the restaurant called “eet?”

Celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan revealed why the restaurant is called “eet.” (and why the restaurant name is not capitalized). It’s because the restaurant’s name is a play on her name using the last three letters of her first name: “Man-eet.”

We spoke with Chef Chauhan before the opening day of her Disney Springs restaurant. She expressed excitement about this new restaurant concept (her first counter-service dining option) and noted that, since it was counter service, families could pay a lower price than at many table service options at Disney Springs and elsewhere. This allows more people to experience this new restaurant.

After chatting with Chef Chauhan, we could see how important it was to her for families not to feel her cuisine was unattainable price point-wise.

Opening Ceremony for eet by Maneet Chauhan Disney Springs

On Dec. 1, 2023, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place with Walt Disney World cast members and Chef Chauhan followed by several days of special invite-only soft opening private events. All of that led up to the official opening day for the public.

Menu at eet by Maneet Chauhan

Unlike other restaurant concepts from Chef Chauhan, the Indian cuisine at eet by Maneet Chauhan is quick service, with the average menu item costing around $14.

Walt Disney World describes the menu here:

Enjoy shareable dishes for everyone at the table, like the eet Bread Service with Pimento Whipped Paneer or the Tandoori Chicken Poutine. You can also order market fresh salads or build your own bowl filled with rice and a kebab. End your meal on a sweet note when you choose a delectable dessert like the Chocolate and Strawberry Naan or the Gulab Jamun Cheesecake.

Additional menu items include pizza, naan bread, and appetizers like walking tacos and samosas. We ordered almost all of the menu items on opening day and below are our initial thoughts.

eet Bread Service with Pimento Whipped Paneer – $18

This Indian-style starter comes with a serving of buttered and garlic naan bread with pimento whipped paneer cheese, masala vegetable sticks, Indian pickle, coriander honey, and several chutneys.

We enjoyed the bread service and thought the pimento cheese works well with the naan bread, but we would also encourage diners to mix the pimento cheese and the chutneys on the bread. The chutneys vary from slightly sweet to different levels of savory. The vegetables also make a nice addition to this bread service.

Overall, this might have been our favorite menu item we tried on opening day and we can see people only ordering this bread service. Guests can also order the buttered or garlic naan bread as a side.

Tandoori Chicken Poutine – $14

This play on poutine consists of chaat masala fries, tandoori chicken, white cheddar curds, and a rich tomato butter sauce, You can order the masala fries as a side for just $4, but based on our experience, we recommend paying more for the poutine to enjoy the merging of flavors.

We were excited to try this menu item. We found the fries fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The overall flavor profile of the poutine works well; however, we felt the flavors were inconsistent. After chatting with other guests who ordered this, that seems to be the nature of this poutine since every bite will differ based on which components are involved. Overall, we can recommend this item.

Walking Taco – $12

This twist on the concept of a walking taco brings several unique characteristics, including crunchy Indian puff snacks that reminded us of cheese puffs with a different texture (which might cause some guests to dislike this starter).

We felt the spicy pork chili, Indian pico de gallo, tamarind chutney, and cojita cheese complement the puff snacks. This dish brought some spice; however, as we encountered with many of the menu items here, the spice levels fall below standard expectations for an Indian restaurant.

We doubt anyone can walk around eating this taco. Still, it’s a good choice for picky eaters visiting eet by Maneet Chauhan.

Chicken Tikka Naan Pizza – $14

Of the pizza options at eet by Maneet Chauhan, we enjoyed this one the most (we also tried the Saag Paneer Naan Pizza with saag spinach sauce, paneer tikka, mozzarella, and parmesan).

A simple explanation of this pizza would be to call it chicken tikka masala on naan bread. The naan bread pizza crust makes this pizza foldable as you eat it. Our group enjoyed this menu item very much.

Samosas – $9

Guests receive two large samosas filled with savory potatoes along with tamarind chutney and mint chutney.

We found the samosas were a good portion size and were not short on flavor with the two chutneys.

Street Style Puffed Rice Salad – $12

The menu description for this salad reads “crispy puffed rice, mango, strawberry, potato, cilantro, tamarind chutney, mint chutney.” The cast members told us to mix all the ingredients before eating it, so ee followed their suggestion, and once we did, we understood the appeal of this style of salad, but we don’t expect this salad will be a primary reason people visit eet by Maneet Chauhan.

The restaurant also offers the Samosa Chopped Salad ($15), which includes chopped lettuce, cucumber, radish, tomato, garbanzo, mini samosa croutons, and chaat vinaigrette. We did not try this salad on opening day.

BYOB (Build Your Own Bowl) – $18

Each bowl includes pickled red cabbage, Indian pico de gallo, and masala chickpea pearls. Guests will then select a base, kabab, and sauce.

• Bases: Cumin basmati rice, turmeric riced cauliflower, or fresh salad greens
• Kababs: Tandoori chicken, Paneer tikka, basil cilantro shrimp, or Masala roasted cauliflower
• Sauces: Tikka (aromatic buttery tomato sauce), Saag (rich earthy spinach sauce), Moilee (golden coconut curry sauce), Korma (cashew saffron sauce), or Bhunna (classic Indian curry sauce).

Our group chose paneer tikki, cumin basmati rice, and moilee sauce. We found the bowl enjoyable and thought it tasted better when we mixed the ingredients, and to our surprise, the chickpeas stood out more than we expected (in a good way). Of course, guests can come back many times for something a little different each time with all these bowl choices.

Desserts at eet by Maneet Chauhan

We ordered two desserts: the Gulab Juman Cheesecake ($9) and the Chocolate & Strawberry Naan ($8).

Both desserts offer a nice twist. The “safer” of the two would be the New York-style cheesecake with a traditional Indian gulab jamun topping, saffron, and cardamon. This dessert serves as a signature item at Chauhan’s table service restaurants.

The Chocolate & Strawberry Naan presented pros and cons. The naan bread is lightly coated with cinnamon and is then covered with chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, white chocolate, diced strawberries, and fresh mint. The twist on dessert pizza offers excellent flavors, but guests will need to enjoy mint. Also, based on the sauces, we feel this dessert could be messy to consume.

Conclusion about eet by Maneet Chauhan Disney Springs

We love the addition of this Indian restaurant to Disney Springs. It provides another counter service option and menu presents enough variety for almost all guests. Adding an Indian restaurant at Walt Disney World also increases the cuisine options for guests.

Guests who think of Indian food as only highly spicy will not find that at eet by Maneet Chauhan. However, the menu options include many excellent examples of Indian culture and cuisine. We will return for many more visits to eet by Maneet Chauhan at Disney Springs.