With new tables and chairs, a fresh vine motif, and a lovely mural that owner Balraj Bhasin bought in India, this Del Ray restaurant now looks almost as good as it eats.
The can’t-miss pick here is charcoal-broiled tandoori chicken wings as good as any we’ve tasted—plump, juicy, tangy, and hot, thanks to a generous chili rub. Tandoori chicken also goes into the outstanding Butter Chicken, its rich, tomato-curry sauce best sopped up with thick onion kulcha and chased with a nibble of the spicy pickled relish called achar. Details matter: The fish curry benefits greatly from the presence of whole curry leaves in its mild sauce, made with coconut and fenugreek seeds.
Vegetables are often bland, particularly the saag paneer and dal makhani, but you can count on good tandoori meats, curries, and breads at gentle prices. And now, comfier surroundings.
Open Sunday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
