Cuisine: Glammed-up Indian—anise-spiced crab cakes, cardamom-scented profiteroles, sweet mangotinis. But you’ll also find plenty of nods to tradition at this maze of a dining room: velvety curries and stews, Southern-style street snacks, and the best tandoori meats around.
Mood: Color-drenched silks and brocades, a turquoise-lit fountain, a stunning marble lattice in the lounge, umbrella-topped tables on the patio—the varied settings pull in Indians longing for the flavors of home, families out for an easy dinner, and happy-hour revelers.
Best for: A bountiful meal likely to yield leftovers; a leisurely shopping-day lunch; outdoor dining in summer.
Best dishes: Papri chaat, a cool potato salad with yogurt, tamarind, and cilantro chutney; fried samosas; paani puri, crisp shells to be filled from a beaker of tamarind water and eaten in one bite; miniature dosas stuffed with potato and served with five chutneys; tandoori chicken and lamb chops; shrimp varuval over lemony rice; chicken tikka makhani in tangy tomato sauce; ultra-fiery chicken chettinad; lamb biryani; layered bread called paratha; gulab jamun, puffs of pastry steeped in honey.
Insider tips: The excellent weekday-lunch buffet—all you can eat for $10.95—offers ten or so stews and curries plus freshly griddled dosas.
Service: ••
Open daily for lunch and dinner. Moderate.
See all of 2009's 100 Best Restaurant
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.
