Indian Restaurants in D.C.
 

I will be in the D.C. area in a few weeks and am looking for recommendations for good Indian restaurants. I'll be staying in the Arlington area but can get just about anywhere using the Metro. Either north or south Indian restaurants are fine with me.

I ate at the Bombay Club a year or two ago and was very impressed. I asked the waiter for recommendations and he was great. As I recall what I ended up getting wasnt even on the menu. I was quite glad I went there.

As an aside, depending on how long you are staying in DC and your taste in food; in addition to Indian you might try a Vietnamese place. I think DC has some of the best Vietnamese food in the US. Lots of superb places. It is the only cuisine I miss having moved from the DC area to the NY area nearly 20 years ago.

I do happen to like Vietnamese food. Do you have any specific recommendations?

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Not up to date ones but there are some threads in the DC forum. There is an area in I recall Arlington called Little Saigon. The DC forum members will be able to provide up to date info I'm sure.

we are very fortunate in the dc area to have two independent reviewer groups.

http://donrockwell.com/

aand

http://tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/

i would be cautious of the very old reviews.

i do not think we have a strong indian restaurant group. this is surprising in that we have a large population from the indian sub continent. perhaps it is now centered out near dulles. herndon has a bunch of indian restaurants.

The Washington Post's restaurant guide is searchable by various options, including cuisine.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/dc-restaurants.html

I second the Bombay Club. In addition to the food, I enjoyed the atmosphere. N.b. I am not a connoisseur of Indian food.

The Bombay Club is very good, though the menu is a little narrow. If you like traditional Indian served in a Raj-esque setting, then BC is for you! If you want something more contemporary and fusion-ish, then I'd suggest Indique on Connecticut Ave NW. Get off at Cleveland Park metro on the Red Line and it's right there. Best to make a reservation if you're going Fri or Sat evenings. If you've lived in London or eaten Indian there, the range and choice in DC doesn't compare. Also if you like your dishes hot, then you have to ask otherwise you get mild!

The Eden Center near Wilson Blvd. and Rt 7 is a large Vietnamese shopping complex with a ton of Vietnamese restaurants.

In Arlington near Courthouse there's a "fast food" type Indian place that's been there forever called Delhi Dha Ba - it's decent, not out of this world.

In Clarendon near the Barnes and Noble there's "Tandoori Nights" - as I recall it was fairly expensive and the food was mediocre, but nice atmosphere.

I agree with the other poster who said a lot of the good Indian places are further out. I like:

Jaipur Royal Indian Cuisine - near Fairfax Circle (in Circle Towers)
Preet Palace - Centreville
Angeethi - Herndon

Thanks for all the great recommendations. Can't wait to try them out.

Yes. There are some great Vietnamese places out at and around the Eden center, unfortunately they arent easy to get to by metro. I ate at one past there two years ago, a bit past the Eden Center but not too far. Im not sure of the name but it was probably Four Sisters. It was excellent.

The area around the Courthouse Metro station also has a lot of Vietnamese places. My favorite in the DC area, Queen Bee, was there but it closed a few years ago. I have eaten at a couple of other ones in that area and they have all been very good.

Agreed. I told the waiter that I liked Indian places in London and Delhi and asked him to make it on the spicy side. He lit it up ;)

I'll second Angeethi and also recommend Saravana Palace in Fairfax on 29. It's vegetarian, and has both north and south Indian cuisine. If you'd like to try something a bit different, I'd recommend the Burmese food of "Myanmar", also on 29 but in Falls Church. Unfortunately none of these are really metro accessible...

I enjoy Himalayan Heritage in Adams Morgan.

http://www.himalayanheritagedc.com/

It's about a 10-15 minute walk from the Woodley Park/Adams Morgan Metro. The atmosphere in the dining room is more Nepalese than Indian (lots of Newari woodwork), but the menu has the best of both.