India A-1 Grocery

Hands down the best biryriani I’ve ever had! Try the biryriani and chicken 65. Staff is always super friendly.

Great little store. Serves every need. Great service as well. Parking is a bit of an issue if this store or subway is crowded.

Okay, where do I start.
I’ve been shopping here for years. I like the store because it’s small easy to navigate and you can be in and out in 20 minutes. I haven’t got a case of the «Delhi Belly» from here yet so that is a good thing. Mostly for achar and bitter gourd and bindi/​okra aka that nasty slimy green vegetable that no one seems to like but me.
Like most «ethnic» shops in the area. I’m going to PC and not point any group out directly. Check the dates wisely before you end up with something that expired six months or year ago. It happens to the best of us.
As usual this place is hell a stocked with spices and lentils. Duh. You can also pick up some Bengali sweets that are just whatever. Oh yeah, depending on the time you make it in the can pick up some fresh samosas the side of chutney pretty cheap. You know they’re good because the greases soaking through the paper bag.
Aside from food you can also buy limited products. If you like incense yup they have it. Yup, it’s hella cheap. The one product that I come here is for Dettol. Why because it kills and disinfectants just about everything on earth. Cleaning with it will literally keep your family members and roaches at bay. Seriously, I knew Dettol was good when I would start cleaning the the house and the sharp chemical smell was strong enough to chase my ex-​husband out the house during the Super Bowl. Keep in mind if you own a feline do NOT use Dettol, unless you want to put your moggie in moggie heaven.
Enjoy, shop and stock up for martial law or a zombie outbreak whichever may come first.

Pretty decent selection of Indian spices and frozen foods. Minimal selection of fresh produce but has your basics (cilantro, curry leaves, thai chillies etc) They have a small restaurant attached to the store, but havent been too impressed with their food. They say they serve «hyderabadi» biryani, which is a certain type of dish served in South India, and it’s nothing like what it’s supposed to be. Good if you have a craving and can’t get to a better restaurant, but stick to the spices and stay out of the kitchen.

I have literally been shopping here for decades because it has all the Indian spice, frozen foods and snacks that an Indian kitchen (in other words mine) requires.
They also have the crucial Indian grocery items fresh on hand such as chillies, curry leaves, ginger-​garlic, cilantro, yogurt, and gresh Indian veggies that you need for cooking.
Spice wall is amazing. Yes you can get asafoetida powder here. Pickle selection is awesome. All the spicy lime and mango lovers go here.
Frozen section has a local twist. Local housewives have prepared packets of frozen chapatis for you to keep on hand in your freezer.
The only odd thing is that if you bring your own shopping bag they don’t want to bag groceries for you. Cheap disposable plastic bags? They’ll give you them free and will bag your stuff too.
Credit card purchases only for $ 10 and above. Parking spaces a bit tight. Opposite Macdonalds and next to Subway on Lee Highway. Doesn’t get more American than that.

I usually don’t go up this far on Lee Highway, but it was nice to find out about this grocery store from a friend. The store has a good section of spices and ready-​made powder mixes such as tikka masala and such. They have a good selection of vegetables as well along with sweets like soan papdi. The store workers are friendly and jovial, which is important for businesses, especially for small local businesses. I will return to try out the samosas as my friend had suggested.

A very white Irish girl who loves her potatoes comes here for samosas. Warm, spicy, velvety goodness. And the tall, dark, handsome men who frequent the place only add to the atmosphere. Add a little Bollywood on the screen to put you right with the world. Samoas and mango lassi for a quick lunch, then bring home the papadum, fresh vegetables for dinner.

love this place. I am Indian and have been to lots of Indian grocery stores. Clean, simple, and they have basically EVERYTHING you would need, though its a small space. Agree with the samosa recommendations

This first thing I heard about this place was the cheap samosas. They are delicious and definitely great for the price We come here for all our Indian grocery needs. They have all the basics from spices to coconut and from frozen dosas to yummy kulfis.
One thing that you should definitely try, is the takeaway that you can order from the kitchen. The biryani is not greasy yet so amazing! The Chana batura and palak paneer are other things I have tried and recommend. The best part is still the price!
This is indeed a small wonder.

We love Indian food and this place is perfect for stocking up on some our favorite items! We eat a lot of papadams and since you can’t find those just anywhere we make a special trip to this store. We also like some of their pre-​packaged side dishes and spices are sold in huge quantities, for a very low price. We always grab a couple bottles of lychee juice because it’s absolutely delicious alone, or in a cocktail.
I definitely recommend this place if you like preparing Indian food at home!

Since the Grand Mart on Arlington boulevard has gotten rid of a lot of their Indian groceries, I dove over here. While the shop IS small, they carried everything I needed and more. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Here’s the short story:
This place is a super small store (only 2 aisles) on Lee Highway, right next to the Dominoes and Subway, that sells incredibly cheap Indian groceries.
A little more details:
If you’re from NY, NJ, or anywhere else where you’re expecting a Patel Brothers sized store, please don’t forget this is an incredibly small store. Two aisles, one checkout register, and a few parking spaces. They have a whole wall dedicated to spices, vegetables (in the fridge), frozen foods, tons of rice options, dal, snacks, pickles, and other miscellaneous items. For sure it’s just focused on the essentials and nothing more (which undoubtedly makes it easy to find things) — but this is also why I’m docking it a star on Unilocal.
They also sell what I think are the best samosas in town… get this… ONLY for $ 1 each! Most people that shop their ask for 1 or 2 samosas when they’re being checked out by the cashier… it’s so cheap, fulfilling, and tasty. I usually get 3 because I’m a fatty.
PS — they seem to accept credit card without a minimum :)

Love this little grocery store! We get all of our indian food items from here that we can’t get at the regular grocery store. My favorites are the dosa mix and the samosas! Also they have mango fruittis! They even have limca! They aren’t super expensive. Good place to go get spices also. Parking can be difficult. They do have additional parking on the dominos side of the lot.

I’ve recently tried several Indian recipes and have found all the ingredients that you wouldn’t find at a typical grocery store, not Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s much less Safeway or Giant, I need here.
They are always helpful about finding items and giving tips for cooking, storage, etc.
I highly recommend.

Went there for the first time. Decent groceries but our attendant was not nice. He took care of me but asked the guy after me if he could wait. Completely ignoring my husband and I. He was not friendly at all. No thank you and no have a nice day. I live in Ballston and promise to never go back due to lack of customer service and the place is filthy! Super gross…

Smaller grocery store, with a good selection of spices and dry goods like lentils and rice. I’m a sucker for pakoras and picked out several frozen bags from the freezer.

A-​1 is smaller than the Indian stores I used to shop at in the NY area, but it’s also cleaner and easier to move around — so it gets my star of approval. The store is stocked with all the necessities you could want to cook up a great Indian dinner — although last time I visited, many of the «fresh» veggies were wilting, so minus one star.
Not only does A-​1 have a good selection of spices and ready-​made mixes, it also has some nice frozen entrees. I recommend the aloo parathas and the boxed vegetable manchurian.
There are also some other fun things you can occasionally find here, like Lay’s potato chips (masala magic flavor, etc) imported from India.
Finally, if you see any puff-​pastry looking squares on the glass shelves near the checkout, buy them. I think the owner calls them «vegetable puffs» or something. They’re yummy!

This Indian grocery store is similar to most stores in the DC area — small selection of grocery items, manned by disinterested employees. Cleanliness level is questionable.
They still do well because of the strong demand for Indian grocery in this area. I wish they could take lessons from local Korean grocery stores like H-​Mart!

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During my first visit to this store, as I was waiting in line to be rung-​up; the Jolly Indian Uncle-​owner received a call from someone needing directions however; instead of giving them directions, he proceeds to hand off the phone to me and simply says, «Here, give them direction». I obeyed and gave the caller directions. When I handed back the phone, he smiled and said «Thank you, I hope you gave them the wrong directions!» I could not stop laughing after that.
Despite that, A1 Indian Store has just about all the Indian spices, frozen foods, and other essentials you need with reasonable prices. The store is a bit small and in an awkward location, but overall a decent Indian store.