Angeethi Authentic Indian Cuisine

It’s closed

Took my Groupon to Angeethi last Saturday eveninng with the DH, a longtime conoisseur of Indian cuisine. The space is pleasant and quiet, with a nice long banquette lining the back wall under an Indian mural. The other tables fairly well spaced so you’re not forced to learn about your fellow diners’ private lives, with gentle background Indian music and incense to stimulate two additional senses.
We had two appetizers — I the sabzi pakora, my hub the aloo tikka — both were very well prepared and flavorful.
For main dish I had the wild salmon tandoori, which for $ 18 had to be the finest bargain in the world — perfectly cooked and seasoned — flaking beautifully on the plate — I’d gladly eat that several times a week. My hub had a chicken dish (sorry, can’t recall which) which he said was one of the best preparations he’d ever had. Service was attentive but unhurried and unobtrusive.
The whole wheat paratha was not fabulous.
My single biggest complaint is that the air-​lock door on the inside of the entrance vestibule doesn’t close itself, so I had to ask to have it closed twice (it was a chilly evening). Installing an automatic closing mechanism would really pay off for diners who don’t like the wind on their back.
We will definitely return, even without the inducement of the coupon.

Went for the lunch buffet. It was $ 8.99 which wasn’t bad at all. But the food wasn’t great, definitely had better. Also not many choices, the meat dishes are all chicken, no lamb. The buffet isle was very dirty, not the most attractive layout.
When we were trying to get a second basket of naan, there were no waiters around to ask and when we did ask it came out very late, but I guess the good part is that you get infinite amount of naan if you are up for the waiting.

I was lured here with Groupon and my Indian food renaissance as I spent most of my life not liking Indian food due to the pungent smell. Years later I find myself craving garlic naan and tender chunks of lamb in curry. The chicken pakora was also a greasy treat.
Definitely cements my newfound appreciation of Indian food, and I’ll definitely be coming back.

Met up with the husband here after work one night to cash in a Groupon I got for this place. If it weren’t for the Groupon, I would’ve been disappointed to pay as much for what I got.
I agree with Shawn G. — the coconut lassi was REALLY sour for non-​Indian tastes. I was accustomed to lassi tastes enough to get through it all, but it was definitely more sour than the mango lassi.
The vegetable samosa was large and had plenty of chunky potato and veggie fillings, but the flavors were mild and on the bland side compared to others I’ve had. And the blandness carried through to the entrees, including my chicken tikka. The husband’s lamb vindaloo was only flavorful enough when he instructed the wait staff to make it extra spicy AND sent it back once it first arrived to make it spicier. He was sweating while eating it, though he claimed it was for «other reasons.»

Angeethi is a good for vegetarians. There are lots of options. This isn’t the cheapest place to go for Indian food if you are not a fan of buffets.
My friend and I were practically the only ones here for lunch on a recent Sunday. We started with the Paneer Pakora. The Indian version of fried cheese, only fried in a chickpea batter. Not bad.
We shared the veggies in a creamy curry sauce for lunch with an order of Naan. How can you eat Indian food without Naan? The veggies were good, especially the cauliflower. They could have been more generous with the Naan though. Four small pieces for $ 2 isn’t enough to soak up the plentiful curry sauce of our entrée.
Our waiter was nice, but it took ages for our food to arrive. I guess they are more used to folks ordering the lunch buffet deal.

I went to angeethi on a random weekday night and I was very pleasantly surprised by the food. Some brown-​folk are inherently critical of Indian food because of the whole «my mommy can cook it better» attitude. Maybe its because I haven’t had my mom’s cooking in a while, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I had the papdi chaat and decided on the dhaniya chicken at the waiter’s suggestion. Papdi chaat was fresh and flavorful with tangy tamarind chutney and just the right amount of yoghurt to balance the spice. The Dhaniya chicken curry was smooth and green with cilantro and had an excellent flavor. Both dishes were excellent.
I’ll have to try the buffet, because that’s where most of these restaurants usually disappoint.
The service was excellent and I don’t really give a crap about the décor. So there you have it.

DC Unilocalers you fooled me again!
I have to be honest, I was really excited to try this place — despite the fact that the Unilocal photos look like they are clips from Saw 10.
Ten seconds into the meal I got even more excited. Finally, finally, finally, my theory that Unilocal is either full of trolls or the taste bud blind is proven true.
Angeethi is gross. The buffet had no lamb or goat. There was a nasty dal, a mushy channa, a creepy okra dish, two awkward chicken curries and some bone dry tandoori. The ‘biryani’ was white rice with a little turmeric and a couple tiny frozen shrimps.
The plates were old flea market hand me downs, small and soaking wet and it was lit like a cave.
If you like or respect Indian food skip this place. While it’s not as bad as Rajaji and while there aren’t many good Indian places in DC you’d be better off grabbing a frozen curry from Trader Joes.
And the toilets?! I’d rather walk to New York Penn Station’s rest room than ever use Angeethi’s toilets again.
Oh, and there is no way in hell that Angeethi is better that Haandi.

What a weird experience, but overall I think it averages out to a solid 3-​star rating. Went for dinner last night, and was greeted by a friendly helpful waiter (+). I had a coupon that included a free martini from the lounge (+), but they weren’t open (-). But when I asked he was happy to substitute a glass of wine instead (+), and even gave me a glass of one of the non-​house wines that isn’t supposed to be served by the glass (++). (They don’t have any red wines by the glass except house wines. (-))
Ordering was strange. The waiter told me the dish I ordered was kinda dry, and seemed to want to steer me towards something else (+), but couldn’t quite seem to figure out what to recommend (-). I told him I didn’t want something with dairy in it, but when the dish I settled on (which was not listed as «creamy» or anything) came, the sauce was clearly cream based (- — -). I decided it was there so I’d eat it anyways, and it was very good (+). My friend ordered the vegetarian thali, which included a large amount of food and everything was very good as well (+). And my dish came with a decently large amount of rice (though still not enough), so that’s a positive (+). However, we also ordered an appetizer that I was really looking forward to trying, and that never came (-).
Décor was nice, and it was a pleasant evening. I would definitely come back except that it seems quite pricey — without our coupon it would’ve been almost $ 30 each? Seems like a lot for Indian dinner, but maybe that’s just Bethesda.

Came here with a friend. Maybe because it is a long weekend, but when I arrived at almost 1 p.m., the restaurant was 100% empty. Weird! But no matter– Friend and I hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so there was lots to catch up on. Plus, it was buffet-​style. No people = more food for me! Not that I’m greedy or anything…
The food was decent, and the service was pretty good (considering there were two people in the entire restaurant, AND it was a self-​serve all-​you-​can-​eat buffet, it’s pretty hard to mess this up, I’d think). But I wasn’t too pleased about the naan– it wasn’t the fluffy, chewy naan I was expecting. And they didn’t put it in the buffet line– rather, they just brought it to our table. I eat a lot of naan! I want to be able to eat as much as I wanted! They gave the two of us 2 quarters of a piece of naan each (so one full naan, yes?). Not enough!
The rest of the food was pretty good though. I thought the cauliflower dish, which was tasty, reminded me of orange chicken (you know, the kind you get at Panda Express– I guess that’s okay because they’re both. .. Asian. .. cuisines??? Hm, maybe not.)– so that was weird. But otherwise, everything else was alright.

I’ve been to quite a few indian restaurant for buffet and most places offer a couple of chicken and lamb dishes with a few vegetarian options.
Angeethi offers a couple of chicken and lamb dishes and one seafood dish. It was refreshing to see seafood dish at Indian buffet. All the dishes were seasoned mild and nothing stood out to impress me but then nothing was disappointing either. Naan was good though. Soft and chewy.
Two kind of desserts: carrot sweets and rice pudding.
PS: It was $ 12 on the weekend. Not bad if you like seafood, although I’m not sure if weekday buffet serves seafood.

Angeethi’s lunch buffet is the Indian buffet of choice at my group house. They always have several delicious entrée options as well as endless naan and at least two different kinds of dessert, typically gulab jamun and rice pudding. Additionally, this buffet is probably the most reasonably priced in the area. I am actually surprised it is not more busy on the weekends, but that also means no waiting.
The service is excellent and the staff are very friendly and attentive. Definitely a great find!

CliffsNotes: Probably one of the best Indian lunch buffets around town. For $ 10.99, you get the most selection and most diverse selection of curries, tandoori, and other savory dishes. In all, I counted 5 chicken dishes, 7 vegetables, 2 rices, 2 desserts, and naan. If I had to rank the Indian buffets I’ve had, it would look like this:
1) Angeethi
2) White Tiger Restaurant
3) Serena Grill & Kabob
3) Indian Experience
5) Mayur Kabab House
Be careful because you’l end up walking out smelling like curry. [Original Visit: January 20, 2010]

My 3^rd or 4^th time? for lunch buffett $ 10.99…seems to be getting even better… is THAT possible? I usually make 3 trips up but if you are starving I’m sure 5,6 would be acceptable…
Everything is soooooo good and they have expanded with more choices and salad and fruit and desserts.
Servers work as a team making sure waters are filled, plates are cleared and food is fresh at the all you can eat divinity temple of goodness. :)

Hands down best Indian food in Maryland — maybe the best I’ve ever had. Lunchtime buffet is a killer deal ($ 15/​person) for the quality food. I almost don’t want to tell anyone b/​c I like that it’s never crowded on weekends, but I want the restaurant to still be there, so I’m reluctantly Unilocaling about it.
Décor is nothing special, but you’re going for the food anyway. The samoas are also great.

Good Indian fare. Girlfriend brought me here for a date, and it was awesome. She was wearing this really cute dress, with a long coat, nicely cut, such that I was having trouble concentrating on what she was saying, and — wait, where were we…
Angeethi is a lovely little restaurant. Décor is simple, and the waiter was quite friendly. He actually ran into us at Taste of Bethesda a few weeks later and remembered us, and handed us a giant pile of coupons. Speaking of coupons, they have pretty good discounts for dinner and lunch, so scrounge around.
We had chicken tikka (how can you not) and lamb madras, with some garlic naan and a mango lassi. The naan was not as fluffy as I’d hoped, the lassi not quite sweetened enough, but otherwise the meal was decent.
The busboy stopped by halfway through our meal to refill our glasses and asked, «Do you guys want more rice?» We told him yes, but he never came back again. I guess he was just curious…

A super solid choice for a great lunch buffet, although service was less than great. Salad and fruit options on the buffet are a nice touch. Hot food was all delicious. $ 10.99 per person, although with the current special, the 2^nd person’s buffet is 50% off.

Best Indian restaurant in Montgomery County, and I can’t think of one that I like better elsewhere!
The samosas are light, but try the chicken samosa! So tasty, and even lighter than the vegetable version. If you don’t want beer or a sweet lassi, ask for for a salty lassi. It’s not on the menu, but I’ve always prefered a salty lassi with my meal, and this one is worthy.
Anything with spinach is good here, but try the lamb gosht. They have goat dishes, and you can get hallal meats if you want. The onion kulcha is exemplary: tasty, light, and not greasy at all.
Watch out for the pappadum! They’re spicier than most. Ask for medium spicy for most dishes and that’ll be fine for everyone but people who can’t stand any heat and people who want their Indian food Indian hot. Medium worked out great for us with curries and the tandoori shrimp.
With it’s great service and a bar just about to open upstairs, this is now one of my favorite restaurants. Gotta try the buffet some time!

I’m vain, so I like that this place has my nickname at the front of it’s name — scoring major points for the Indian joint!
Angeethi has a nice feel to it inside; it’s upscale enough without suffocating you and there are effective accents to keep one from being bored with white table clothes and flowers. Booths! They have the table/​booth things that I like. I always enjoy a squishy seat with the option of sitting in a chair, just in case I’m feeling more civilized.
Our waitress was cool; she helped Mr. Angela figure out what dish he had from the lunch buffet, which was fantastic according to him. If you want to sample a great spread of Indian food, go for lunch. He thought they had a dinner buffet as well, that’s why we went. Oops!
I got a coconut lassi — yeah, I’m on some sort of a coconut kick after that coconut bubble tea I had at the airport — and it came out kind of lukewarm. I have a little trouble with lukewarm drinks and lukewarm yogurt is even weirder. Warm. Baby. Spit. I’ll stick with mango lassi from here on out.
We got the variety appetizer with samosas, and other stuff I can’t remember. That was pretty good — not mind-​blowing or mouthgasm-​causing. I had my eye on the tandoori chicken skewers.
I ordered butter chicken, it’s called something else though, if you ask for butter chicken, they will know what you mean. Very rich, with big chicken chunks. The sauce is great by itself with some rice mixed in. Hubby got the chicken vindaloo; we like Indian Hot, not just very hot. If you need it spicier, just ask; they are more than happy to challenge your heat threshold. My sis got the tandoori salmon. What a fantastic, yummy meal. The salmon was moist and flavorful. Oh, and their naan variety bucket, as I’m calling it, is excellent. You get onion, garlic, cheese and plain naan and it is sooooo goood. Really, all of the dishes were great. I would definitely come here again.
If I could get over there for lunch and try the buffet, that would be even better. I’ll bet I could find some new favorites.
Btw, don’t eat the black-​looking seeds in the rice. They taste like perfume.

Angeethi is a great find in the heart of the Woodmont Triangle.
Nothing is a-​typical of the Indian dining experience in the area (still no ice in the water… sigh), but what sets Angeethi apart is the wonderful flavor that pops from their recipes. The Murg Tandoori is not your typical overcooked orang-​ish chicken, instead it’s bursting with flavor, moistness, and spice. Their curries, such as the Vindalo, definitely pack the heat, so those who don’t like a little spice in their life, need not apply. Plates will run you about $ 14 a meal, with nan and soda running you an extra $ 2. Not too bad for the quality of the food, especially now since they are handing out $ 10 off coupons at the door to build their clientel.
If you like Indian food, this place is not to be missed. If you’re unsure, I suggest you do your homework prior to showing up at the restaurant on the menu, as they don’t offer very definitive descriptions on what the items are.