Banyan Tree South Asian Grill

You cannot Chipotlize Indian food. Period. The concept may be ok in theory and it even works to an extent in Spice 6, a place located in Dunn Loring with a similar assembly line. But that place has better tasting ingredients and spices that are freshly ground. There are numerous other Indian places within the Fairfax area, where you can enjoy Indian food for the same price or less. Indian cuisine is not meant to be mixed into a bowl like some indistinguishable slop, much as a George Foreman electric grill cannot replicate the flavors of a charcoal BBQ grill, much less a charcoal tandoor.

Think of this place as the chipotle of Indian food. It’s delicious! I got the basmati rice bowl, with chicken and tikka masala sauce, so good! I’m not a spicy person but I hear their spicier sauce is really good. They have a large selection of San pelligrino flavored beverages which I personally love trying out. This place has a large dining room that is never as full as it should be!

I’m a big fan of fast casual places thanks to their convenience and customizability. Banyan Tree is pretty much an Indian-​American take on the Chipotle business model complete with naan sandwiches, basmati rice bowls, and salads.
I ordered a chicken basmati rice bowl, which came with your choice of brown/​white rice, potatoes/​onions, chicken, a curry sauce and your choice of four different toppings. The food was filling and flavorful. Everything tasted fresh, and my curry sauce, Tikka Masala, provided enough savory bite without being overly salty. My one suggestion is providing more in-​depth descriptions for the curry sauces! Although it’s helpful to know the origin of the Northern Madras curry, the ordinary consumer would also love to know how it tastes!
The price is also incredibly reasonable (chicken bowls were $ 6.95 — discounted! — the last time I went). The staff are polite and patient, and it’s great to support local businesses! Give Banyan a try whenever you’re feeling a hankering for Indian cuisine!

This place is a locally owned hidden gem that I don’t think many people know about yet. When people find out about it, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t become on of the Fairfax hotspots. The food is delicious, the price is very reasonable, and the ownership and staff are friendly and kind. It also has several wonderful vegan and gluten free options. It’s got a set up similar to Chipotle with Indian Food instead, and as I said above, the food is delicious — as good as any food I’ve had in the DC area.

Whenever my boyfriend and I find a new fast-​casual restaurant, we jump at the opportunity to check it out. This place is a decent example of why not all food from various regions are fit to be in a form of Chipotle. Banyan Tree, despite it being a family-​owned business with home-​cooked meal vibes, just didn’t cut it in terms of the food. When I think of Indian cuisine, it’s usually associated with spices, herbs, color, flavor, but every one of the choices were rather bland and lacking texture. Put all of that together in a fast-​casual bowl style meal and you end up with a hodgepodge of sub par ingredients with a side of stale naan. Writing a poor review for such an innocent establishment makes me feel like the devil, but I genuinely think Indian food should stay in their separate plates and bowls.

Think the Chipotle of Indian food. The bowls are tasty and the spices and toppings give you lots of good flavors for tasty options. I thought the chicken was yummy and my husband got a naan sandwich with lamb that he raved about. The prices are reasonable and, although the eat-​in area is nothing special, it’s totally clean.

I love fast casual places, call it the Chipotle effect, and a fan of places such as Cava/​Sweetgreen/​Chipotle, you get the idea. When I found out about this one, an Indian version Chipotle, I had to try it out!
Came here for lunch on a Friday afternoon. When we walked in, my friend and I were the only 2 people in the place. Should have taken that as a sign.
The portion isn’t as big, definitely not like other fast casual places.
You start with your base which includes rice bowl, salad or Naan wrap. I chose to do half white/​brown rice. You also choose 2 veggie items out of the 3 choices they have: potatoes, chic peas, mix of onion and green peppers. Next is your protein item: chicken, lamb, paneer, steak. Then you pick four toppings of lettuce, red onions, cilantro, tomatoes, fried onions.
One choice of sauces, I chose the Tikka masala sauce. Tried one of the other sauces and it was a little too spicy so decided on Tikka masala sauce.
The bowl was very underwhelming and bland. The Tikka masala sauce was watery and didn’t have any taste to it. The chicken had absolutely no flavor, it looked very unappealing and tasted just like that, very bland. I am used to seeing some quality in the items at other establishments like this, but this place lacks the quality as well.
I absolutely love the idea of an Indian style fast casual place and was hoping this was going to be the spot for that. Unfortunately, it lacks the important components. Lacks in taste, flavor, quality.

Found this place about a month ago — instant regular! Love the food, service is efficient and helpful. They happily explained what the different sauces were and how they paired with my rice bowl. My sister is vegan, so I love having a place I can take her where we both have options!

Yes it is an Indian version of chipotle but it is tasty. They have steak, chicken, or tofu to choose from. Then you can choose different toppings and sauces from mild to hot.
Don’t get it twisted tho. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT AUTHENTIC INDIAN FOOD but it tries to be different and healthy. There is never a line because there’s an actual chipotle next to it where everybody and their uncles go to. Bottom line: cheap, quick, healthy. Can’t really complain about that.

Indian Chipotle!
I love this place! The food is amazing. The sauces have just the right kick. Everything is fresh. Price is reasonable — you can have a large pile of food for about $ 8. I generally order a salad bowl with chickpeas and some meat. (the lamb is delicious but expensive).
Try it out!

We stopped in for lunch and found a gem tucked into Fair City Mall! Banyan serves up fresh Indian food in a chipotle-​like style. First you pick the base of your dish (naan wrap, brown or white rice, or salad), then you pick your 2 cooked toppings (chickpeas, peppers and onions, and potatoes). Next you pick your protein (chicken, lamb, paneer, tofu, or chickpeas). Then you pick your sauce from a choice of four. The madras curry and tikka masala were great! Next stop is the cold toppings which you pick four of. I picked cilantro, fried onions, tomatoes, and yogurt. My finished dish felt so personal, like it was a homemade meal made just for me!
They make fresh naan that was a really nice addition! They also have samosas which looked incredible. With so many choices of flavors and combinations, you could eat here frequently and have every meal taste different! The servers will let you sample the sauces if you are not sure of the taste or heat level. Hint: tikka masala is the most mild of the four!
Vegans and vegetarians finally have multiple options on the menu beyond a boring salad!
We got to meet the owners who were so incredibly nice. I really felt like I was being transported to Asia for lunch. From the minute we walked in, the warm and fragrant smells filled the air. The décor is very open, modern, and fresh. They have free wifi too!

I can’t believe I stumbled upon another Indian chipotle. Now is it better than Spice 6?
Ordered the basmati rice bowl with chicken, tikka masala sauce, chickpeas, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, cilantro, yogurt, and topped it off with their fire sauce. The best word I could use to describe their rice bowl is. Watery. Similar to Spice 6, everything in the bowl was very watery and bland. The fire sauce really brought the heat but didn’t fix the lack of flavor. Chipotle and Cava’s sauces (sour cream, harissa etc.) leaves their bowls with a delicious creaminess which these Fast Indian modern chains seem to lack. The only edge that Spice 6 has over Banyan is their Naan pizza (mmm yum).
Definitely edible, but not impressive enough for me to choose them over Cava and Chipotle. Competition is tough!

Pretty good place. Name is a bit misleading it says south asian. Which led me to think it is a asian fusion kind of cusine. It actually is an indian place.
Place is super clean and modern. Quick service (chipotle style). Tasty food (naan wrap /​basmati rice bowl) etc. We only tried the rice bowl and it turned out to be pretty good

Chris here, back at it again on Unilocal,now reviewing this gem of Fairfax county dining. This place offers chipotle styled ordering but for Indian food. The food is great, and now that they’ve added tofu, I see myself returning far more often. I am vegetarian and my partner is vegan and everything they serve is labeled and easy to read. It’s very nice not having to worry if something has dairy/​eggs. I always get the rice bowl as the naan wrap looks too messy for these digits to handle. The samosas are also worth getting, the sauce it comes with is v. tight. The interior is very spacious, bright, and clean. The customer service is decent and the manager/​owner is a chill dude.
Come here for a delicious, cheap, casual dining experience that is vegi/​vegan friendly and will definitely fill you up! Peace.

1.5 stars due to less than desireable customer service.
I decided to stop by here for lunch because my friend at Starbucks highly recommended this place. I’ve walked by many times over the past few months and it always looks pretty empty inside.
I ordered a rice bowl, half brown rice, half basmati rice. The lady working there began to scrape the bottom of the brown rice serving container, so I opted to go with plain basmati instead, it was hot and fresh, not hard and dried up. She was sort of heavy handed with the rice, so I asked for less. She removed a spoonful out. Next up, you pick your proteins. I opted for chicken, chickpeas, and potatoes. She gave me a small spoon of the chicken so I asked for little more. She said she couldn’t because it would cost extra. I said, well since I got a lot less rice, could I get a little more chicken? She said no, they could not do that, that you can’t compare chicken to rice. Ok… wow. I get what she was trying to say, however her delivery was more like an impatient reprimand. I honestly wanted to walk out… but I wanted to give this place a try.
Moving on, selected all of my toppings and asked for a little tikka masala sauce, but not too much. She spooned that over. Then I asked for a little general masala sauce in a small container. She said it would cost $ 1.50 extra. I really didn’t want to go into it because I felt as though I was being nickled and dimed. Tacky, tacky, tacky.
Flavors…the actual food itself was quite tasty and pretty good. I also ordered the plain yogurt sauce on the side, a mango-​yogurt lassi (sp?) beverage, and a dessert, gulab jamun… a fried bread ball soaked in delicious sweet sauce (I believe rose petal flavor). I honestly could have eaten 5 of those little gulab jamuns!
So, the food was pretty delish. I spent approximately$ 13 bucks or so. However, they really need to step up the customer service game. There are simply way too many choices and competition to provide mediocre customer service.
Perhaps I may return if I want Indian food for lunch. Probably not. However, I feel more inclined to explore other options since quite honestly, the vibe not very inviting whatsoever, nor the least bit welcoming. The feeling like you’re being nickeled and dimed is disappointing.

A Chipotle styled way of serving Indian cuisine. I have been here twice so far and thoroughly enjoyed my food each time.
The place is nicely decorated, very spacious. I like the design on the wall. I also like the wooden theme of the place even though it is fast food.
So far I have tried the naan roll and basmati rice bowl to begin with. I proceeded to get potatoes and then the onions and bell peppers, thirdly, I have tried the chicken and the lamb so far, and for the curry sauce, I have tried the tikka masala and the madras curry. I then topped it off with green chiles, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, the yogurt sauce, and cilantro.
They were very helpful to me the first time, when I said it was my first time there. I didn’t really know what to get or how to order but the nice man showed me how to and offered some suggestions.
It wasn’t very busy because I’m sure this place hasn’t really been discovered yet, but nonetheless, it seems very promising and is interesting enough to keep me coming back.
The food is good for the price and when I want a quick fix of Indian food in a fast food kind of way. Dining in a fancy restaurant may not always be the most convenient all the time.
Ask for samples if you want to try anything, and be wary of how spicy each curry sauce may be.

I don’t usually like Indian food (mostly because it’s either too spicy or I just don’t know many of their options), but this was the perfect place for me to get familiar with it!
The way you order would be how you would for Chipotle or Cava, so in a chain-​like manner. The menu displayed was helpful since it numbered the steps and THANK YOU for having bigger font sizes so I could read it from far away (other restaurants, please take note). It wasn’t crowded when I tried this place out, so I was able to ask one of the workers there for a better description of the types of food listed. He was super helpful in describing what they are, their spice levels, and how it may taste compared to other common foods. I ended up ordering my meal in a quicker fashion and I actually really liked it! Chickpeas on naan roll was basically what I ordered, and there are so many options available for meat lovers AND vegetarians to choose from.
The restaurant is built with high ceilings and it’s very spacious. The tables and chairs are very modern too. The customer service was excellent, and I would definitely come back! I hope they attract more people though, this is a new business and it’s sort of hidden from the main road!

Distict Indian flavors!
Chipotle style setvice!
Homemade lassi!
Contrasting flavors!
More Indian, than oriental.
GREAT prices!
Homemade yoghurt!

Fresh, yummy South Indian Cuisine served fast casual.
The décor is minimalist and modern– think natural wood tables, grey paint and splashes of color on one wall with wide, warm walnut floors. If Chipotle served Indian food, this is what it would look like, right down to the naan rolls and bowls. The food is solid– fresh and flavorful and with a wide enough range of choices to keep you interested without overwhelming.
Banyan Tree has almost nailed the formula for fast casual Indian, which is quite a feat considering the time involved in preparing the food. It’s quick and tasty and the staff are friendly and efficient.
Opportunities for improvement: The naan roll doesn’t quite work. The naan is too thick to work as a wrap that doesn’t fall apart and you get more bread in a mouthful than food. They could fix this by either making thinner naan, or adding an option to their bowls where it comes with a side of naan for dipping. They should also add a couple children’s menu items, especially considering the strip mall they are in attracts a lot of families.
I’d suggest the rice bowl as their strongest menu item.

Neat concept. As another reviewer has mentioned, it’s basically Chipotle-​style Indian cuisine. Supposedly, it’s Indian food the American way. However, the portion sizes were very small. I could literally count the number of chicken pieces in my basmati rice bowl.
Unlike other establishments, your options are limited at each step of the process and asking for even the slightest addition is going to cost you. I understand charging extra for meat options, possibly extra for rice, but for veggie toppings?! Literally charged 50 cents extra for a teaspoon of chopped cilantro and 50 cents extra for a teaspoon of chopped tomatoes.
The food itself tasted okay. It wasn’t anything spectacular. The chickpeas were undercooked though and were still firm. I love chickpeas but was left utterly disappointed. The chicken was tender but lacking in quantity. The tikki masala sauce was good and had a little kick to it. The veggies were fresh.
Overall, the food has a decent flavor profile, but I definitely would not go out of my way to grab lunch/​dinner here.