Masala Art

I’ve visited Masala Art twice now, both times for their weekend brunch buffet, and I’ve been pretty impressed by both the food and the service. The restaurant is beautiful, the staff are nice, and the food is tasty, fresh, and decently spiced. I moved to the DMV from the UK a couple of years ago, and have struggled to find good Indian restaurants on a par with the ones back home. Both my husband and I agreed Masala Art is amongst the best Indian food we’ve had since we’ve been out here, and it’s decent value too. Definitely worth a visit.

I grew up in India. This is one of the best Indian food that I tried in various restaurants in the states.
We ordered pani puri and Dahi puri for appetizer, both were excellent. And Dahi puri was awesome and you must try that. So I give 4.5 star for appetizer
We ordered sag paneer and lamb kroma both taste good. I would give 3 star for that
We had Gulab jamun sorbet for dessert and it was beautifully presented !!
Service was good. Ppl seems professional so I give 3 for that too
We also ordered mango lassi, I love mango lassi but this is not one of my favorite. I give only one star for that .
Overall I would say it’s good place and very artistic to sit and talk, have a good time yes I would visit again. I gave four star .
Thank you !
Forgot to mention Gulab jamun sorbet presentation was beautiful!

Masala Art clearly positions itself in the fusion Indian food category, competing with Rasika. The place is well decorated and has interesting art pieces… whoever decorated it was thoughtful and has talent. The food and presentation is wonderful. We ordered a couple of appetizers… chicken tikka, Aloo chat and the well loved cilantro rock salt Nan. large portions and delicious. So much so, we were almost full. But alas we pressed on suffering more delicious tastes and ordered Chicken Makhani and a Creamy Saag type of dish with corn (called murgh something) and the chili garlic nan. Chicken Makhani was amazing and the sauce… oh the sauce… this is the reason you order nan. the Saag dish was a bit more spicy than expected and a little saltier than needed… but still rock solid. They can tone that down slightly so you taste the spinach and cream more. Their Rasmalai dessert which is large enough to share is so devine that you’ll want to closely guard it for yourself. I can see some spoon battles being triggered for a taste of this dish. recommendation: Do not share. Make them order there own. It is exquisite.
I am a very picky Indian food critic and love very fresh ingredients. Having come from Northern California with its vast number of Indian Restaurants and having eaten so much north indian food in some of the best Indian food places in London… I say this places passes with flying colors. I was sorry to see I was the only Indian customer in the place. This place deserves a regular visit from one and all. Will definitely come hear when home sick for homeland tastes and fresh and yummy food.
Didn’t order alcohol BTW… already blew calories for the day on the food. But they seem to have a good selection of wine and cocktails to choose from. Their bar area is attractive and seems they may have a good mixologist???
I saw lot of complaints on Unilocal on it being expensive? They should get over it. most DC restaurants with fresh ingredients charge $ 50 or more per person. Why shouldn’t theses guys charge $ 35 – 40 for a feast? You pay much more at Rasika and its harder to get in due to demand. Avoid the headache and come here. They clearly use fresh ingredients and make an effort. Staff does need to be a bit warmer with its clientele. Very good service though, even with large parties to serve, they seem to be able to manage very well. I like staff who only come over when your ready and theses guys timed it well.
One last point… They need to add a proper milk based Masala Chai. Non milk based Masala tea is good. But proper masala chai with milk would top off the experience.

Decent place, but a bit pricey for Indian food. Nice options and deals if you come before catching a show at the Arena Stage, though. Service is usually ok/​decent, the décor is pretty classy, and the times I’ve gone, there haven’t been that many people in the restaurant so it’s really easy to talk and hear your dining companions, a big plus. We also have been able to just walk in and be seated immediately and there are options for 1,000 point tables at certain times on OpenTable, so that’s helpful.
Food was served very quickly and while delicious, wasn’t a standout in terms of flavor, but I’d definitely return. I think we got entrees that cost around $ 17 for something similar to a chicken tikka masala (can’t remember actual dish that we ordered), if that helps you figure out what price point you’re willing to pay. Garlic naan was delicious, make sure you get that with your food. Overall, I’m really glad there’s this nice option for Indian food/​a classy restaurant in Southwest.

I love this place. Its understated. Quiet and the absolute best! Southwest’s little gem. Happy hour is to die for. Seriously, the amount of food you get from a happy hour menu for only $ 5 is ridic! The chicken pita pocket! Man what? Yes. Yes. Yes. Seembad, the bartender IS AMAZING! He makes you feel sooooo welcomed at the bar. Rail drinks are only $ 5 at the bar during HH and they are the best drinks in DC when Seembad makes them! Please please do yourself a favor and visit Masala Art, you WILL NOT be disappointed.

I didn’t have the best experience at Masala Art. I was waiting in the years-​long line across the street at the DC permit’s office when I looked out the window and saw Masala Art in all of its glory.
Granted, it was 4:00pm, which is just about the most random time for a lunch. It worked out pretty well, in the sense that my boyfriend and I just barely made it into the happy hour discount hours (4 – 7, I think).
We got tons of food, and it was seriously just okay. Definitely not great. In fact, the next day, he and I were both sick to our stomachs. I’m not saying it was 100% Masala Art’s food, but that was the only meal we shared in the previous 24 hours…
I might give this place another try eventually, but it won’t be my first choice. Instead, I’d probably just stay around the permits office.

Fantastic Indian food. So many wonderful flavors. Reasonable prices. Staff is friendly and attentive. Beautiful place. If your are looking for Indian food, give this place a try. You will love it.

Indian food can go one or two ways with me – ultimately all leading to the same exit, but I can either enjoy it and hate myself later or hate myself while eating it and hate myself regardless after the fact. It is simply where I go and what I order that makes this determination.
I came here on a whim for lunch on Friday. I had not had Indian food in awhile.. . a long while. They do offer items that are not spicy like what I had… it was a chicken in cilantro and garlic sauce with a side of rice and naan from the dinner menu. It was pretty good and I was happy with the choice I made. My only complaint is there was way less chicken and more sauce. The ratio was completely off and for paying $ 17 for it – I think they could improve the item by adding more protein to the mix to balance it out.
Rajeev, my server was really nice. I appreciated how hospitable he was and attentive. The restaurant was pretty dead by 1:30pm, but nonetheless overally a decent experience.

For mom’s birthday, she wanted to try something new. I decided on Indian food and I’m happy Masala Art was the restaurant of choice.
The wait staff was phenomenal. They were attentive and offered suggestions based on their favorites.
We will certainly be returning to Masala Art.

This was my first experience with Indian food and I was really pleasantly surprised! We went for dinner on a Sunday night without a reservation and were able to be seated immediately.
The wait staff was very friendly and informative when it came to the menu and upon ordering the food came out very quickly. The food was, and I can’t stress this enough, INCREDIBLE. It was seriously so good, and the portions were really large as well, great for sharing. I would highly recommend this place to any and all.

Having made it back for dinner, I was impressed with some things, but still stuck on a three star rating. This is a very nice restaurant. Definitely aced the interior decorating. And it’s right next to a metro stop. This is a weird location; so close to the heart of downtown, and other things, and yet so little is going on here. No one seems to know it exists.
Having now had the chance to order off the menu, I really liked the food. I didn’t quite know what to make out of an «aloo tuk chaat», which apparently is just a crushed potato with toppings, but it was one of the better tasting potato dishes I’ve had in recent memory. And this place, unlike most Indian restaurants, has decided to offer the fantastic chickpea and fried bread combination. These chickpeas were really good. For me, this is right there on top of the list of foods the world needs to know about. Why are you not eating fried bread dipped in spicy chickpea curry right now?
Their menu is also a tad expensive though, even by DC standards (more expensive than their Tenleytown location, also by a Metro stop but in a far more happening spot). And portions weren’t impressive. Usually, a bhatura is roughly the size of a basketball (or they give you two little ones), but here I ran out bread well before I ran out of chickpeas. You’re paying for décor, I guess.
I feel like this place wants to be Rasika and isn’t. Its menu is innovative and everything I’ve sampled or shared there is delicious. For whatever reason, you’ll have a much easier time getting a reservation here (or just showing up, really), but you’ll pay the same. Also, their lunch menu is still too limiting. I like this place, but not enough to come down and spend often.

A tad bit more expensive than I would have expected for my food, but at least I did leave feeling full. My usual go-​to dish when I visit a new Indian restaurant is Baingan Bharta, and that is what I ordered. I was super hungry, of course, it tasted amazing at the time and there was definitely a hefty spicy kick to the dish that I both enjoyed but also kept me from eating too fast. But now that I think back to it, it didn’t have that much of a flavor profile. It wasn’t oily or greasy as it sometimes is at other restaurants, so that was a big plus for me, but I didn’t really taste that much of the cilantro or that much of the eggplant itself.
At least our servers were fine. Not exactly friendly when taking our orders, but they were attentive with refilling our water glasses and one of them gestured to «welcome» me to pass by him on my way to the restroom. And several of them thanked us with a friendly tone when we left.
And the restaurant décor was beautiful. Very pretty design and décor, very elegant. The statues around our table and on the walls that I’m guessing are to honor their traditions with food were intriguing as well.
So, an adequate dining experience. Probably the best option for me in the area given my dietary limitations (gluten-​free and vegan), and there actually was a gluten-​free Missi Roti I saw on the menu that I was curious to try but I knew that was going to be way more food than I needed. If I do come back here (not out of the realm of possibility), I would likely try a different veggie dish. My friend’s Tofu Garam Masala looked pretty damn good and I’m guessing is probably more flavorful than my dish. (I wish I’d asked her to try some of her dish now!)

One of the best Indian food I ever had. It’s even better than the food we had in india. The environment is very nice. We come here almost every week. The staff very friendly. More people in DC should come here and try it out, if you want something special for the weekend. They really know how to make amazing food.

Unprofessional — first impression sucked so much I’d never recommend them to anyone.
I didn’t even get to eat here. Opentable had a reservation for 10am on Mother’s Day so I booked it.
They called to tell me that the restaurant isn’t open until 11:30am and no one will be there. I then asked them if they had an 11:30 spot –he said yeah — but I ended up canceling because of the attitude. He was quite rude and made it seem like it was my fault for booking something that showed availability on Opentable. When I told him I wanted to cancel — he said ok — and then he hung up.
First of all, shame on you for not showing the correct reservation times on opentable — second, don’t make it seem like it’s my problem you didn’t do your due diligence. And third, you hang up on customers when you call to tell them all of the above?

We intended to go to another restaurant but because we did not have reservations we were turned away. The hostess suggested the «Indian place down the street». We couldn’t have been happier. The ambience was just right, a bit busy but not too much. The décor was fun and in keeping with the Indian food.
The food was plentiful and delicious. We had onion rings in chick pea batter and lamb shish kebab as appetizers. Both came with a sauce and both were a bit spicy. They were also both delicious. The entrees also did not disappoint. I had chicken with cashew and saffron. It came with rice and we also ordered naan. My companion ordered a dish with lamb and cardamom sauce. Service was good, but toward the end she disappeared and we really needed her to get our check in time for our theater start time. That was the only thing keeping us from giving a five star review.

Beautiful restaurant, excellent service, and most important: truly original, complex and delicious food. We will definitely be back.
You can start your meal here by removing any doubt that Masala Art knows spices and ordering one of the original cocktails like the Pear Cinnamon Manhattan.
The breads were divine — we had both the rock salt cilantro naan and the onion kulcha. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite.
The black lentil dal makhani was just about the best we’ve ever had, and the lamb curry with beets (Chukandar Gosht) was outstanding.
Spice level was quite modest — certainly no heat just for the sake of heat. In my book, that’s a good thing. I want my mouth to tingle with dynamic combinations of spices. If I can get that without breaking into a hot sweat, all the better.

This is the best Indian in the South West… and I love that they use chickpea batter for things so that my husband and I can enjoy bread with our Indian.
But their front desk person is so bad! We’ve been there 2 times in person and done take out at least 3 – 4. Ordering take out is always an adventure. We end up spending 20 minutes either trying to get them to pick up the phone and then when they do pick up the phone they either can’t understand us or tell us that we’re looking at the Tenleytown menu. Once we order the food, its normally quite yummy, but it’s such a pain to order.
One thing to note is that they offer appetizer sizes of their veggie dishes, so you can get to try more things at a lower price! Be aware that the portions are much smaller.
The food that we’ve gotten:
— the onion rings (always a purchase) — they’re yummy and I like that I can order onion rings that work with my diet
–saag paneer– the saag is absolutely delicious and my favorite thing on the menu. The paneer is good too– does not taste like it comes from a package
— Awadhi Dum ke Murg– I got this last time I went and it basically had no flavor. It was super mild to the point where I could barely taste anything. I was not a huge fan
–Tofu Garam Masala– this was a bit too spicy for me, but my husband liked it
–Paneer Makhan Masala– This tasted a bit too much like canned tomato sauce to me. My husband was a fan, but I was not super excited about it.
–Cauliflower dish– I wasn’t super impressed with this. I love cauliflower & this was just an average preparation.
–Missi Roti– our go to naan substitute. Note, if you eat bread, get the naan. It will taste much better, but for those who are gluten free, missi roti is an adequate alternative and one of the better gluten free options.
We are so happy this is in the area and can meet our Indian Fix when we’re too lazy to go elsewhere.

Best Indian food in DC. Why go to Rasika when you could come to Masala Art and pay half the price for food twice as good.
They just started brunch buffet!
The food is awesome here. Staff is super friendly and fun, the chef is extremely talented and easy going. The bartender, Patrick, is awesome too! And the atmosphere rocks! Nice music, comfortable chairs, spacious tables, well lit dining room, and well decorated.

A simple and real flavorful option in the area that doesn’t have much going around the neighborhood.
Took in a pre show meal and was simply served without issues. The menu has a good amount of variation, and the food is plentiful.
They hit the spice in this place nicely, and also bigger than most typical Indian places I’ve been and that makes it a little bit more distinguished in my book. The vegetable options in particular really sing. Cauliflower is dusted red and pops with rich crunch and pepper. The dal is almost like a classic soup, thick and rich. The eggplant is filled with lots of spices and full of smokey rich flavors.
The simple appetizers are real good. Mutton Nizami Pudina is velvety and almost like you could spread it on a cracker. It has a very mild mint and jalapeño and is also not a giant barn burner on the palate.
Dum Ka Murg is a real winner. Nutty and rich, goes perfectly with the given nan and rice. Speaking of nan, they spice that up a bit too!
Very solid service, and even held food for us while we finished up for the show at Arena stage. Would eat here again no problem.

Considering that Living Social Deal for Masala Art? Reconsider.
I’m going to start by saying that the ambiance of this restaurant is lovely, that we had very delicious cocktails, and the food tasted great. I have photos of all of these things, however I will not upload them because I don’t want to confuse someone looking at a photo of a mojito, and then deciding to enter this restaurant – ever. Three people in my party who shared a lamb dish became very ill after eating here. Food Safety should be every restaurant’s #1 priority, and evidently décor, service, plating, and bar-​tending all supersede their customers’ health.