Good Indian food
A nice white table cloth kinda place with good Indian food. It can get crowded though and don't believe their estimates on when a table will be ready. Their dishes are all pretty good but I don't like the Onion Kulcha here for some reason.    [14 Jun 2000 17:33:33]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­jnestor   

Discriminate against brown-skinned folks.
The quality of the food, decor, speed of service etc. are top notch. No complaints whatsoever.

Further, if you are American or white-skinned, rest assured that you will be treated cordially. In short, you will have a good experience - if you are white.

If you are Indian, you'll get to eat the same food, but unfortunately, you will only be tolerated, not welcomed. And this isn't a conclusion from one isolated example. Rather, it is a verifiable pattern of behavior that I have experienced at this restaurant over about 6 years and have corroborated it with experiences of other Indian friends. Some circumstantial evidence for this is the fact that close to 95% of the clientele is white. Just take a peek into the restaurant on any night and count. You'll verify the number.

The waiters spend a lot of time at American tables, chatting with the customers, asking them how things were, what they're doing for the weekend etc. Not ONCE has anyone chatted with us. We've been asked how the food was exactly once by a woman manager (strangely, that was the only time I saw her in the restaurant).

You may ask why we kept going there for all these years inspite of the shabby treatment. Well, we never thought much about it and to put it more honestly, we just loved the food and overlooked the racism. I was over there last week (after about a year) and given the same treatment - but this time a waiter made sarcastic remarks for us asking for a refill on rice. I sent them a note on their website about my experience (www.haandi.com). Have received no response. Given they have received good reviews they're probably not bothered to correct their behavior. My hope is at least some well minded Americans will read this review and decide to not give Haandi their business.    [05 Sep 2003 14:50:29]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Try any veggie dish - all are good.

     ­Vasu   

Better than the rest
Outstanding Tandoori Chicken, Spinach Curry, and especially the breads. Nice space, though you may feel tiny compared to the huge lilies on the walls.

Don't be fooled by the rather generic lunch buffet. Come for dinner. A step above the rest. The only first-date-worthy Indian place I can think of.    [30 Sep 2003 15:35:15]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: palak paneer (however you spell the spinach and cheese curry)

     ­CrankyDiner, Potomac, MD   

Good Indian food, great buffet!
A favorite lunch break of my friends and coworkers. The buffet varies from day to day, but each unique dish is always well prepared. You will find tasty (but not over-spiced) chicken, lamb, lentils, chick peas, spinach, and rice, etc. All of a quality not normally found in a buffet. It's all good.    [10 Jan 2004 11:57:17]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: lunch buffet!

     ­thrstr   

Great Indian food
I've liked virtually everything I've ever eaten here. Not necessarily the best place for kids, as they don't have a lot of high chairs and it's a bit formal.

Regarding the "discriminate" reviewer, I'm white, and I have to say none of the waiters has ever chatted with us and or been particularly friendly. I think that's their style, but the food is so good I don't care.    [15 Nov 2007 11:23:59]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Murg Makhini, Rogan Josh, Samosa

     ­Anonymous