Very nice
All of the vegetarian dishes that we've tried here have been top-notch. I've always been puzzled by the fact that Indian restaurants seem to have the same range of prices for dishes, regardless of the location or ambience of the restaurant. Fortunately, Haandi is on the upper end of the quality scale. When we visited, every table was full, but it didn't seem crowded.    [30 Apr 2003 14:26:14]

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     ­tibbetts, Falls Church City   tibbetts at acm dot org

Avoid it if you want to enjoy your evening!
Haandi was recommended to me by a friend. I also read the reviews at washingtonion.com and went there with my husband for our wedding anniversary. That was a huge mistake.

Initially when we went there, we waited for a couple of minutes before anyone even showed up. The server (waiter) was polite but without any trace of smile of his face. He seated us at one of the center tables. I must add that the décor is quite decent. We sat down and decided to order some food off the old/worn out menu cards.

We had questions about some recipes that the waiter explained with a look that told us how stupid we were not to understand the dishes. This particular waiter was a tall bald guy who seemed to be in-charge of other waiters (I have to mention this because this is his identifying mark). He seemed bored and was making an effort not to look bored. The plates that were laid before us should have been retired long ago- yellowed and slightly chipped.

While we sat there eating appetizers, we noticed a bunch of waiters huddles near the bar and staring at customers (including us), which was quite discomforting. Now don’t get me wrong. The waiters have to look at customer tables to see if the customers need anything but these guys were staring … like really staring.

When he took our appetizer plates away, he kept the dirty forks on the table (to be reused with the entrees). I am not sure if this is a norm but I have not seen this in most other restaurants. I would have ignored this if everything else were great. The entrees were either average or below average and didn’t justify their high price tags - high in terms of Indian cuisine.

I feel that all the accolades this place has received was years ago. Their service quality has dropped drastically now.

So, all in all, below average food, service without smile, condescending attitude and stares of the staff ruined our evening (fire the baldy I say unless he is the owner of course). If you want to enjoy your meal and get value for your money, don’t even look at this restaurant. There are many others in the DC metro area    [17 Jul 2003 12:57:11]

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     ­Anonymous   

One of my worst restaurant experiences ever
I could write volumes about my recent experience at Haandi, a restaurant I took two former residents of India to, based on a Washingtonian review. Instead I will give bulletpoints of the highlights, i.e. lowlights of the evening:
- rude, pushy, unsmiling, and borderline threatening waiters
- food that was flavorless and overcooked, the worst Indian food we have ever had
- we were forced to order, eat, pay and leave all within 30 minutes and before the posted closing time...a time that in my years in the culinary industry is indicative of a last seating, not the hour you get kicked out onto the street
- one of our 5 waiters, we had no idea who was supposed to be helping us, cleared our dishes with such force and carelessness that we were unable to talk above the clanking
- the take-out of one of my guests, food she was taking home only for her dog, was dumped onto her lap as the waiter cleared the table, and he did not even offer so much as an apology
- and to top the evening off i spent the night in the bathroom vomiting up what little i had eaten

As a professional chef and restauranteur I have eaten in some of the finest and and some of the most basic restaurants in the world, from the African jungle to Paris, and my experience at Haandi is one of the all time top 3 worst culinary experiences I have ever had. I hope you will consider anywhere else at all to eat instead of this substandard place    [21 Jul 2005 22:29:04]

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Recommended Dishes: none whatsoever

     ­Anonymous