Haandi, Falls Church, VA

1222 West Broad Street

Falls Church, VA 22046

(703) 533-3501

Haandi is one of the best Indian restaurants in this area.  We have gone there many times for dinner by ourselves and with friends and have had impeccable service and wonderful food.  As you can see in the photo, this strip mall eatery distinguishes itself by outfitting its tables with white cloth linens, always spotless, always pleasant.  On the day before Christmas, we tried their all-you-can-eat buffet lunch.  The buffet assortment was decent.  The selection included a garden salad, two chicken dishes, including one dry (tandoori) and one in sauce, one lamb dish in sauce, a spinach dish, a vegetable medley in a mild curry sauce, and basmati rice.  Apologies for not recalling the names of dishes, but you can find the menu on the restaurant’s website.   There was also a rice pudding dessert at the buffet table and a plain naan placed on the table in a wicker basket.  Sauces, including raita, mango chutney, the green cilantro sauce and others were laid out at the buffet.

Each dish, including the sauces, tasted substantially milder in the buffet assortment than if ordered as separate entrees, based on our experience.  Seasonings were undoubtedly toned down for the buffet dishes to please those clients least tolerant of spicy food, so any Indian food novices will probably find the lunch buffet a good introduction to this cuisine.  The regular lunch menu was available, however most everyone we saw went for the buffer, which was a good value at $10.95/person on weekdays and $12.95/person on weekends. 

The restaurant is not overpriced and the menu is diverse.  We have had many dishes on the menu and all have been exceptionally good.  The decorations are subtle with soft sitar music in the background and paintings of Indian scenes recessed in eastern-style architectural frames.  There are always lots of patrons at this restaurant, including lots of regulars.  Waiters multitask, and provide consistently  efficient, attentive and friendly  service, making for a pleasant ambiance.