Bollywood Bistro - Contemporary Indian Cuisine in Great Falls, VA

9853 Georgetown Pike
Great Falls, VA 22066
Tel: (703) 865-0450

We've heard lots of positive reviews of the year-old Bollywood Bistro, so we invited our friends to join us for dinner at this Safeway shopping strip in Great Falls this past weekend.  

Bollywood Bistro impressed us at the outset with its welcoming modern decor that bridged the old and the new styles of India. True to its name Bistro, this is not a fancy traditional restaurant with mahogany deities and a 10-page menu. Rather a short-and-sweet selection of well-known favorites that not only burst with flavor, but they are also served up by a most accommodating and friendly staff.

Our waiter, Jude Lopez, was all the personality of the restaurant. Originally from Goa, he was incredibly helpful and charming, suggesting specific dishes and explaining the intricacies and differences in flavors typical to Northern Indian, Southern Indian, and Goan cuisine, which was very much appreciated.

The unique decor offered an ambiance of both intimacy and hospitality. Dim lighting in no way sacrificed the feeling of cleanliness, defining a calm and pleasant mood for a wonderful dinner.

Our food, pictured below, can be summarized in one word - delicious. Perfectly seasoned, perfectly presented, all in all terrific.

We will definitely be back to Bollywood Bistro!  Thank you for a great dining experience!

 Wonderfully crispy and delicious Samosa $4.95

Tallest Samosa we've ever seen

 Creamy wonderful lobster bisque $6.95

 Perfectly baked Kesari Chicken Tikka $13.95 and Delectable Fiery Chicken Vindaloo $13.95

 Mouthwatering Lamb Kabob $15.95, a vegetable medley by request $10.95, creamy Makhan Palak $10.95 and delicately tasty Garlic Naan $3.50

 Don't you just love these veggies?

Almost too pretty to eat

 Ceiling a-la-Medici

Modern, intimately-lit clean and welcoming dining room

Traveling to Shenandoah / Harrisonburg / Massanutten area in Virginia?

If you are looking for any kind of ethnic or spicy food in Harrisonburg, Va, your best bet is Taste of India in a small strip mall at an intersection filled with all too familiar chain restaurants,  Taste of India, rated highly on yelp, tripadvisor, and urbanspoon, offers a lunch buffet for only $8.95 and is well worth it.  Variety is pretty good, mostly consisting of chicken and vegetable dishes, and a choice of 3 desserts. It is not quite the depth of flavors we are spoiled with in Northern Virginia closer to the Beltway, but for Harrisonburg it is well worth the visit if you are craving something flavorful!

If you find yourself anywhere near the beautiful Massanutten resort area in Shenandoah Valley, you must make a stop for a picturesque meal at the Fareways Restaurant and Lounge.  For the most enjoyable experience, come during daylight to enjoy tremendous views of greenery and deer that walk all around the premises. While the Shenandoah area is filled with magnificent views, the Fareways Restaurant is situated in a resort compound that is especially picturesque. The large windows in all the dining halls of the restaurant offer a feast for the eyes.  The main draw here is definitely the landscapes, more than the fare.

Clunky menu

 The smallest portoin of duck you'll ever find

 A nice lean loaf of bread

 Three onion soup

 Chicken Assiago Fettucine

House Salad

Two Awesome Lunch Buffets - Bangkok Golden (Thai / Laotian Cuisine) at Seven Corners in Falls Church and Saffron (Indian Cuisine) Falls Church City, VA

Bangkok Golden - Thai and Laotian
6395 Seven Corners Center
Falls Church, VA
(703) 533-9480

Saffron - Indian
1077 West Broad Street
Falls Church City, VA 22046
(703) 992-0077

You could easily drive or walk right past them without noticing them! And you probably have! Both hole-in-the-wall tiny places with barely a store front to notice. BUT THE TASTES - WOW!

First, Bangkok Golden, which serves both Thai and Laotian cuisine.  Situated in the Shoppers Food Warehouse plaza, this is a tiny place. As you walk in, you will barely notice a wall display of multiple well-deserved awards, such as Washingtonian's best restaurants.  We came here for the lunch buffet we heard so much about from our friends. And now we can definitely say that the lunch buffet is perfection both in the variety and the flavors.  The value is also perfection: on weekdays for a mere $10, Bangkok Golden offers a delicious selection of veggie and chicken dishes, ideal especially for those who don't eat other meats.  The papaya salad alone is worth the schlep through the Seven Corners traffic.  On weekends, Bangkok Golden adds several fish dishes that are out of this world delicious, for just a few dollars more.  Most dishes are on the spicy side, especially the Laotian ones.  If you are the type who usually puts extra spices on your food, you will definitely not need to do that here. Every buffet item is flavorful and spiced to perfection.

What makes Bangkok Golden more interesting is the Laotian side.  The chef owner Seng Luangrath is leading the much welcomed Lao Food Movement in the Washington, D.C. area.  Recently, her 21-year-old son, young chef Bobby Pradachith, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, also joined his parents at Bangkok Golden, while also working at D.C.'s well-known Minibar.  We look forward to returning here and ordering off the menu, but for now we are delighted with tasting the variety of offerings from the buffet. NOTE: Bangkok Golden is CLOSED ON TUESDAYS!!! We found out the hard way, so if you're planning to go, pick any day of the week but Tuesday.

Bangkok Golden

Second, Saffron. We wrote up Saffron in this blog several months ago, and since then have returned here at least a half a dozen times, bringing friends and relatives, who all enjoyed their meals here.  Saffron serves South Indian cuisine, which generally tends to be spicier than North Indian.  Their Goan specialties are great.  Usually, we order off the menu. Their Chicken Vindaloo is addictive, especially when prepared personally by the chef-owner with 20+ years of experience.  Their Chicken Tikka is also one of our favorites, complemented with an order of garlic naan.

Saffron's lunch buffet does not disappoint. Make sure you arrive for the buffet early, as the crowd likes to arrive at the opening of the restaurant and stay around for a while to enjoy the plentiful delicious buffet selections.  As we have described this restaurant in our blog only recently, we will not linger, other than to emphasize that the value for the lunch buffet is not only worth it, it is a steal! And definitely leave room for dessert, which is a plain and simple vermicelli-based Kheer (a white pudding), only offered at their buffet. At other times, their rice-based Kheer is offered as a menu item. Both are absolutely delicious.  Like all Indian food, it is quite complicated to make and requires ingredients most non-Indians typically don't keep around at home.  Incidentally, here is a demonstration of how to make

Seviyan Kheer - Vermicelli in Milk, Indian Dessert Recipe by Manjula.

 Saffron

Saffron

Saffron - Vermicelli-based Kheer

Saffron Indian Cuisine - Falls Church, VA

1077 West Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 992-0077

WE WELCOME a terrific addition to Falls Church City's Indian food scene - SAFFRON took over the now-closed Curry Mantra 2 in the West End Plaza Shopping Center.  We were not fans of Curry Mantra 2, despite its seemingly popular appeal to those who prefer a more modern version of Indian food, both in flavor and presentation. So, we were happy to see Curry Mantra 2 close its doors in NoVa to re-open in DC in Spring 2015. Good luck, Curry Mantra 2!

Goes without saying, that, in our humble opinion, Saffron is heads above its predecessor. Since we began our blog in 2010, our long-standing neighborhood favorite for traditional Indian food has been Haandi in the Giant Plaza (Falls Plaza Shopping Center) in Falls Church City. Saffron may well offer some competition to Haandi, located right across the street.

The service at Saffron was great.  Azad, a knowledgeable and very pleasant maitre d', took our order and, throughout our meal, was attentive. He supervised several cheerful and very polite wait staff, who assisted in serving dishes, clearing plates, and ensuring our water glasses were always full.

There were happy diners of all ages and demographics, families, couples, and singles, eating here early on a Saturday evening. On a cold evening, the atmosphere in Saffron was warm and amiable.

The food, both in taste and presentation, was also great  While we waited for our food to arrive, we snacked on the traditional Papadum served with the standard Indian dipping sauces / chutneys.  Our appetizer order of Samosas came out quickly, it was hot and delicious. The Chicken Tikka entree served on a rectangular white plate was perfectly moist and seasoned just right. It comes with an order of plain Naan, but we also ordered a Cheese Naan, which as delicious, though a bit greasy. The saucy, stewey Chicken Vindaloo, served in a bowl, was also terrific, with just the right seasoning and a very slight tinge of sweetness.  Hint for those who want an even spicier version of the Vindaloo: Order it as a "10." It was absolutely excellent in its flavor, poured over rice.  It is typically prepared at a "5" spice level, so if you can handle the double hotness, you will love it. Overall, the food was wonderful, and priced quite reasonably.  Our total bill came to about $41.00, not counting the tip.

For the most part, the restaurant has not been remodeled since Saffron took over this space. The main positive feature of the restaurant's layout is its open kitchen with a very strong exhaust system. The relatively small dining hall seats about 50 at its tables along walls and one middle row. We hope that the new owners address the somewhat sea-sickening askew placement of dining tables in the middle row, which is a relic of the previous restaurant's layout.

Most of the wait staff remained from the predecessor restaurant, though definitely were much better trained, more responsive and seemed much happier and more knowledgeable about their jobs than when they worked for Curry Mantra.  The chef, who apparently, worked for a short time in Curry Mantra 2, then left, has returned to cook at Saffron.

Overall, we can't say enough good things about Saffron.  Our experience there was very pleasant. We will definitely be back!

 Askew placement of tables can lead to sea-sickness, but try not to think about it...

 Incomplete renovation...

 Vegetable Samosas

 Paneer Kulcha (Cheese Naan) and Chicken Tikka

 Chicken Vindaloo

Hooray for round plates!

Some unique dishes you can only get abroad

12 Over the Top International Fast-Food Items from The Daily Meal

Biryani-Stuffed Calzone?
Kimchi Hamburger?

Mince Pie Donut?

Doubledecker Pizza?

Check out all 12 here: http://www.thedailymeal.com/12-over-top-international-fast-food-items/2514

While you're there check out some more fun fast food stories, like 10 Cutting-Edge Fast-Food Innovations of 2013 or 12 Regional Foods Worth Traveling For.