Went there with the family today!!! Loved loved the food. The owner/son gave us suggestions and everything was just great! Good food/service! read more

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I had reservations once I enter restaurant with non-Asian ! I was only Asian besides the staff ! My partner have been here few times and rave all the dishes he had ! Of all the dishes we order, my fave was Burmese flat noodles with tofu and peanut sauce ! Similar to pad Thai ! A dish my friend William is a master ! So it tastes vey similar to his ! I will Order my food before I head to airport !! Thanks Micheal! read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Burmese flat noodles - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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I'll start by saying I come back to DC/Silver Spring frequently see my family and besides seeing them hitting up this place every time is also a priority. If you like spicy, WetThar ThaYetThee Hin dish (pork chunks simmered w/pickled mango) is quite simply perfection. Like clockwork I order it every time. The rest of dishes are also amazing from the salads to the beef entrees and everything in between. Generally only have ordered take out so can't say much about dining in, though the times I've interacted with the staff they've always been nice and accommodating. A MUST if you're in the area. read more

Mandalay is one of the handful of Burmese establishments in the DMV area, and it does a wonderful job with its offerings which were well-prepared, tasting unique to that part of the world, and exciting to the palette. The appetizers of the fritters were a good start with fresh vegetal qualities paired with that awesome chili sauce, as well as the one made with lentils that blew me away. Yes, the Mohingar soup here was a bit of a challenge, but a fresh pot of it would probably win anyone over. As for the entrees, the ones we ordered checked the right boxes, including the Sunday special and the signature dish, DanPauk, which would make anyone make a special trip just to savor it. And don't foget to always leave room for that warm Shweji. Read the whole review with photos on Wongeats website. read more

Haven't tried anything we order yet (this is my first time ever ordering here after reading so many raving review of the food), but I want to note the hospitable Mr. Saw when I placed order. First off, their menu is confusing, almost everything in the noodle section looks the same to me. So I asked what his recommendations are. Mr. Saw is so helpful explaining everything without even the slightest annoyance. When I arrive at the restaurant to pick up, there is a line of pickup food ready to go. Given almost all restaurants are suffering during the pandemic, I just appreciate how this place goes above and beyond even for a pickup order. Thank you, Mr. Saw. I'll definitely come back read more

Tasty Burmese a few blocks from Silver Spring metro. Mandalay has a couple of decent beers on tap at reasonable prices. Full bar service but I did not try the cocktails. I recommend the eggplant fritters as an appetizer. At $12, the chicken green with pepper, onion, and tomato simmered in coconut cream sauce was my favorite entree. Definitely try the BaLaChaung side dish if you like spicy flavors - shrimp paste with fried onions and chili peppers. Goes well with just about everything on the menu. I went with a group and we ordered a variety of dishes and shared them. The total per person (with drinks) came to about $20 when we split the tab. I would go here again. read more

If you like Thai and Indian foods you will love this spot. Since the menu is quite extensive I simply asked the server what he would have and alas I ordered the pork in a pickled mango curry with samosas as an appetizer. For a roll of the dice I was very pleased with my order. The pork was very good and the mango curry had a deep flavor to it. The samosas were as advertised also and gone in no time. So for the more adventurous eater go for one of the more unique items on the menu. But if you enjoy more of the traditional fare from a Thai restaurant, their noodle dishes looked excellent. Great service and environment to go try something new. read more

Letter M: This is my first time trying Burmese, and it was excellent. I was concerned about the menu saying the dish was served at room temperature, but it didn't matter; it was awesome. The mild was still a bit spicy, but I didn't mind. The food was a lot like Thai, which is one of my favorites, but with a slight Indian food twist only because of the spice. I went here with a Meetup group in July. This group is going through the alphabet of categories. I tried Afghan for the first time as well as Cuban. Of the three restaurants we went to, this one was my favorite. I missed the Dim Sum day, but I had a friend in town, and I've had Dim Sum before. Despite being way up in Silver Spring on a Monday evening, this was worth my drive. read more

First of all, we have to thank the restaurant owner, his son, and the friendly servers for giving us a wonderful first Burmese cuisine experience! Just can't express how much we've enjoyed dining there. We learned a lot from the Myanmar culture to the Burmese cuisine. [Appetizer] We got the Let Phet Thoke (green tea leaf salad) to start our meal as we did a little bit of research and learned that the green tea leaf salad is Myanmar's popular delicacy. It is made of pickled green tea leaf mixed with tomatoes, cabbage, fried garlic, crispy yellow peas topped with an almost miso-like Burmese dressing. It was not a familiar taste at first, but as we ate more, that was actually a very refreshing dish. The shredded cabbage slices could be a bit bitter at first, but overall this salad is a bit sweet and salty from its national dressing. [Entree #1] We asked the owner to recommend a national and traditional Burmese dish, and he suggested the Ame Thar Hnut (slow-cooked beef in an onion-based curry sauce). That beef was INCREDIBLY tender and the sauce was AMAZINGLY flavorful! You can choose the level of spiciness of the curry sauce: mild, medium, and spicy. My husband and I love spicy food, so we got the spicy level. The curry sauce was sweet and spicy (not the kind of spiciness that makes your tongue burn or sweat). It went perfectly with the huge tender piece of beef chunk. This dish also comes with a few slices of fried potatoes. They are not the potato chips that we normally see in bags, but are thin slices of battered potatoes that were deep fried and were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It went so well with the curry sauce as well! This dish also comes with a bowl of rice. My husband thought the curry sauce was a bit salty if you eat the beef alone, but eating it with rice was just perfect! This is a highly recommended dish if you like beef! [Entree #2] The second entree we got was Nyat KaukSwe Gyaw (flat rice noodles stir-fried with bean sprouts, lettuce, your choice of meat, and topped with a fried egg and chopped peanuts). That was amazing as well! I'm familiar with this noodle dish as I'm from Hong Kong and we eat stir-fried flat rice noodles as well. The difference between the Hong Kong one and the Burmese one is the extra chopped peanuts, the fried egg, and the side fish sauce on the Burmese version. We absolutely loved this noodle dish - the flat noodles were chewy, the bean sprouts were crisp and fresh, and the chopped peanuts added extra texture to it. The fish sauce didn't taste fishy at all, it's more like a sesame-oil-based sauce with maybe some fish powder, and it just added extra richness to this dish! Yum! [Dessert #1] The owner brought us the ShweJi (baked wheat and coconut cream with raisins, eggs, milk, and poppy seeds). This dessert was an award-winning dish from the Washingtonian. The freshly baked cake was gooey and creamy. It was quite hot on my first bite and we really loved the sweetness from the coconut cream and raisins. This was an amazing dessert and did not feel heavy at all (even though we were stuffed from our salad and entrees!). [Dessert #2] We got the coconut ice cream as our second dessert. We were most excited about this because of the pictures on Yelp! How often do you find coconut ice cream in a coconut shell? This ice cream was not only cute-looking but was very delicious as well. The ice cream is sort of like a sorbet, at the same time it's creamy and has a rich coconut flavor. You'd really like this if you love coconut! Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe deserves the Washingtonian's 100 Best Bargain Restaurants award. Pricing was reasonable and we brought home three boxes of leftovers. [Parking] Street parking available near the restaurant, free on the weekends. [Area] It was quite unexpected to see how diverse the restaurant location is. That town has restaurants that range from Italian to Thai to Ethiopian. Not a bad decision to take a walk in the area after your meal at Mandalay! read more

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It's not everyday that you come across a Burmese restaurant, so wanted to come to this place for a long time. First thing we ordered was green tea leaf salad because who knew you could make salad with green tea leaf. I must say that though it was not my favorite but I still enjoyed it. It had that slightly bitter leafy flavor which was very unique.Plus I liked all the crispy bits on top. I might not order it again but I will still recommend first timers to try it out as it's something very different. For entree we got dark meat chicken cooked in some onion based curry over basmati rice and Thick Noodles mixed with curried chicken strips , onion, cabbage, and fresh cilantro tossed with burmese dressing and topped with fried onion and carrot strips(Nanjee Thoke). We had asked for spicy and this place surely delivered on that. The chicken gravy thing (sunday special) was kind of similar to Indian food and being Indians ourselves we enjoyed the familiar flavors. Our favorite thing was possibly the noodles which had different textures and flavors. For dessert we were torn between Shweji and coconut ice cream. And though the coconut ice cream looked beautiful we went for shweji. The shewji was very good. It was like a cake/pudding type of thing and it came hot , right out of the oven. We liked it so much that we plan on trying to remake it at home. One more thing worth mentioning is that the service was very fast. The food came out really quickly. Overall good experience. read more

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Came here on a Saturday night and got a table easily but it was quite popular. Service is not great but the food was pretty decent and unique. Ordered the mixed noodle dish-a little odd that it's served at room temp-but it had a good flavor. Also ordered the chicken in coconut cream, which was probably the tastiest. We also got the pork and eggplant in onion curry and the pork was very tender. All of the dishes seemed a little over salted in my opinion and they only give you spoons and forks. Even though the chicken and pork were tender it would have been helpful to have knives to cut the meat! Lastly, we ordered the shweji dessert which was a baked cream of wheat egg custard dessert. I think they could have put more raisins in it but it was a unique dessert. We will be back- I want to try the tea leaf salad, gram fritters and sticky rice dessert! read more

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I am a huge fan of this place. This place is family owned and community run. When you walk in, you are seated by the owner who will also take an order or bring your food. Not saying this to belittle him, but just so you can truly get a feel of how you are automatically part of the family when you enter. I try to go at least once a month and enjoy the ambiance as well as the delicious food. You are bound to make the right decision at this place. You can even decide how spicy you would like your food. I recommend the samosas and the green tea salad. Your taste buds will be more than satisfied. The sauce that comes with the samosas is indescribably delicious. I would also recommend getting the ShweJi. It is a complicated sounding dessert with a big taste. Just go! You'll love it! I do! If you go on a weekend night, make a reservation. read more

We picked up takeout tonight and it was delish. The spring roll salad is a favorite and the staff were so happy for the business.

The first time that went there the food was so good that I want my children to try it too but, the food wasn't the same as before. I like my beans and onions little crispy and at that time it was very watery and over cooked I asked the waitress that why it was different and he said that was the assistance of the chef that cooks my meal that day ‍ read more

It's always an adventure to try a new place especially when you only eat plants. This place had a few options. I tried a tofu dish. Was pretty spicy and delicious. I usually don't have a desert but hearing how fantastic it is there I had to try one and wow! . The vegan coconut ice cream was one of the most amazing things I've ever tried. Also the friendly and knowledgeable staff makes this place one of my absolute faves. read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Tofu. Spicy - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Great food! I have been eating this wonderful food since they were a hole in the wall in college park. The "new" venue here in silver spring is a wonderful family atmosphere. Often they are busy, service can get backed up but it's worth it. We most often carry out but eating at the restaurant is a treat. read more

I love this fine and charming establishment. Before I moved out of Silver Spring, I used to order their "bitter melon with pork" at least once a month. It's a relatively rare and uncommon dish that I thoroughly enjoyed with a side of white rice. Their bitter melon with pork (along with a little of their lime and red pepper condiment) was what made this place stand out for me. read more

This was my first experience with south eastern Asian quisine and I absolutely loved it! We ordered a diversity of dishes, one of each meat and treated it as a sampler for the most part. Honestly did not have a bad thing at all. They have levels of spiciness and they do get very hot so keep that in mind! read more

not a bad place , not many Burmese resturant around the dmv . not that i know of . i do recommend trying it out . food is good if anyone was wondering read more

Got a recommendation to check this place out, and I was not disappointed! First time trying Burmese food, so I wasn't sure what to expect. My friends and I describe it as being a blend of Chinese and Thai food. Customer service was pretty solid, as was the speed of everything. The restaurant itself was pretty simple. Not a luxurious environment but clean and quiet. Great place to bring the family. Ordered a salad, three entrees, and a beer for three people (one beer total) and ~$75 and our stomaches were all fairly full and our palates very content. We all had positive comments throughout the evening, especially about the noodle dish (#3 on the menu). I would wager to say that those noodles were the best I've ever had. Thinking about going back before I leave Silver Spring! read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - A beef dish, curry dish, and some of the best noodles I've ever had. Salad not pictured but included chicken and was also very tasty - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

I really enjoyed this restaurant. Looked like it is truly family own restaurant, and everyone working there looks like family and relatives. We were a group of 2 and visited there in Sunday evening for dinner around 6pm. Parking could be challenging but if you don't mind walking for a block or so, there are public parking. The restaurant was not too crowded but pretty busy in Sunday evening. A waitress helped us to pick dishes. I have been to Burmese restaurant in DC for a couple of times, and I really wanted green tea leaf salad. We asked her recommendations for main dishes and she picked 2 for us - noodles and beef. She asked about spicy level. I love spicy so we asked for Burmese spiciness for noodles and mild (American spicy) for beef. Noodles came out pretty spicy and I think it was too spicy for my friend (SORRY!). It is very tasty spicy, and I really enjoyed it. Basil beef was also good and tasty. But I really liked noodles. Green tea leaf was also good, and I liked the combination of texture - crunchy and soft. I wanna try other things in the menu. I will defiantly go back when I am in the area! read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Let Phet Thoke (green tea leaf salad) - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Great place for something different. It was nice to see a menu with many veggie dishes. We had multiple veggie dishes and they were all great. The sauces were light and flavorful. The service was great. Parking was a bit of challenge but after driving around we found multiple lots where we could park. read more

This little Burmese restaurant in the heart of downtown Silver Spring has much to offer. We had the papaya salad, Noodle #05 with shrimp, and pork chop in an onion curry with pickled mango. It was a great combination. My favorite was the noodle dish, but I'm a sucker for wide rice noodles. The sauce was tasty but neither too spicy nor too salty. The pork dish was accompanied by crispy potatoes and was good but a bit salty for my taste. The papaya salad was perfectly crispy and had a lovely sour tang, very different from the spicy version I'm used to at Thai restaurants. Next time I'll leave room for their award-winning dessert! read more

Such an amazing restaurant. We have come here five times in the last three months and can't get enough of the delicious flavors from this food. The menu is extensive and we have definitely tried things we liked more than others. Our recommendations: Papaya salad Ginger salad Khaus whey noodles with four different types of noodles (second option I think) Shrimp curry in coconut broth All three desserts are divine but our favorite is the sticky rice. Amazing Only tough part is the spice levels. Spicy is unbearable (we once cried through our meal) but sometimes the medium or mild lacks in spice. read more

Loved the food! Good service too! Had the tea leaf salad (it was okay), coconut shrimp curry (delicious!) and Nyat Kaukswe Gyaw (flat rice noodles) with veggies (again- delicious). Will definitely visit again. read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Delicious coconut ice cream in a coconut shell! - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Incredibly unique and delicious flavors. (Try the tea leaf salad, sour mustard dish, and coconut cream curry). A kind and thoughtful wait staff. A complete neighborhood gem. read more

Mandalay is hidden on a smaller side street near the bustling area of downtown Silver Spring. It is a short walk from the Silver Spring Metro (Red line) and right around the corner from the Regal Cinema. The dining area is of adequate size but basic. As with many Asian restaurants, the menu is quite large and can be overwhelming. We ordered a selection of appetizers and salads to start. While the Green Tea Leaf Salad was quite good, the fried appetizers were somewhat of a disappointment (i.e., they were extremely oily without much flavor). The entrees were large enough to share, and they seemed solid overall. The service was quick and friendly, but payment was a bit difficult for a group as large as ours. While most people brought cash, the restaurant's policy did prevent us from using more than 3-4 cards for payment. Also, AmEx is not accepted here. read more

Mandalay is one of the best Asian restaurants I've had in a while. We got about five dishes from them and everything was amazing. They have a great vegan selection and the prices were reasonable. Only thing is we are from Baltimore and it is a drive to get out here. I wish they had more than one location!!! read more

Okay. I was expecting to give this place 4 or 5 stars - the reviews were good and I've been looking for more vegetarian and vegan restaurants lately. The food was great, delicious and filling. I'm unfamiliar with food from Myanmar, and I gained a lot of interest in Burmese food, particularly how it differs from Thai. I tried the Gram fritters as an appetizer - very tasty cornmeal-like bites fried. For the main dish, I tried the vegetarian #V06 Nyat KaukSwe Gyaw with flat rice noodles stir-fried with yellow beans, bean sprouts, romaine hearts, crushed peanuts, and lightly fried tofu. Finally for dessert, I had the signature ShweJi, which almost tasted like a cross between rice pudding and baked sweetened mealie meal with raisins and sesame seeds. The issue that I had was the service. Even though I got my dishes on time, not once was I checked on - yet other tables were checked on MULTIPLE times. Even when I was ready with the check I didn't get a thank you. I go to a lot of restaurants and over time I have developed a very low tolerance for poor service which includes lack of attention. If a person is giving you their business and even helping with marketing, they deserve some attention. Maybe I'll go back I don't know, or maybe I'll have better luck with this new Georgetown venture. Disappointing service, excellent food. read more

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The food was good. Pay attention to the spice level ordered. It can be HoT!! The server English was not good.

Wonderful experience at Mandalay cafe today. Me and my husband had this place in our mind for a very long time but we couldn't visit earlier for some reason or the other. But today was finally the day when we did and it was totally worth the wait. For starters we had MoHingar(soup) , Burmese samosa and Let Phet Thoke(green tea leaf salad). We had this with a nice pairing of Myanmar margarita and a Burmese lager. It was really delicious. Later we ordered KaYann Thee Hin(eggplant entree) and LetThoke Sone ( mixed noodle dish). The mixed noodle dish was amazing one of the most delectable noodle dishes I have ever had so far! The service was courteous and fast. And the food was fresh and delicious. I also would like to point out that in the end when we asked for boxes for leftovers we were given a brown paper bag for takeaway rather than the usual plastic bags. I found that very thoughtful and environment friendly! Amazing experience and will surely visit soon and highly recommend this place. read more

Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe - Burmese Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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It looks like they just re-opened. Today they only had buffet items. My wife says the food was salty, not authentic. There was no menu, and no price listed. Also the price is high even for buffet. I think they need to come down on price to attract more customers. read more

When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by the hostess who was friendly and smiling. She seated me in a booth, which was comfortable and clean. At more than eight pages, Mandalay's menu is extensive and thorough. I was hungry, so I made my decision quickly. Unfortunately, the server was a bit slow in getting the hint that I was ready to order. I waited about ten minutes before anyone came to my table. Despite that hiccup, the food was very satisfying, and it was delivered in a pretty quick timeframe (around 15 minutes at the most). I had the Burmese Samosas as an appetizer. They were perfectly fried, and the subtle spicy flavor was delicious. For my entrée, I had the A Sane Gyaw, a vegetarian dish comprised of broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, and cabbage sautéed in a light brown sauce. The vegetables were cooked just how I like them: crisp and crunchy, with a bit of spiciness that wasn't at all overwhelming. The dish came with a side of steamed white rice, which featured a hint of coconut. I didn't order anything to drink besides water, and the server was attentive in making sure my glass was always full. The ambiance at Mandalay is casual and homey, but still nice enough for a date night or celebratory dinner. The restrooms were clean and well-kept. Overall, it's safe to say that I'll be back again for another Burmese treat. read more

Dude... the owner gave me a free dessert.. and I'm so happy he did. Was some kind of brown rice cake and it was SO so f-ing good. I also got the sour mustard with fried rice and the mixed noodle dish, both really good too. read more

A silver spring gem! I love trying the specials (the rice dishes are good, the salads are delicious and friendly service). Recommend!

As I am of Burmese heritage, I had to give these guys a 4 star. Burmese food is just to unique, complex, and flavorful anyone who brings this cuisine to light is a winner in my eyes. I'm from NYC and there is hardly a decent Burmese place here, sadly. So I was happy to dine here for sure. I did think it was overall a 3.5 star, where key notes of each signature dish of my childhood missed flavor and complexity. But some things were really good. We were 4 who came late ish Friday around 8ish, and we were able to get seated quickly which was nice. Service was very prompt, friendly and restaurant very spacious. I guess they weren't used to sharing though since we had to ask for seperate bowls for some of the items we ordered (mohinga...). Maybe they just do up what they know... anyway onto the food. We had: -Let Pet Thoke - fermented tea leaf salad, one of Burmese cuisine's claim to fame so this is really good everywhere I've had it in a restaurant, although different. Fermented tea, tomato, cabbage, lots of spices and "crunchies" - Burmese is big on texture. It had good texture and flavor (good tea flavor). -Samosa- These veggie samosas were very good, small and fried well, the Burmese are all about the little triangles so not too much of a commitment to eat -The Squash Fritter- Don't feel like spelling this out in Burmese lol.. unfortunately I've had much better. Wish they had the split pea fritter.. it was just bulky, and not too flavorful unless you doused it in so-so chili sauce (I prefer chili oil) - Mohinga. Ok, as the national dish of Burma (a breakfast catfish soup which has a lot going on), I wanted this to be much better. The broth was very dark, there was hardly any catfish, we had to ask for sharing bowls, no crunchies of fried garlic or onion came up... overall this dish is so much more than what we got. -Kawk Swe Thoke - Ok this was also a bit weird. Though my friend liked it. Maybe I'm not used to it. When my mom makes this, there's always graham flour and a drier noodle (they allow you to get it with egg, which we did, or vermicelli noodle), and the veggies are limited to fried onion, red onion and lots of curried chicken. It does literally mean noodle salad but this was like a ton of carrots, cabbage, sesame seeds, not much chicken and egg noodle. Meh. Maybe the ohno kawk swe would be better to try. -Mango Pickle Chicken Curry - not for all given the tangy taste but I thought this was delicious. -Came with white rice. - For dessert, we shared the sticky rice which is more SE Asian vs. overtly Burmese but man was this tasty. Good coconut flavor, good crispy rice. We also had the coconut ice cream which was refreshing, good in flavor, but note this is not as creamy given it's an Asian style ice cream. Definitely a good try for Burmese intro, but believe the food could be much more also. read more

More like 4.5. Food: 5 stars. I found the ginger salad very refreshing and light. The flat noodles with the sauce was fantastic. Service: 4 People are super friendly. I guess I'm just used to people asking if you want dessert before the check is given to us. So it was a lil weird. Setting: 4 for what is is. Price point: average read more

Mandalay serves Burmese food, if you have never had it, then think Indian with new to you spices. The ginger salad is a must. We also love the Gram fritters and the coconut curry. Pick up is safe and easy. read more

Never had burmese cuisine before this, but i'm glad I choose this place to be my first. It was a wonderful experience. They have a wonderful atmosphere and a wonderful staff. Parking can be rough, but that's due to the area. I had the Baya Gyaw (gram Fritter) which is yellow split peas, ginger, garlic, and cilantro blended and deep fried and the Nyat Kaukswe Gyaw which consists of flat rice noodles stir-fried with yellow beans (vatana), bean sprouts, romaine hearts, crushed peanuts, and lightly fried tofu. Both are wonderful. The baya gyaw was a personal fav. read more

A great presentation of a unique ( for me ) food tradition.