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    The Essence

    4.7 (23 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Amazing Indian food first time trying tikka masala and it was amazing , mango lassi is great and the garlic naan is amazing aswell.

    Mango Habanero Wings 10pcs
    Arren J.

    Place is a hidden gem. Wings to die for no matter what flavor you get. Looking forward to trying new things !

    True Opinion B.

    Excuse the photo ive already started eating it, but this place is good. From the employees being nice and respectful to the food being more than exceptional . This here is the Shrimp Biryani you can get it mild or spicy and it comes with nuts, but i have a nut allergy so they can do it without nuts as well. Their wings is good as well. Its Good to have a unique tasting restaurant in the District Heights area thats not trash food or any ole fast food restaurant . Go check them out !

    Shrimp Saag & Garlic Naan
    Ranielle W.

    Authenticity delicious, always delivered hot and great portions love that they aren't all the way across town or deep in VA or MD somewhere

    Fried chicken sandwich
    Darnnell R.

    I was at this location today and saw this restaurant with a lot of tasty looking foodie pics on their exterior window. So I go in and am very surprised that it's a walk up window to place your order. Like a fast food but walk up, but it's actually not fast food. It's prepared while you wait in the foyer area. The lady that waited on me was very nice and friendly. I told her I wanted the chicken sandwich and pointed to the picture on the wall. At first she said they didn't have it but she went to the back and verified. Then she came back and said they do have the chicken burger. I was then confused. I don't want a chicken burger. I said I want this and pointed to what looked like a fried piece of chicken on a brioche bun. She said yes, that's what we have. I believe she was Indian and that's why there was a communication gap. But I ordered it and a piece of chocolate cake. The prices were reasonable and the food was good. It was a typical fried chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes condiments and cheese. The portion size was normal and the food was flavorful. She asked if I wanted it hot, medium or mild. I chose medium but I detected no spiciness. Maybe I should have gone for hot instead. I was pleasantly surprised by the food because I thought perhaps it would have a very Indian flavors rather than what I'm used to. However it was very typical and was not anything different or unusual. I would definitely recommend this place for a reasonable priced meal and good tasting food. The customer service was very nice which also goes a long way.

    Garlic naan that's not lacking in flavor

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    2 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

    So good! I've eaten there so many times. The Naan is wonderful. I also love the Mango Lasi drink. The family is very friendly as well

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    1 year ago

    Food is very good there. I love the curry saag. This is the 1st time I've seen a Indian Carry-Out

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Fresh, delicious food every time! Spot is small, staff is very nice. Highly recommend the Magic Mango , and Tandoori (spicy) wings

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Chicken burger is a must for adding something different to your palate. Service is always great!

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    2 years ago

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    Jab We Met Indian Kitchen - Palak chat ($10)

    Jab We Met Indian Kitchen

    4.5(80 reviews)
    5.6 miCapitol Hill
    $$

    Jab We Met remains a must try in DC Indian cuisine!…read more If you're on date night, catching up with friends, in a group or just looking for tasty take out, Jab We Met checks all the boxes. Lively atmosphere, with modern decor and great music at all times. Best of all the food is ever evolving with Indian favorites and inventive new plates!

    This place is a solid high 3*, but I bumped it up to 4* because they have good customer service,…read moreoffer a lunch special, happy hour, and discounts on dinner during the week and takeout. Considering there is a 5* Indian restaurant across the street, it is difficult to not compare this restaurant to it. Jab We Met has your customary authentic Indian cuisine, however, in typical American fashion some of the flavor and heat is dialed down or inconsistent. The first time I visited, I was left wanting more in the flavor department. I asked for spicy, and although what I received would be considered spicy to some, it wasn't nearly as spicy as I expected for Indian cuisine. The depth of flavor can be inconsistent, although for American standards it is perfect. What I've experienced with some Indian restaurants is the flavor level depends on how close the batch is to almost empty. I've experienced some restaurants stretch their gravies by adding stock/water. Jab We Met seems to take pride in serving consistent gravy texture and consistency. The customer service is always good. The inside has an upscale decor, fitting for Capitol Hill and not your traditional Indian restaurant. There is a full size bar and window seating.The lunch special is perhaps the best value here. I'll continue to visit.

    Photos
    Jab We Met Indian Kitchen - Great interior

    Great interior

    Jab We Met Indian Kitchen - Basmati rice i believe

    Basmati rice i believe

    Jab We Met Indian Kitchen

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    Rasika - Garlic Naan

    Rasika

    4.2(4.1k reviews)
    7.2 miPenn Quarter
    $$

    What an awesome restaurant... the food is absolutely delicious! Everything we ordered was…read moredelicious. Recommend starting with the Ragda Pattice and your main dish butter or tandori chicken. If they are serving scallops, order it! Whatever main dish you order, you have to order one of their house made chutneys. We really enjoyed the mango chutney. Also, don't forget the naan! We like plain or garlic. They are about a 5-7 min walk from the Capital One Arena. So, it is best to make reservations just in case you are trying to dine here when there is an event at Capital One. It gets crowded! Notable is the service. Our server was super friendly and. attentive. He made some very good recommendations, to include a glass of champagne that enhanced the meal.

    Get reservations!! I am go glad i got reservations because we were seated right away and saw people…read morehaving to wait a while before they were seated. The place is quite dark with that moody ambiance. It's also loud. Our server bhaskar was very attentive and a total sweetheart. I heard him ask a delivery driver if he wanted water or anything before he got his delivery order. Since we got the mixed grill, he recommended a new dish to us, chicken green masala. We also got the lacha paratha to go with it. The mix grill was nice to taste a bit of everything. The salmon was a bit undercooked in some areas but very tasty. The tandoori chicken was dry. The lamb was absolutely delicious and i could have eaten a whole platter of just that. The green masala has such warm spices and it was perfectly spicy. It went sooo well with the paratha. The paratha was flaky and buttery. The mushroom was so unexpected. I loved it so much. It was tangy and spicy. Perfect also. Overall, I'll be back for the mains, for the grill, i would definitely recommend the lamb but not others. This was our anniversary dinner, so bhaskar surprised us with a small ice cream and gulab jamun. Sooo sweet to recognize this. He is the best.

    Photos
    Rasika - Inside

    Inside

    Rasika - Mango shrimp

    Mango shrimp

    Rasika - Dal Makhni

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    Dal Makhni

    Spice Street

    Spice Street

    4.4(183 reviews)
    11.9 mi

    The food at Spice Street is amazing with so much variety, and I can highly recommend their service…read moreas well. We were able to snag a table for Valentine's Day evening on their website and they did NOT overbook - we were seated within 5 mins. of arriving. Service was prompt and attentive without being intrusive. The cocktails were innovative and delicious; we loved the jalapeño passion fruit cocktail (spicy!) and the ginger mojito. We were very hungry but decided on 4 smaller plates, which was exactly the right amount of food. Highly recommend their Crab Kathi Roll appetizer, the Crispy Spinach with Dates, the Chicken Cafreal and the Eggplant Fritters - although the mild spicing and flavor of the eggplant was outshone by the other robustly flavored items; still tasty though. Service was friendly and crisp and the pricing was very economical especially considering the variety and quality of the food and beverage. A 5-Star keeper!!

    The service and the Brussels sprouts were the best part of the meal…read more The servers were very attentive and kind. The Brussels sprouts chat was so good! Roasted to perfection and paired well with the chutneys. I also ordered the lamb vindaloo and it was lack luster to me. The lamb chunks were good, but the sauce lacked spice even though I asked for spicy. My friend got the garlic naan and I tasted it. I wasn't a fan of the taste or texture. The restaurant itself is cute and cozy!

    Photos
    Spice Street
    Spice Street
    Spice Street - Mango Lassi

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    Mango Lassi

    Indigo - Samosas

    Indigo

    4.2(1.2k reviews)
    6.5 miH Street Corridor/Atlas District/Near Northeast
    $$

    The food was incredible and delicious. service is great, food is taken to you except for utensils…read morefound at the front of the restaurant. All-together we had a great time and the ambiance of the area was wonderful, there was also many heaters to keep us warm. Keep it up indigo, great work tonight! -MG food reveiws

    Tried this spot out over some of my older favorites nearby. The food was good not great, with…read moresmaller portions than average for this type of food. I have a lot of favorite Indian spots and for the price and weird 'service' of this one.. it's a no for me on coming back. This was overpriced Indian food, served in to-go containers with Chipotle skimpy serving sizes you can't change or customize. So its missing the only redeemable factors of that style of restaurant. Y'all it was $20 for my veggie "platter". It's half two types of BEANS+ a veggie and some rice. MINI ROTI SEPARATE $2 (as disappointing as when tortilla chips+ salsa are a paid for thing, and not just on the table) Vegetarian is typically the cheapest option on the menu considering sourcing especially compared to meat. Yet the veggie options were no better than my attempt of Indian food at home, as a non-indian person lol. My family liked their entrees okay, butter chicken -$19, and lamb curry-$23 being the best option besides the 2pc Paneer Pakora-$8 appetizer. Gotta go up to grab your utensils or a lid which is fine, with luke warm water being the only self serve option here. So yay $4 regular drinks. I was unimpressed by their QR code 'service' only though and it stuck out to me. You order your food through a QR like many restaurants do, they bring you the food and then never come back to your table again. Not even if you place another order through the QR, we had to go find someone up front and see what was up. Could not order from the Bar menu QR either. On a Wednesday not a weekend thats pretty wild? I would not call any of it service. This form of ordering was set up with a good idea, and executed poorly. I know we have the money to go out to eat and that its a privilege to get to enjoy that- so damn it I want the money to be well spent!!! With Inflation that is a factor I'm looking at, and I believe the average customer is too. This restaurant needs to pick a lane, if it's going to be to-go style there better be some food to go with?? Not sure how Id leave the place with any food if this is whats given.

    Photos
    Indigo
    Indigo - Paradise Platter and Chicken Tikka Masala

    Paradise Platter and Chicken Tikka Masala

    Indigo - Indigo Outdoor Dining

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    Indigo Outdoor Dining

    The Essence - desserts - Updated July 2026

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