This place has their must try items. The Chennai chicken fried rice and noodles are any-day a must try item from them if you are craving for some "street" side noodles/fried rice. I recently tried their thalapakatti goat briyani, (sadly I don't eat goat and only chicken so ended up just eating the rice) wish they would make it with chicken. About the meat wasn't pleasing and didn't look like a well cooked mutton. Their chettinadu chicken curry, parotta are a good options. I tried their aachi country chicken last week unfortunately didn't make it to the cut. I wouldn't recommend that. Overall this place is go to when you crave for some eating "local" food. read more

This place was once know for very good tasty inexpensive South Indian food. What happened? Did the cooks and owners change. The food had great spice but was filled with oil. I ordered Chapathi and was instead given oily Paratha made obviously with shortening instead of butter. Yuck. The food is still cheap, but somethings aren't worth buying at any price. The Vadai was the highlight of our meal. Exceptionally large and good. Not excellent. I hope the owners see this review and make some desperately needed changes or they will be out of business soon. read more

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Great takeout for South Indian food, everything is super fresh. The only thing I wouldn't order for takeout again is probably the fish 65, since It was soggy by the time we got home (a solid 30 minute drive). I'd love to eat here in person once dine in is available again! read more

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I love Indian food but don't get it enough. We had a date lunch takeout from this place/my wife researched and surprised me. Definitely a hole-in-the-wall type place with eat in but we ordered to eat in our car. I went to my go to veggie Biryani and it was good. I wanted to try their specialty but it had goat and I'm a vegetarian. Biryani took longer 25 minutes but that is too be expected. Very flavorful/hot but they supplied the requisite yogurt to take the edge off. Portions OK. Service was good. Value was good. One of the better Biryani's I've had which could tend to be bland, especially by itself. Not really a date place, a bit run down inside but doesn't bother me. Plenty of people/traffic so a good sign. read more

We went on a Sunday at two and ordered seven dishes. Unfortunately, the biryani basically was just rice with no meat, the curry's had no vegetables, it seems like they ran out of food and watering everything down. They are very busy and my recommendation is to buy food on Friday or on Saturday, but never on Sunday. The food is very good, I just feel ripped off by a bunch of water and rice. read more

It was packed on a weeknight. We ordered dosa, chicken 65 and Chettinad. It took some time to get our food but it was flavorful and the quantity was good. I wish the seating was better and the ability to reduce the chaos between carry out and restaurant customers. read more

Authentic South Indian food, Tamil or Kerala style. I went here for two days, took Adai Aviyal, masala dosa, chili bajji, Set-Dosa with Vadakari... All good. Very reasonably priced. Try once, you might go there repeatedly. read more

Chennai Express is great. We stopped here for lunch after visiting the Udvar Hazy museum. The chicken biryani, in addition to the dosa, was great. read more

This is a restaurant I will go far out of the way to visit, and if you've never had great South Indian food (and most American Indian restaurants are Northern Indian/Punjabi style), I highly recommend trying Chennai Express! I'm vegetarian, so I can't speak about any of their meat dishes, but I've been happy with everything I've ordered in the multiple times I've visited. My personal favorite items are the Fried Podi Idly, Mysore Masala Dosai, and Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu. The portions are generous and the prices are fantastic! As of November 2020, it looks like they're open exclusively for takeout due to COVID, but once in restaurant dining is open, don't expect a high end atmosphere and service. It is a very casual location that is usually pretty busy, and the actual location is tucked into an odd industrial area (across from Costco). However, I don't visit for a fancy night out; I visit frequently for some of the best food and one of the best values you can find in Virginia! read more

If you are of a discerning palate in authentic Indian cuisine, you will LOVE Chennai Express! Tucked away off the beaten path, don't let Chennai Express fool you. It has an incredibly small interior with just a few tables. But BOY is it popular. No matter what time you go, there are people streaming into the restaurant, either hoping to grab a table or to carry out. Personally, we have always eaten in, because our drive is long and the Dosa is best eaten fresh! If you are concerned with the level of spiciness, you should BEWARE. The level of heat is not for the faint of heart. Go ahead and ask for dishes to be mild and they may or may not fully accommodate, lol! But it is DELICIOUS. Here are some of our favorites: Paneer Chilly (this is how they spell it, lol), Masala Dosa, Chicken Biriyani, Vegetable somosas, Chicken 65, Mutton Chettinad, and Channa Masala. Get the Ginger Lime soda, too! Go and enjoy!! read more

Stopped by this place on my way to Dulles airport. I was visiting with my in laws who prefer the food of the homeland so I was happy to see the selection of thalis on their menu. We got the chicken, mutton, and fish thali and I got the paneer masala dosa. The fried items in the thali were very good but I felt all the vegetarian items had a similar taste. The goat curry was very good! My paneer dosa was very crispy and scrumptious. I enjoyed the masala as well but I feel a tikka style inside would have tasted better. We would definitely stop by again considering I enjoyed the flavors at this restaurant more than some of its competitors in the NOVA area. read more

Chennai Express - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

Get ready for the spice! Delicious, harder for me to choose what to order. I was used to a different region Indian food, so not the same korma, butter, masala chicken, etc. still great, no naan . A warm inside experience in the summer. Just the big fan moving the air, but no frills for ac. Lots of business came through here. They're doing something right. Great value. read more

Great food but service needs upgrade. The place is small and long wait times are the challenge. This place would thrive if it was bigger or in a different location. read more

Chennai Express - This owner just proved my point about bad customer service. - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

Decent food but dismal service times... Takes ages to get an order of soda delivered... 25 mins or so! Staff have no clue - they smile and feign no knowledge. read more

Chennai Express - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

I cannot wait to comeback here again! The manchurian cauliflower is addictive!!! I also had the chicken thali lunch special which was really great. Super nice staff. Tip: get a side of rice and yogurt with the cauliflower, so so good!!!! read more

Chennai Express - Manchurian Cauliflower - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

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4 stars for excellently crispy dosa and crispy spicy gobi manchurian! Loved it! Ive never ventured to get the paneer masala dosa before - I did get it here and the masala was dry, would recommend go for the regular masala dosa. My only complaint is the restaurants use of styrofoam takeout containers and also excessive single use plastic utensils and straws. When we sat down we were given plates and utensils we didnt need (our dishes came on plates and with plastic utensils). In addition the chai they brought me had 4 single use plastic straws! Their take out containers are also made of styrofoam. Would encourage businesses like this to reduce their carbon footprint! read more

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Fresh foods made to order. A lot of variety in curry bases. A lot of veggie options too. Popular place that's always busy at dinner time. Not a lot of seating so plan ahead. read more

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I have been here just once and already in love with this place. This is a pretty new place with a solid menu of amazing food. We ordered - Chicken Lollypop - 4.8/5 Goat Curry - 4.9/5 Very impresses with the food ! Its a pretty new place and I hope it continues to maintain their standard. My worries will be - They need to do a better job in managing. They were not talking order till you get a table and it takes a while to get a table (atleast on a Sunday evening) - They are out of food very quickly. We are trying to get goat curry after reading the reviews. We have tried 3 times without any success. I will let these pass giving them benefit of doubt as they have just started recently. read more

Chennai Express - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

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Ordered talapakatu briyani and goat thali. Both were good but we found hair in the goat curry, we told the staff and it was promptly replaced. Overall good experience and good food. Would recommend for authentic South Indian food. read more

Chennai Express - Thalapakattu briyani - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

This is chettinad kind of food !! Which means spicy but they were nice to tone down the spice for a couple dishes for my family . I will have to return soon because I had heard reviews of their dosa and when I was given the menu - the biryani menu was right on and i couldnt see anything beyond that :) ..we did get the mutton sukka and kuttu parota . All the dishes were authentic. The service was good and I was impressed by the server's willingness to adjust the spices and he also recommended which dishes we could pick with less spice level . That willingness to work with the customers palate is very rare to find these days and is much appreciated ! Thank you ! read more

Chennai Express - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

Great good and sizeable portions! We dined in and finding seating would have been a problem if it was more than 2 of us.

Chennai Express is fastly moving out of quality station. Consistently ghastly spice taste in every dish. Will miss the quality TamilNadu food these folks used to serve. read more

Today we picked up a to-go order of chilli paneer, gobi manchuria, kozi chicken and andhra chicken fry from this place. Paneer was literally so hard, it almost felt like rubber - must have been reheated several times. Gobi manchuria was literally tasting like a piece of dough - "not exaggerating at all"! Coming to chicken, it was so undercooked that, I could literally see the raw flesh - disgusting! Never going back to this place EVER! read more

Chennai Express - The uncooked chicken fry - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

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I was very disappointed this time. We had to dispose one large tray of chicken biryani and one small tray of veg biryani because of quality issue. We felt food was not fresh. I have attached few pictures here just to prove my point. My entire party was ruined because of this. I would not expect this from Chennai Express. read more

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5 star for: Serves Authentic South Indian non-vegetarian Crab curry has a lot of crab All sides and curries are quite spicy and flavorful Generous portion size Eco friendly cutlery for sit down dining 2 stars for Flavorless dosa and chutney Small portion size on Chinese Long wait for order pick up Small sitting space read more

Perfect crispy and large dosas!! Whenever I go in the Chantilly area, I like to stop by here. No doubt one of the best South Indian restaurant with authentic dosas in the northern Virginia area and my favorite in the Chantilly area. I love the taste of turmeric in Sambhar. Coconut and tomato chutney are very tasty too! Great fresh chutneys accompany well with crispy dosa and potato filling. Good customer service as well and price is unbelievably cheap for the quality and quantities they offer. This restaurant is always crowded and that is well justified. read more

Chennai Express - Masala dosa - Indian Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

I have to give my friends Jadson all the credit to come and take me to Thai wonderful place called chennaiExpress. Amazing food delicious great service and authentic "chennai Biryani". I over stuffed myself and had great madras chai. Place gets packed and I see lot of elope having great dosas. Nice to meet the owner Mr. Geethannarayan. He is awesome guy and soft spoken. read more

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Great place for South Indian food. The place is always packed with people and be ready to wait upto 20-30 minutes on weekends. The food is amazing but the place can get very dirty depending on the time you go. read more

Hidden gem. Food was amazing. We had dosa, idli, biryani, chicken 65 and uttapam. Service was excellent. Very friendly staff. The best south Indian food I've ever had so far in USA. Definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to have authentic South Indian food experience. 5/5 read more

Their food was okay , but the owners and people working there cheat on their price. I was charged a price that's higher than what is on the menu card. When I asked they simply said it's typo error on their menu card. Not even a courtesy to say sorry when they made a mistake. They didn't refund the extra money they charged. They increased their voices when I confronted them with this. read more

I thought it wS time to give another review, great food, delicious and authentic like India No frills place staff is polite, we bring all our friends and relatives here read more

Amazing food and good portion size. Most of the dishes are authentic in flavor too. Takes me back to Chennai, India. Only issue is the condiments like chutney and raita are too less in quantity for a to-go order. read more

Authentic South Indian Street food. For Indians and those who love spicy food: Must have: Chicken noodles, Kottu parrotta,Lollypop 65, Parotta with gravy. For Americans and people who aren't used to Indian food a lot: Dosa, Noodles,fried rice and parotta ( ask them to drastically tone down the spice). Authenticity : 5/5 Decor : 2/5 (if you are used to crowd and old style seating) , to-go is a good bet otherwise. Very hard to get seats over weekend. Taste : 5/5 read more

If you are looking for authentic South Indian food, don't look anywhere else. The 5 Stars is purely for great authentic food. It is always packed as it is supposed to be. We always get the take out since it's crowded there. We as a family have pretty much tried everything on their menu and it is spot on! Every single dish at Chennai Express reminds me of food back home. This place gives me nostalgia every time!! It's been a few years since they opened and the quality and the taste has not changed one bit. They have not compromised on the flavor or spice and have stayed true to the roots. Thank you! read more

This is the best Indian food in the area, and the place is very cute. Excellent menu, quickly prepared, and delicious. One star off because my chicken dish had small bits of bone from how the meat was butchered. Made it harder to eat. read more

This has been my go-to Indian place for the past couple of years. Almost everything I order there just DELIGHTS me. I may just be tickled by the South Indian flavors vs. the North Indian palette (which I hear is more common in US Indian restaurants), though. I'm just an absolute sucker for idli, soups, and a generous sprinkle of curry leaves and mustard seeds. I'm still trying to work my way through the menu, but here are some of the dishes that come to mind: ++ Buttermilk -- I could have this all day, any day ++ Sambar idly -- see above comment about being a sucker for idli and soups ++ Parotta and chilly parotta -- soooo buttery and flaky, and when you can have a dish that is just chopped seasoned carbs? yes please ++ Any dosa -- we had the onion chili masala dosa -- half of it is eating with your eyes because it's the biggest freshest dosa I've ever had ++ Any thali -- especially the goat one -- I lovely little bites of a bunch of things in any cuisine, and this one is such a great deal during lunchtime ++ Adai avial -- how can you go wrong with coconut and carbs + Any biriyani -- we've had the shrimp and the goat -- flavor bomb + Attukal soup -- spicy and goat-y and herb-y + Mango lassi -- just a given for me at any Indian restaurant, and theirs is nicely balanced + Ennai kathirikai -- slightly sweet and rich; loved it but would have appreciated more eggplant though ~ Paneer Chilly -- when we first got this we loved it, but has recently gone down in my favorites list (i.e. too sweet, not as crispy as I'd remembered it) Note that service can be slow sometimes, but I think with takeout-only during covid it's a little better. One time (pre-pandemic) we stood and sat around for like... 45 minutes until we had a table and could eat. But we couldn't really complain because we chowed down and the food was carefully made and delicious. It was worth it for me (although, pre-pandemic, I much preferred going during lunch vs. weekend dinnertimes if I could help it). I can't wait for the time when we can dine-in again because their dosa and parotta are really best eaten hot out of the kitchen. Also I really appreciate that they don't dumb down the heat levels. In any case, their raita is delicious and perfectly balanced (so much so that I reach for it more than the 'more flavorful' coconut or peanut chutneys) and helps you out if your mouth is on fire! read more

One of the most authentic tasting Indian food joints I have been to in the United States. I have tasted almost all the dishes from here ranging from the attukal soup to the shrimp biryani. It is not the best place to dine in and is not advisable during covid, but the food is so good and authentic that it will definitely get you back there. I would recommend Chennai to every Indian food lover. read more

This is our to-go weekend take out place. We usually order Kozhi Veppudu, Chettinadu Chicken and Chennai Fried Rice. Their taste have been consistent compared to other Indian restaurants close by and that's the reason we keep ordering from Chennai Express. read more

Very good food with a really good price. It does have a ok service and ambience is ok as well but 5 stars because there is only one others place who has better biryanis than this place but they charge 22 bucks for it but here it is just 12.99........goat thali is just 13.99 as well with all the vegetables and roti. Definitely will will be back for food. Please don't change the quality of food. read more

Loved loved the food.. great service today as well.. water glasses were constantly filled .. orders were put in correctly .. esp commendation to the young man in glasses who took care of our table tonite..very attentive service.. promptly cleaned the table for us when we walked in .. The only drawback to this place is that it's in Chantilly and not close to home.. but to get that kind of South Indian food.. we will make the trek .. read more