Happy to have referred two friends to this lovely restaurant! I went two different times once to…read moreorder a la carte and the second time to experience the buffet. Before Maharani Palace I will admit Indian food was not on my radar. Not on purpose; I live closer to other cuisine. I share this detail as context behind why I might have been so impressed with the buffet. An opportunity to try many wonderful popular Indian dishes I have heard before. The chicken tandoori was my favorite. Moreover, the customer service was wonderful. I never had to hunt anyone down to get my water refill. Lastly, this is a great restaurant to go to if you are looking for a place that isn't too noisy. Would return!

Lunch Rating... This…read moreis a buffet. Never eat at buffets. Food missed mark even with all of the options. Besides finding bits of bone or whatever it is in some of the curries, then the taste was .... It was just a very overrated and overpriced experience. The naan was good, but that was it. Plenty more Indian places to go, just not here.

We ordered the desi chicken tikka, tandoori naan, mango coconut naan, chicken dum biryani, and…read morebatti murgh makhanwala -- and every single item was delicious. Service was great and ambience similar to Indian fine dining. The desi tikka stood out immediately: incredibly soft and juicy, with a perfect balance of flavors. The tandoori naan was soft and beautifully made, and the mango coconut naan was an instant hit with my toddler. The batti murgh makhanwala has quickly become a household favorite. Overall, a fantastic meal -- we'll definitely be back!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I got takeout, and it was ready faster than I expected. I like to get a spread of different…read morecuisines within the broad Indian umbrella, and in this case, I got some channa poora, idli with spiced powder, a manchow soup, and okra. The flavors were strong all around. The idli were the best thing I got, and had ample curry leaves and texturally diverse spices. Idli come with an array of chutneys and sambar by default, but in this case I had trouble even using those because the flavor starts out so strong. My chickpeas and okra were also delicious, if on the indulgent side. Getting manchow soup to go turned out not to be a great decision, as the crispy noodles had become soggy by the time I got around to unpacking my soup. Overall, high on salt and oil, but a diverse and interesting set of tastes.

There are many restaurants that claim to offer street food, but this one appears to take the…read moreconcept quite seriously and has a menu with pretty much exclusively things that would be considered in that category. It was busy even in the middle of the afternoon. While, I would've been happy to see their rendition of one of the classics, I wanted to try something new and I cannot remember ever having had a misal pav, which is a sprouted, mung bean curry served with bread. They warned me that it would be spicy and it did have a decent kick. The bread was just enough to make the whole thing a finger food without needing any utensils. I also got a robustly spiced Samosa and some unsweetened chai. Come here, turned out to be a good decision for me because there are certainly times when I want and eat food, but do not want a giant meal. That being said ordering a couple of dishes here could get indulgent very quickly.

Taste, quality, value…read more Overall 4.5/5 I want to preface by saying that I don't generally give out 5 stars easily. However, my experience with Chaatwala surely deserved it. Food (1.75/2) - Majority of what we tried, we loved. I enjoyed the Chhole stuffed kulcha, chili paneer, Dahi puri, and Vada Pav. My kids liked the milder noodles. But the Puri Bhalla Chaat was something I could skip. I could see many places for improvement but for what this place offers, it is great. It's not trying to be fancy and so it's not charging you those prices. Prices seem fair and makes the food worth it. I would come back to try more varieties of their street food along with stuffed parathas and dosa/idli. Drinks (1/1) - Fresh juices and masala soda were on point. Perfect combination with the street food indulgence. They definitely were refreshing. However, I was disappointed with the masala chai that seemed watered down and lacking masala flavor. Decor (0.75/1) - Setting could be improved. There are fairly good art works on the walls and the tables. Reminiscent of India, they even have a chalk board with menu items. However, they can definitely improve by doing something with the drinks corner which seems dull and uninviting. Service (1/1) - now this place is not a fancy dining place at all. There aren't even people bringing the food to you. You have to go up, place an order, and wait until they call your name. However, they make it really easy to order, eat, and enjoy. You go to the front, put your order in and go back to your table. But they are really fast at preparing your order and the wait is very low even when the place is packed. After you are done eating, if there are any leftovers, they have kept to go boxes and utensils for you to pack it up your self. All the food is brought to you in compostable plates so once you're done, just throw it in the trash without worrying about the impact.

We've been looking for a good Indian restaurant close to Centreville but everything we've seen so…read morefar had mixed reviews. Mehak had a couple of mixed reviews too, but mainly about takeout orders. In my opinion, you can't really rate a restaurant fairly with takeouts. That being said, we went ahead and tried Mehak and we're so glad we did. The gobi manchurian was not on the menu for some reason, but definitely ask for it! It's really good - very crispy, very flavorful, and not too spicy. The mango lassi was one of the best we've ever had. It was creamy and not tart at all. It was very refreshing. We were debating between the Kadai Goat and the Goat Rogan Josh. We decided on the Rogan Josh but I don't think I could've gone wrong either way. It was really tender and very tasty. We also got the the Paneer Mekhani and it was also delicious. The Garlic Naan was very fresh and perfect for cleaning up your plate of the delicious sauces. The owner and the staff were very nice and they kept checking on us to make sure everything was ok. They did give us bottled water but I felt a little bad for asking for another one. I'm pretty sure they would've given me another if I asked. That was just me. Overall, I highly recommenr Mehak Indian Restaurant if you simply want humble and delicious Indian Food. 5

Solid Indian food here. We've been coming here over the years mostly for take out. Since my last…read morereview, they renovated the interior and looks much more warm and inviting. While we were there, it was obvious that a bulk of their business is take out. Plenty of people came in to pick up their orders. One of my biggest gripes of late with their take out has been the portion size. It is noticeably smaller than other places. So when we sat down to eat, I was pleased to know that we could get more rice. We had 3 bowls of rice. But the nicest part was we didn't even have to ask. The guy asked us if we wanted more rice...3 times! I think I may have to eat there more often.

I enjoy Pakistani food, so when in areas with Pakistani restaurants, I try to try new ones... I…read morerecently came in here with a colleague for lunch. The place was clean, I could even see in the kitchen and it looked nice. Service was fine. The menu is filled with the typical Pakistani/Indian delights. We tried their chicken tikka (boneless) kabob. The flavors were really good and the meat was tender. It came out perfect. The naan was incredibly soft and perfect texture and density too. Their veggie biryani was more of a mix of curry into the rice, versus the right way of making it with curry folded into the rice with some other colored rices folded in as well. The flavors were just a messy/overall single flavor, rather than tasting the different flavors. The karahi was really just a stewed chicken curry, versus a freshly made stir fried (in a karahi) style curry with fresh tomatoes and chicken. I could tell by how melty and stewed down the chicken was. Overall, the flavor was ok, but it didn't resemble the karahi I'm familiar with from making it and eating it in Pakistani family kitchens over the years. I still enjoyed the visit and if I came back, I'd stick with kabobs

We ordered from here through Uber Eats. The food was good, but it wasn't great. Probably my…read moreshortest review ever, but I will probably order from this restaurant again not sure though...

Our friends love this place and we finally tried it ourselves last evening. Absolutely delicious…read moreassortment of Rajasthani food in one big platter. It's all you can eat. There's a lot of different vegetarian food in this Thali. I haven't had the North Indian food forever. Glad I went there as I was able to try many items. I don't think I could a single item as my favorite as everything was very delicious. I got puri and roti to start my meal. It went so well with various curries in the platter (palak paneer, paneer masala, Chana masala, vegetable curry), the simple bowl of daal tadka went so well with the jeera rice. They also have kitchdi, so do not forget to ask for their Kitchdi. It's so good. Kitchdi is a lentil rice mix with lots of cumin. It's one of the comforting foods in north India. The ambiance was great as well. The manager just informed us they are going to start offering some South Indian food starting December 2025. I am stoked. Highly recommend this place.

This place is temporarily closed for renovations and rebranding. They expect to reopen in April…read more2026.

The best dosa I've genuinely ever had…read more The podi dosa is my favorite and maska bun with irani chai

This is unequivocally the best South Indian meal I've had in the U.S…read more This small Northern Virginia, Karnataka-style dosa shop focuses on benne dosai, the slightly thicker, beautifully laminated variety that's recently gone viral across Delhi and Bombay thanks to a chain that started in Bandra. It is both visually beautiful as well as perfectly textured, true to its name decadently buttered. The other star of the show here is the thatte idli, also known as plate idli. They are in my opinion better than the original more common, convex idlis available at most South Indian restaurants in the U.S. Tiffin Hut nailed the texture perfectly - I'd say it was better than the one I had at Ram Ashraya in Matunga. It was also generously covered in ghee and milagaipodi. Absolute must-try in the DMV area.

I ordered the Vada and Masala Dosa They were both delicious…read moreand I go back and order the same thing everytime I go! Service is excellent and the staff is very friendly and quick to get orders out Great vibes overall

Dinner with a group of 12 friends the party space was well setup for us and the service was also…read morequick and efficient. I got the mini tiffin and enjoyed the iddly, pongal and upma with sambar and coconut chutney. It was little bland for me so asked for a spicy chutney and they gave me tomato chutney which was spicy and yummy. The plain dosa was too oily but still good. Our group ordered so many dishes most were good, the appetizers took too long - the cauliflower 65 was very oily, thick batter and too mych food coloring; the lotus flower vada was interesting and plain uttapam was very good spongy like in a set dosa. The iddiyapam (a bit dry) with korma and coconut sweet milk was nice too.

Sai Saravana Bhavan is an Indian Restaurant which is INSIDE THE LOTTE in Herndon at Elden St. When…read moreyou go inside Lotte, stick to the left and you'll see it sooner than later They have quite an extensive menu and everything I've had so far is awesome! I would personally recommend the Chili Paneer and Singapore Style Noodles. They're truly fantastic you don't even notice it's vegetarian because it's that good The staff is friendly, service is quick and efficient - call ahead and just go pick it up, couldn't be any easier. Especially if you're already planning on shopping at Lotte. This is a hidden gem!

This is really an amazing carryout/pickup restaurant that has a unique and tasty approach to Indian…read morecuisine. The cuisine spans all of India and even includes Indo-Chinese. The location is within the grocery store Lotte. There's no seating area, it's literally just a counter with a kitchen in the back. Yet, out of that small, humble, and clean kitchen they prepare some of the best Indian cuisine I've had. The pictures I took really don't do the food justice. The food was hot and visually appealing; unlike the pics I took. The colors of the food were actually vibrant; the palak paneer being a brighter green. The malai kofta was in a yellow gravy not the beige that my camera captured. The naan was steaming, moist and adorned w/fresh cilantro and garlic. The Aloo (potato) had a perfect peppery crust garnished with cuts of green onion. And the mushroom mafia had mushrooms and capsicum blended into a tasty Masala gravy. Everything was prepared and packaged well. You can order online, by phone or through any of the popular food delivery services. Don't think twice, this place is great at what they do and it's shockingly economical. They have some great bulk ordering options like the Family Package and a daily/weekly tiffin bundle. I hope they always stay true to their values, truly amazing food!

Solid food! I did a takeout order chicken biryani, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, and…read moregarlic naan. Yes, I know the butter chicken and tikka masala are similar, but I like to compare these 2 dishes from the same restaurant. It was all very good. The tikka masala had some good spice. It wasn't as spicy as some other places but I'm sure you can ask them to crank it up if you like it really spicy. I'll certainly be back!

Chili chicken appetizer: got this medium spicy but wasn't spicy at all. I can't remember if there's…read moreany chilis in the dish but there are a good amount of red bell peppers. Ginger chicken: this is pretty good. Theres a good ginger flavor and it's kind of salty. Boneless chicken briyani: okay dish, mostly rice and not a lot of chicken. Not as flavorful as other places I've tried.