Pista House always serves delicious food and drinks. We visit at least once a month and are always very satisfied with the food and service.

We went here for a Sunday lunch buffet. We had to wait about 15 minutes since the tables near the entrance were very cold and we didn't want to be seated there. Once seated, the service started off well with chicken tikka kebab, which was delicious, and the wings were also quite good. However, the next round of starters--fish and chicken--were disappointing as they were cold and rubbery. The paneer bajji was just okay, and there was only one vegetarian starter available. The naan and curries were decent and fairly enjoyable. Unfortunately, the main highlight we were looking forward to--chicken and mutton biryani--fell short. Both tasted more like pulao and lacked flavor. Dessert included ice cream and double ka meetha, but the double ka meetha was very chewy. Overall, a few items stood out, but it was disappointing that the biryani, which should have been the star, didn't live up to expectations. read more

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Hands down our favorite place to go. Food is consistently phenomenal and service is always great. Pista is always our go to!

New to Reston and decided to try this place. Went there with a friend on a Sunday. We were told it will be a buffet and they server food at the table for buffet. That itself was strange to me. We ordered vegetarian buffet, started with pakoda and veg Gobi. Pakoda had no flavor, veg Gobi was ok. Then came dal, very salty, Naan was ok. Panner Tikka was servered, 1 piece of paneer with excessive gravy. I had to ask for paneer and the server went in and got more. 2 more dishes were served, both excessively salty. Pulao Rice was ok. Dessert was served in a small sample kind of cup, carrot halwa, it was good. Had to ask exclusion for yogurt which also arrived in a small sample cup. Overall my first experience of Indian food in Reston at this place was disastrous. Wouldn't go again to this place and wouldn't recommend. read more

The food here is really something to rave about. I first came here years ago when it opened and remember how quickly the word had caught on. This was the brunch spot. Five years later, I would say it still is. The lamb and chicken are very well cooked and spices are just right. They also have some wonderful vegetarian options such as wadas, gobi manchurian, chao menu noodles. This restaurant is a thali style place. You all get seated and servers come to you with various foods which you can get unlimited amounts of... so come with an empty stomach! One thing that would certainly help the servers is if they had a bit more room to get to the customers plate. It can get a bit tricky otherwise serving large tables as servers would have to walk around the restaurant to get to the other side of the table. Other than that, get food and would recommend coming in just before rush hour to snag a spot read more

Pista House Indian Cuisine - Biriyani, Garlic Naan, Tandoori Chicken Kabab, Lamb Curry - Indian Near Me - Reston, Virginia

I have went to this place before and it was okay but when i went for valentines day one of my family members got allergic to the food. The service was not too great either. The mood was not that good and my family member almost had to go to the emergency room if we had not have brought the medicine in the car just in case read more

They do not honor their advertised deals. Called the restaurant to order one of their advertised deals and was told they could not take this deal on the phone and I needed to order online on theirwebsite. Checked online and the deal was not mentioned there. Anyway I ordered the items separately and when I went to pickup and asked the lady to honor the deal she said she could not do it as there was a problem. I said OK then refund me the extra charges once the problem is fixed. She as well as the manager gave the same reply that it was not possible. This was on 27th July 2025 and the deal was supposed to be from 15th July to 03 Aug. Definitely false advertising and luring customers on false pretences. Ended up paying the regular price. Very Very poor customer service. They gave an extra dessert as if they were doing me a favor. Why advertise and not honor the deal ?? In fact this happened to me twice, once on another advertised deal about 1 month ago read more

Pista House Indian Cuisine - The deal that was advertised - Indian Near Me - Reston, Virginia

This is a very family friendly restaurant. They are very helpful with the menu if you are unsure of what you want to eat. They will modify the spices if you don't care for the bold flavor of the dish. I ordered the chicken tikka masala mild. The rice was cooked well along with my dish. If in this area I will come back and eat here again. The menus are slightly worn but the food makes up for it. read more

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Amazing food and service! We went for the Haleem which was absolutely delicious, but ended up sitting down for the weekend buffet. All the kababs were great but our favorite was the biryanis. Definitely coming back again soon. read more

Pleasantly surprised by this unique dining experience! Used Yelp to find an Indian buffet. When I walked in, I was thrown for a loop because I saw no buffet. However, as the sweet waitress quickly explained, all the food would be brought to my table! She simply asked if I was vegetarian only or if I ate meat. I think I tried everything on the menu! (Tandoor chicken, chicken curry, goat curry... fresh buttery naan!). I also thoroughly enjoyed every bite! The food was traditional with a modern flair and not too heavy. Everything seemed fresh and just the right temperature and level of spice. Prompt, friendly service with a smile made the experience complete. :) And, at only $21 a head, I felt the price was more than reasonable. I would definitely go back and recommend this lunch buffet experience to any Indian food, lover! read more

This place is a really good restaurant I like the way it is decorated and also the biryani is very good

Have been here several times both with the current restaurant and the predecessor. Always good food and service and a very good price point. Will definitely be back. Highly recommend for Indian in Reston. read more

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Excellent food and service! I was served 4 appetizers, variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes (goat, chicken) and 3 different biryanis along with Garlic Naan. Dessert was delicious as well. Overall value for money and since it was served on the table, everything was fresh and good quality. read more

Spectacular Indian cuisine! The buffet is really more of a tasting menu, where each course is brought fresh and hot in the right sequence. Simply the best. read more

This is probably my favorite Indian restaurant around Fairfax. They serve the best Haleem in town. I like their buffet style. The biryani is more authentic Hyderabadi. Priced equally like all the other restaurants and the staff are helpful. It gets really busy on weekends and peak hours. read more

Excellent! The service was quick and the food was great! I walked in late on a weekday and I was greeted quickly and sat promptly. I had not visited the place and was surprised by the modern and comfortable interior. They provided bottled water on the table, which was nice given that I drink water frequently. The food was full of flavor and fresh. I enjoyed the fish made in the tandoori fashion, good ol' fashion samosas and the best egg biryani this side of the Atlantic. It was that good. The portions were large and I ate well for lunch and dinner the next day. I will frequent that place often. read more

Pista House Indian Cuisine - Pista House - Indian Near Me - Reston, Virginia

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The food taste here is Amazing! I went on a weekend. They had a buffet (but have a setup of service at the table)! I must the say the staff were pretty attentive and regularly checking to refill and get whatever needed. Their kebabs are excellent. Also don't forget to try their "thalapakatti" style/ Seeraga samba biryani! Really outstanding taste. I liked their chicken kebabs (tangdi). A must try if you are around northern Virginia! read more

Great food, better service, our waiter was very attentive and kind, 1000/10 come here!!! read more

Went there for the first time today, cauz this name reminded me of the chain of restaurant and the good memories I had growing up in hyderabad, India. But I was in for a shock when I got the food, didn't expect something this bad. Ordered their haleem cauz that's something they were famous back home, but this location had some bad tasting stuff for very expensive price. This location served only mutton haleem, they charged $14 for a tiny 300gm jar. That jar size and its price makes you wonder if maybe they have some really expensive truffles or caviar in it. Now if it tastes that great I wouldn't feel bad at all, but if it's so bland with a few of pieces of bone in it, that definitely would motivate me to write a review or two. I wish I could ask for a refund but when you are two ppl at home and each take a first spoon to taste and think maybe you need to warm it, second spoon each and you think maybe you're missing a squeeze of lime and by third spoon each that tiny jar is empty, you have nothing to go return and ask refund for. ‍ So definitely don't recommend this place. read more

Pista House Indian Cuisine - Largest jar Mutton haleem from Pista House, Reston, VA - Indian Near Me - Reston, Virginia

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Came twice this week ( visiting from North Carolina) awesome food& great service Chicken Tikka Masala read more

Pista House Indian Cuisine - Chicken Tikka Masala - Indian Near Me - Reston, Virginia

Solid Indian food. Weird takeout order process. We really like the fish and vegetarian dishes.

The food is yum and the service is great. The wait is a bit long but so worth it. The vibes are really good, we were watching the Indian movie that was playing on the tv wile we were waiting for our food and we're hooked. I recommend everyone this place. I'm vegan and they're always accommodating me and letting me know what food has what and what to be removed. My sister on the other hand isn't and she loves it. They are lovely people with really good food. Truly a hidden treasure. Best of luck! read more

Awesome food, amazing service! It is a wonderful concept too! You could eat like in a buffet, but with dining service. That is, food is served at your table. Went there with a few friends for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. It was packed with hungry customers, yet the service was fast. More than one server checked on us constantly and they could not be any friendlier. Food was delicious and of very good quality! Appetizers were great! Biryanis and meat curries were worth the hype. Vegetarian curries were equally satiating! Among four of us, we have tried a bit of almost everything on the menu. I was not pleased with the desserts though. I have tried double ka meeta and one another dessert made with bottle gourd. The bottle gourd one tasted fine, but it had food color added to it which I was not crazy about. Double ka meeta had small and large chunks of bread. Small ones tasted awesome, while the large ones tasted stale and weird. Felt like they mixed the previous day's batch with the fresh one. Also ordered Haleem and it met my hyderabadi friends' expectations! Usually at buffets, I always feel that I fill my plates with more food than I could consume. I end up eating more than I could and regret it later. But with the dining concept, I was letting my brain realize when I was getting full since there is a lag between the servings. And the buffet concept was easy on the wallet. I expected that the food wastage would be minimum because of the concept, but it was disappointing to see large amounts of food left over at the other tables. And why do I notice other people's leftovers instead of gorging on the food served to me? Well, I can't help it :( I still give it five stars despite of the desserts since we were all satisfied with the food and the overall experience. Would definitely visit again. read more

I love the multi course buffet-style meal and the best part is food is served - no need to leave your seat and get food every time. The portions are generous and you can literally eat as much as you want. Im a vegetarian and they had all kinds of fried fritters- Paneer pakora, Cauliflower manchuria, Lentil pakora all tasted good. They had multiple curries (Channa, Okra, Tarka dal, Panner butter masala) that were all sumptuous. Above all else I really liked the service provided by Sohail. Great job keep it up guys! read more

I miss eating inside but the takeout service is great. No matter what we order, it's delicious. The portions are generous enough that we have enough leftovers for a second meal. A real bargain. read more

Great hospitality ! loved the food.. everything was very tasty and reasonable priced.. a must visit place !

Have ordered many times from them, thus I think can comment on the quality of their food. Taste - 3.5/5 Quantity - 3.5/5 Quality - 3.5/5 So overall I'd say they're good but some areas of improvement would be following the order notes. I have tried their Biryani which definitely is a pre-packaged Biryani and not like a freshly made one. Their main course dishes (personal opinion) have a lot of salt in it. Now I am not sure if the salt is due to it being frozen food or pre-prepared food and thus the high levels of sodium but if you have blood pressure might not want to venture into that. What I order regularly from them are the appetizers. Their Paneer Tikka is really good, the Spring rolls are amazing too. So appetizers are definitely a hit but the rest of the items I think can be improved. Overall they're good. read more

Went with my family on Friday afternoon for the weekend lunch buffet. The food was served cold, the service was v poor. They didn't serve us most of the items unless we asked for it and they kept repeatedly forgetting to bring them even after we asked. Will not return read more

I am writing this after 2-3 visits to this place. One of the worst Indian food quality. Too much food but all low quality food. Even simplest food items like Daal were not good quality. Same sauce with meat chunks. The food temperature was warm to cold. Cold biryani is not acceptable. Additionally, the staff is serving every course in the same plate. They do not give any bowls for curries. I will never go here again. (I usually give every place 3 chances before I make my opinion. Hence I went here few times) read more

The haleem is one of their popular dishes so we tried that and it was AWESOME! Loved the ambiance and service too! Would definitely recommend to friends. read more

I've been to Pista House many times and they never disappoint! Highly recommend the lamb vindaloo and veggie pakoda. Ask for extra spicy if you can take it! read more

Awesome place, loved the buffet style. The customer service is good. Buffet is served at the table. Items are good, very tasty. Many options for the buffet. read more

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My wife and I have been coming frequently to Pista House for the past 3-4 years. We really enjoy it and the friendly folks that work here. We regularly order Chicken Shahi Jiffrani with garlic naan, and highly recommend both. The rice is cooked perfectly as well: fluffy and moist. read more

I am updating my rating to 2 stars primarily because of the horrible service here. We have been to this location many times, mostly for lunch buffet on weekends. I understand that in most Indian restaurants service is iffy but this place takes it to another level, recently we stopped by for lunch and the service was so slow ..not only did they ignore us for most of the time, even when we flagged them down it was an ordeal to get the food we requested. On top of it their food no longer is served hot or even warm, it was lukewarm and late. The other day I stepped in to pickup a haleem order and I stood by the door for 10 mins while the staff ignored me until I had to call out one of them who looked irritated to be asked. An advice to the management, train your staff to be pleasant to the customer and say simple words like please and thank you. It will go a long way.. read more

Great service Good food. Reetish , the guy who served me is awesome ! They even asked me for some nice complementary tea as I was walking out read more

Haleem was not uptown the mark Quantity-to-Qualoty-to-Price does not match at all. High price for less quantity for mediocre-taste food. Nah. Needs some improvement. read more

We had some friends who totally hyped up this place saying that in India, this is a famous, well known restaurant that made excellent food. We arrived with five people around 1 ish and it was pretty busy, we were able to get a seat quickly but the dining room filled up so quickly that there were so many people waiting by the door. The weekend had this sampling meal where they bring you a bunch of stuff to try for about ~$20. I really enjoyed the chicken wings, the goat and chicken curry, the fish, and naan. Our friends said this place is known for Haleem, but not at all by a long shot. The consistency of the haleem was there, but it's like they forgot to season it. We had really good haleem before in Richmond which is where our baseline is, hoping this place would be good, but we ended up adding other spices from our other food to the haleem to make taste a little bit better. The service was kind of crazy. They have multiple people bring you the food, the time can cary between five to ten minutes or even longer. They come back with food you already gotten and asks if you want more, the vegetarian option isn't as good. Our friend waited forever for food and they kept bringing him onion rings. Finally he said he just wanted veggie biryani. We got the chicken biryani and it was meh. So defiantly don't come here for haleem or biryani. I know this place just recently opened and maybe they are dealing with opening pains, but hopefully in a few months we will try it and see if it gets any better. Don't expect too much or have high expectations. read more

Takeout Gongura Paneer Biryani was excellent tonight as usual. We are regular customers. Always prompt and friendly service.

Review is for buffet/tasting menu. They have a buffet, but it's not like what you usually think of as a buffet. If you go into expecting chefs choice adventure, instead of choose your own adventure, you will probably enjoy your meal a lot! Things to know before you go: 1. The buffet menu changes every day. You will be presented with the menu of the day... featuring both vegetarian and non vegetarian options. I think today I had 4 appetizer tastings, 4 curries, 3 kinds of rice (including a biryani), and 2 desserts... all veg. 2. Waiters bring out a little of everything according to the menu for the day in a specific order. For example, I did the vegetarian buffet. First course came out (soup) then appetizers, then curries/rice, then dessert. You can of course say no to anything you want, and you can ask for more of everything you like ... it is all you can eat. Honestly, it felt kind of like a chefs tasting menu. A really affordable tasting menu. With lots of surprises. $21 (incudes tip) on a Saturday afternoon. ***** As for the food itself, I'd say I LOVED half the dishes, liked a quarter, and didn't like a quarter. My favorite dishes were these daal patties, the paneer biryani, and the chickpea/potato curry. I didn't like this odd fried hard boiled egg thing. Also didn't like the curd rice. Dessert was ok. For the adventure, and the "surprise" aspect, I give 5 stars. Knocking a star off because I was offered chicken even though I told them I was veg. And because I straight up didn't like a few things on today's menu. Overall though, kind of fun and I'd definitely go back. read more

The service is great and there is no doubt about that but the food, specially the buffet is flavorless and only spicy. I think the best thing in the whole buffet was the Ghulab Jamun in the end. read more