Masala Art

Very lovely restaurant! Came with my father, very family friendly. We got the Lamb Neelgiri Korma, the Baingan Bartha, and the Baingan Mirch Ka Salam and it was delicious. Please beware if you have the spice tolerance of a white person like me that it can be quite spicy! Even just the ginger in the Baingan Bartha was too much for me, and I had to change dish. The staff was very understanding and their recommendation was better. But do let them know when ordering, don’t make the same mistake as me! My favorite part was definitely the desserts. I only took pictures after trying it out but we were floored at the cardamom-pistachio-raisin ice cream. Highly recommend that final touch, not too sweet but very flavorful. The decorations and ambiance were also cozy, with oil candles, statues and gorgeous art. Loved the way it was decorated.

We have dined here many times , and have always enjoyed it. The food is fresh, well prepared and very tasty. The menu is extensive, and includes many vegetarian dishes. My favorite is the okra, but we have also tried the excellent cauliflower and eggplant dishes. There are many Indian restaurants in the DMV area, and we have dined in many of them but we keep going back to Masala Art because it consistently serves excellent food

We went for a high tea to this place in the evening. Ordered a bunch of veggie appetizers and most were good. The lotus stem didn't taste very good. Also felt the pricing was a tad steep for desserts. Kulfi was quite expensive

Delicious food, welcoming ambience, pleasant servers, and reasonable price. I have been coming to Masala Art since it opened…. I will continue to enjoy this lovely spot. I will recommend Masala Art.

I’ve tried the SW Masala Art and it isn’t isnt great, however, this one was very tasty. I tried the lamb curry and it was pipping hot like I love my food. It tasted tomato-ey a little but I would get again. The lamb was very tender. The garlic naan was great. The wait staff was very nice.

Best Indian food in the area and everything on the menu is good. Can’t go wrong. Service is always quick and friendly.

Arguably the best lamb vindaloo in DC! Excellent service on a Thursday night. I have passed by this restaurant many times and finally decided to give this a try. It is indeed a hidden gem in the neighborhood. Consistent quality at a reasonable price. Half price bottles of wine on Thursday evenings.

Got the saag paneer and garam masala for takeout. The texture of the paneer was mush and the spinach had no flavor too it at all, like it was chucked right out of the can. The tofu was also mush and didn’t hold any of the flavor or texture. Extremely oily curries and dry rice.

Masala Art is a place that I have driven past dozens of times without stopping in. Well, we finally had dinner here. The food and service were great. We ate pani poori, naan, butter chicken, lamb nilgiri korma, mango chutney, and delicious rice. There is street parking available nearby, and the Tenleytown Metro station is across the street from this restaurant. Give this place a try someday, and you will be impressed with the delicious food items for dinner.

I love Indian food. Masala Art, not so much. At $72 for dinner for two this was the least value I've had for a dinner maybe ever. Shrimp chili garlic: Six small shrimp in a cloyingly sweet sauce. They say their food is complex; as complex as cough syrup. I had no clue there was garlic in it. Chicken Bang Bang: rubbery. And not enough chicken to call it a bang. More like a poof. Call it Chicken Poof Poof. Kasundi Salmon: I didn't know salmon could taste so fishy. I think "kasundi" translates to "inedible salmon."

We ordered in from Masala Art for dinner tonight. It's been our go-to Indian place for a decade, but this is my first review. Needless to say, our long-term relationship means we're big fans. This is a good moment for a review since we tried several new items on the menu. First was the dhokla, which I can best compare to mashed up jalapeño corn bread. Definitely liked it. Our mains were the half cauliflower in curry (name escapes me) and the methi murgh. Both delicious and spicy. If you dine in, btw, service is good and I'm a fan of the low lighting and earth tones decor.

Myh wife and I had another nice meal here -- this time, a dinner. Lovely decor and good food. Nancy had only appetizers: the Dahi Bhalle, which she pronounced a tad boring, and the cauliflower Bejule, which I thoughy delicate and pleasant. My appetizer was the Aam Palak Chaat -- bigger spinach leaves than often see in this dish, and my main was the Awadhi Dum ke Murg, nicely flavored and the chicken was flavorful and cooked just enough to still be tender. Sadly we had to rush out to catch a 7:30 curtain but we were able to get in a nice dinner, and to decide to come back when we can have a more leisurely meal

We had a large party tonight and I could not have been happier with our choice of restaurants. We arrived and the host took care to make sure everyone was comfortable. The wait staff was great, explaining what the dishes were and helped tailor each meal to the spice level so nobody's meal was too much to handle. All the appetizers and main courses were delicious! We totally recommend Masala Art to anyone looking for a great night with awesome food!

Probably one of the best Indian restaurants in the DMV area. The cauliflower was delicious as was the okra dish. Both were cooked to perfection and were full of flavor. Service was prompt and efficient. Hard to understand why this terrific restaurant does not receive much publicity.

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in the DC area. The service is always great and the food is amazing. I make it a habit to bring out of town guests here because the food is always on point and the wait staff never makes you feel rushed through your courses. Definitely surprised by some of the lower ratings, which seem to mostly be from DoorDash customers. Those reviews run completely counter to my years of eating there.

I came during lunch time to order for carry out. Instead of lunch prices, I was charged dinner prices. My bill for a chicken curry, Naan, and soda was $30+. If you order online from grubhub, you can save yourself $10! Even though I paid a dinner price, I did not get a dinner portion. Portions were small. Chicken curry was not spicy **AT ALL**. And, I've never had bell peppers in my chicken curry before. Also, instead of delicious, fragrant basmati rice, they give you brown rice. This place is not like any Indian place I've ever been to and not in a good way. It was just a disappointment. But the hostess was friendly and the place seemed clean.

The food is extremely plain. The biryani tasted like white rice with seasoning dumped on top. Service is good. I'm Indian and I know good Indian food. This is NOT it. Not authentic and not nearly as flavorful as good Indian food. There are plenty of better places in the DMV.

The food was very good as was the service. The place had an upscale and authentic ambiance, although the food items were a bit pricey.

The food here is absolutely delicious! The service is excellent and the restaurant is beautiful. The Elaichi Gosht is one of our favorites. The naans are a must.

The food here is fantastic! I ordered take out, as I live in Maryland, and the drive was 100% worth it. I was starving on my way home so I broke into the Nan that I had ordered, and the smooth, lingering heat from the Aloo Parantha and the Garlic Chili Nan was amazing! I must have a spice addiction cause along side that I had ordered the Aloo Ke Gutke, and all I can say is make sure you have some milk around, or maybe a fire extinguisher, or even better order a side of Raita, because the Aloo Ke Gutke tops the Scoville scale! Some people say you can even hallucinate from high enough levels, and while I wasn't taken on a trip, I was taken to my little spice heaven. My only concern would be close parking, and while I know this is not entirely the restaurants fault, the street parking is very limited, so if you're not able to park right out front, be ready to walk a little bit. Other than that, brilliant time! Definitely will be coming by again!

I Ordered the food from DoorDash.. food was so stale and nasty.. and you can literally taste the tarteness of old food... people are not stupid guys!!!my dad got sick eating it.. the naan was burned. NEVER AGAIN!!!! SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN... I AM definitely going to contact higher authority to shut this place down.. because no one deserves poor service like this...

Went back to Masala Art tonight for the first time since I moved out of Tenleytown five years ago. I was so happy to find that it remains the best Indian food in the DC area. Appetizers and entrees are distinct from standard Indian fare in the best way possible. Service is excellent. I've missed it and look forward to returning soon!

I've been here twice over the past 30 days and this where I take out-of-town visitors and friends. First of all, there is some serious misinformation from a previous reviewer as I visited the official DC website listing restaurant health code violations, and Masala Art in Tenleytown has no violations (you can look it up yourself). There was something in 2013 but c'mon let's be fair. I looked at this other reviewer's profile and she has 7 total reviews and 6 are 1-star scathingly negative, highly dramatic reviews - 6 of 7! The food here is amazing, the Subzi Korma was delicious, as was the Onion Kulcha bread. My friends and family loved it, and the service and hospitality was outstanding.

Had an appointment nearby and remembered eating here several years ago and loved it. My husband is a big fan of Indian food so we went after our appointment. Food was amazing, chicken was tender, naan fresh and service was on point. We will definitely be back again!

I find the low overall rating strange given our two experiences there last week. We ate in, not take out. Service was top notch and food came out timely. I have eaten Indian food regularly for decades and lived in London for a time many years ago. There were things on this menu I haven't seen before or at least in a very long time. The food is very complexly spiced. Even the standards had things going on I found unique and interesting. Many of the meals we ordered had heat, but it was done differently in every meal. Some had it up front, others at the end - some built and others were over quickly between bites. I never had anything that was overwhelming, but one of our party thought the vindaloo was too spicy. Personally didn't agree, but I've survived Hell Night at the East Coast Grill. I noted some others said it was pricey. I guess compared to some Indian places it may be. I am not familiar with pricing in DC, just metro Boston and the near suburbs. That said, I am not familiar with a place in Boston that has as nice a sit down dining experience as Masala Art. I thought it was fair pricing for a very good restaurant experience. Too often we expect certain regional food styles to be inexpensive without appreciating they can also be high cuisine as much as others. To me this was high quality food - not cheap eats. Well presented, top quality ingredients, uniquely spiced. It's the best Indian food I can remember ever having and I look forward to going back.

I went on a three week trip to India and my first meal back in DC was Masala Art. We were regulars before the pandemic but have ordered from the restaurant at least once every month for the past year. The food is flavorful, and I love the half order vegetarian curry sides (which are only $8 apiece). For the price, this definitely gets 5 stars! Some of our favorites: Awadhi Dum Ke Murg, Saag Paneer, Lamb Korma, and the Baingan Mirchi Ka Salan (eggplant, recommend seasoning with salt)

Came with some friends for a Monday night dinner. We arrived around 6:30PM and the place was kind of empty but by 7PM it was full of guests. The 3 of us ordered the vegetarian Thali Dinner, which consisted of a tasting of 4 types of curries (eggplant tomato curry, a spinch curry, red paneer curry, and a spicy lentils curry), raita dip, salad, and rice. We ordered some additional potato and plain naan. What's included in the Thali Dinner changes on a daily basis but we loved all of the food (with only me disliking the paneer) and I think the Thali dinner was pretty special. Service was kind of slow, I think they were short staffed as it took a while to get someone to come by and take orders the menus were dropped off, and then food took more than 30 minutes to come after ordering.

Ordered from here for home delivery because they had onion Bhaji's and I've not had them since I left the UK, they were great but the rest of our $170 dollar meal for two was awful. I had a vindaloo that was so ridiculously over done with chili that it was inedible, Vindaloo is supposed to be spicy but not like this, even the biryani was over done with chili's. It honestly felt like a prank. I love spicy food and coming from the UK I'm used to quite hot curries but this was just miserable. I called the restaurant and was told the manager would call me back. No call back, so I guess they don't need my business. Shame I was hoping this would not be another poor quality brown sauce Indian cuisine take out, but it was.

I went to Masala Art for a birthday celebration with a few friends - I've never heard of the place before, but most of the dishes were very tasty. The set up was more of a formal dining room. Didn't really know what to expect, but the vibe is rather intimate and I saw a few people on dates. They also have a bar in a separate area if you don't want that kind of intimate experience. One of my favorite restaurants in DC is Rasika, so in effect, I'm spoiled by their high-quality Indian food. But at the same time, I'm used to and recognize their style of Indian cuisine. The menu here had completely different dishes with different words for me to learn. I enjoyed that aspect, because I've been to a lot of Indian restaurants, but I still like to be surprised! I started with the chicken with basil appetizer - four big chunks of chicken that were very well cooked and very tasty. My main course was a chicken biryani, and it was a large portion for the price. I really enjoyed my meal. My partner got the salmon curry, and will he really loved the sauce, he felt that the salmon itself was past its sell-by date. Basically, a lower quality fish with a delightfully overpowering sauce. My other friend felt the same way about his baby eggplant dish - that they mask a lower quality ingredient with a great sauce. That's the main reason I'm giving Masala Art four stars and not five. I personally enjoyed all my food, but if people I were with didn't have an amazing time, I have to take that into account. Service was friendly enough, but the backwaiter had some language issues so he couldn't really understand any of our requests. Overall, I'm not really familiar with all the restaurant options in this part of Southwest - but I did have a good meal here and it does seem like a good place for a date.

I was really looking forward to this place and their food. They have a good menu but don't serve as well as the menu sounds. We ordered lamb briyani and it had very little meat in it. The meat was not lamb but chicken. It was a disappointing order. NEVER ordering again. We ordered food worth $50+ and none was to the liking.

I have no complaints. Beautiful, cozy Indian restaurant conveniently located across from Tenleytown metro. I visited mid-December with a friend and we really enjoyed our experience. I had hot tea, naan bread, and a spicy chicken dish. When they say spicy, they mean it. It was really good, jam packed with flavor and service was prompt- we did not have to wait a long time to eat. Our waiter was very kind and checked on us a few times during our dinner. Oh, and the bathrooms are just lovely. I was expecting them to be a mess and not the best smelling since it is a single person bathroom but I was pleasantly surprised. I plan on coming back soon since it is not too far from my job.

This is what you get from Masala Art for $18.00? You are LUCKY my wife purchased this because if I did, I would speaking with the manager, chef and owner about why you are ripping people off in a pandemic. This is embarrassing and ridiculous.

It's really tasty. It's a bit expensive to get all the time, but when I'm looking for nicer Indian food, this is a great spot.

Wonderful food and service! This restaurant is a favorite local spot. The staff are very friendly and helpful with the menu if you have questions. The food is served promptly and hot. The portions are great and it's a solid price point. I've also loved Masala Art for to go food as well. Highly recommend!

We ordered takeout tonight and the food was delicious. The flavors were interesting and had real depth. We we're also so impressed with the staff. They forgot to give me a couple of lassis and, when we called about it, the person we spoke to offered to drive to our house to bring us the drinks. That's going above and beyond. (we gave him a nice tip) The combination of super tasty food and super cool service bought our admiration and loyalty.

The management and staff are accommodating and attentive. I made a mistake in judging a dinner meal as low heat. It was graciously redone. My meal was delicious - Kashmiri naan had good flavors. Only downside was I missed the lunchtime buffet!

Upset i only had to pee once. The bathrooms are very lovely. You will see. Bring a friend for an intimate date night and explore all the toilets have to offer. As for the eats. Food is on point. I wouldn't order dessert. Leezy's two cents.

This is my favorite place for indian Food when I am in DC. Food ambience drinks and host all are awesome. Location is also good and always ample if working around. I can't say nothing negative about all. I make them Mechlin rated if that was to me. Excellent food and wine selection.

A little gem near Tenley Town metro. The restaurant is cozy with wooden floor, and is situated inside the same building as a Masonic Temple. They offer a simple but nice lunch buffet, with everything nicely laid out with various onions, herb, and so on. There are two options for dessert. They are quite vegetarian friendly if you have a vegetarian in your group. Servers were generally nice.

As soon as I went inside the restaurant, I was welcomed with the wonderful aroma of fine Indian cuisine! What a nice start. I tried this place last Friday with my friends for dinner. We ordered some small dishes and some entrees and we all shared them. We tried vegetable samosa, chicken tikka, shrimp ambi curry, tawa bindhi, lamb vindaloo, nan bread, murgh makkani, okra and chicken saagwala. I actually enjoyed everyone of them, but I especially liked chicken saagwala, that is chicken in creamy spinach sauce. The service was very nice with attentive wait staff. Other than the great tasting quality Indian dishes, this place is very conveniently located right by the metro (Tenleytown), and the prices are reasonable particularly for the appetizers. This is now my new favorite Indian place. Special thanks to my friend Nicole O for her great advise.

They've had a slight menu update. Their new stir-fried paneer and pepper dish in fantastic. They have a wide appetizer selection, and I suggest steering clear of the generic (and overpriced) samosas in favor of some of the more exotic options. Their service is attentive to the point that they're there to pick up a dropped fork before you get it. I could still go for larger portions on the appetizers, but I'm comfortable bumping them up. A few unique dishes I've liked include a corn/pea medley on herbed bread, their paneer kabobs, and tofu in an exciting coconut curry.

We ordered delivery from Masala Art through a third-party delivery service and LOVED it! I loved how creamy / spicy / fragrant the chicken tikka masala dish I ordered was. We both ordered chicken tikka masala (I got the more spicy version) and really enjoyed it. I loved how the take-out boxes separated the rice and the chicken tikka masala, but they were still side by side, so you could easily mix the two. I can't believe I used to frequent Tenleytown so often and somehow missed eating at Masala Art. I'm glad I live close enough now to be able to order delivery (at least through a third-party service). So good! Would definitely order from this place again and would certainly visit the restaurant itself in the future!

I want to start off with sharing the health department was called and they had 2 priority violations and 3 core violations. Sharing 2 - One being out of compliance with insect, rodents and animals droppings and another storage and proper cold holding temperatures. Maybe this will explain the low ratings for this Masala. Sharing how we got to this point, I have been a patron of Masala Art for years. I used to go to the restaurant and enjoy the atmosphere and the food. This one time, I order pick up. The shrimp dish that I always order came with mushy shrimp. This is a sign that they are not fresh and also it is a 30 something dollar dish. I contacted the restaurant and asked if i could get a replacement or refund. They kept me on hold for 15 minutes before I ended up hanging up and going back to the restaurant. When I got there, I asked to speak with the manager. He never came out. This is the 2nd time I am being disregarded. Finally when I went to the back where he was, he started yelling and said "I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!" This was the most abhorrent thing a representative of an establishment has ever said to me. As many years as I had patronized Masala, for this person (not a staff member) but manager maybe an owner to let that come out of his mouth. This place should be protested because if he feels that way about me, he feels that way about ALL OF US. We are just a source of income. This event ended with me walking out and never returning. My funds were never refunded. I suggest everyone stand together and boycott Masala Art at Tenleytown. There are other Indian restaurants up and down Wisconsin Avenue.

Best Indian cuisine in the city. Cauliflower appetizer is amazing. Flash fried spinach appetizer is also delicious. Highly recommend.

The food is delicious. But the menu here does not reflect the full ingredients or options. If you have an allergy you need to be extra cautions - do not trust the menu or the kitchen to provide you allergy safe food.

Incredibly flavored food and a terrific value. My friend and I greatly enjoyed the experience and will be back. For appetizer, we ordered the vegetable samosas (fried patties stuffed with peas, potatoes and raisins). Two samosas come per order and it is served with a side of tamarind and yogurt sauce. For the main course, we split the Murgh Tikka Masala (chicken tikka in onion tomato gravy with fenugreek) and the Mattar Paneer (an Indian classic - green peas and cottage cheese). Both were excellent and were flavored beautifully. Both were in a tomato sauce with the Mattar Paneer being slightly spicier. Looking forward to trying more things on their menu.

Located right by the Tenleytown metro, this is the perfect place to get your lunch buffet on! I was really craving Indian food for a while after reading Jhumpa Lahiri's books... and this place really lived up to all the standards that "The Namesake" set for me. We were immediately seated on a Saturday afternoon and encouraged to go to the buffet, which was honestly amazing. One table starts you off with appetizers (and excuse me if I don't know the proper names for these dishes, it doesn't mean that I love them any less!) - puffed rice and chips with an assortment of toppings like fresh mangoes, onions, tomatoes, etc. There was also a large plate of salad for vegetarians. And of course, they had chicken tikka masala - which was delicious, whole chicken with a flavorful sauce. They also had what I believe is ground lamb with chickpeas... and gosh, that was also very good. And for my vegetarians - string beans and squash. The rice was also well cooked, not too dry but paired perfectly with the dishes offered. There is a huge variety, which is great for everyone. They also had rice pudding for dessert, which I did not try, but I'm sure it was also great. Let's also not forget that each table gets a basket of naan, one of the best things ever. The only thing to make this better was the bathroom - DOUBLE toilets, in BOTH bathrooms. Strange arrangement, but still usable and fairly clean.

I celebrated my birthday this past week at Masala Art. The food was wonderful! We ordered several appetizers -all interesting and delicious. My Saag Paneer was very nice and we all loved our main courses. Comp bubbly with a small dessert was a great surprise! The service was perfect. Thanks for such a nice birthday dinner,Masala Art.

Unlike my visit to their location in Southwest last summer, I can say that my food here was delicious, very well-cooked, and the spices really were an artful blend of flavors. Service was also excellent and attentive. The atmosphere of the restaurant leaves me to knock off a star though, as it's just not quite ideal. Every table is just a little less than desirable it seems... the ones up front by the door were blasted with cold air every time someone entered or left, the ones in the middle on the right have a parade of people going to and from the bathroom, and the ones like ours on the back left, have a lot of people coming by to pick up takeout orders. Redoing the space to make up for these shortcomings would be a major undertaking however, so it's a good thing they have really tasty food so I wouldn't hesitate to come back when I'm up in the area.

I ordered Murg Makhani and Nan. I really enjoy my experience here, I was the first customer for a delicious lunch. My server was Himanshu K, who understood what I wanted, due I'm not a indie cuisine expert. It was great! Very clean and organized.

Great food and service. Their lunch buffet is really yummy. Changes daily, but the chicken tika massala is frequently available, and always good. One of my favorite spots

We ordered the aloo chaat to start, which was surprisingly spicy but very delicious! The mango lassi was perfection too, highly recommend. Then we ordered butter naan, chicken karahi and a bainghan (eggplant) dish with a creamy peanut sauce. the karahi and naan were outstanding, but the bhaingan dish was... really terrible. But overall, it was great, attentive service and a wonderful spot for brunch!

A couple whose toddler I babysat for a few weeks ago went to the waterfront location and raved about Masala Art. Like me, they've had difficulty finding excellent Indian restaurants. My guy and I came here for dinner yesterday. We shared a strawberry daiquiri which was sweet but had a bit too much ice for our taste. I had the veggie biryani and he had the lamb vindaloo. The biryani had the right amount of flavor without being overly spicy or greasy. It also came with a tasty yogurt sauce. He liked the vindaloo but said the sauce was very spicy. We also shared an order of naan. We shared the bread pudding and agreed it was amazing. Service was also excellent. Everyone we encountered was very friendly. Between Masala Art and Taj of India, I now have two excellent Indian restaurants on my list. And good indian food is difficult to find so thank you MA for a great meal!

This review is only for those who are in search of really good Indian food in terms of taste and it's richness. I have been coming to this place since its beginning or when Mr. Atul used to manage this place personally. They used to have best Dal Makhani and Murgh Makhani in DC but now it taste totally different and sometimes tasteless. They have increased the price of their food but didn't catch up with the taste. Now, this place is completely overpriced. I think because of the change in the management or Mr Atul decided to focus on their second branch this place is not good as it used to be. My advice is better go for other place if you don't want to pay for overpriced food and get disappointment in the taste

Very good Indian food and really well priced, the desserts are superior and unique if you ask me and the Nan with Salt is an absolute must. I found the waiter (forgot his name) to be very helpful and they all bend over backwards to make sure you are satisfied. There are some 'starters' which should not be missed, including an eggplant dish. For adventurous folks try the lamb vindaloo but be warned it can be hot.

-Lunch buffet review- For $9.50, you get pretty decent indian food at Masala Art. I've been to India many times so I'm familiar with all different cuisine and I was pretty impressed by flavorful dishes at Masala Art. Lunch buffet included one chicken curry dish and lamb dish and a couple of vegetarian dishes. All were surprisingly well seasoned and balanced. Not for the variety but for the flavor, Masala Art gets two thumbs up from me! PS: Naan was great!! Save some room for it.

Just tried Masala Art. Right away they offered us half-price bottles of wine, which was a nice way to say hello. Appetizers: The dahi papri and Pani Puri were delicious, but the Chicken 65 a little disappointing (not a fan of the wet version of the dish). But it was the pani puri that took the cake, I especially liked the presentation. Main course: The owner highly-recommended the gaulati kebab, which was as tender as promised but slightly bland for my taste. I preferred the daal makhni and seekh kebab, which were both delicious. My date loved the bindi and we both thought the breads were excellent. Definitely worth a return trip.