Rizwan B.
Yelp
Celebrations are always special when it comes to birthdays or anniversaries. We are celebrating one such occasion today and chose to visit Spice Village in Herndon, Va. It will be criminal of me if I don't write an elaborated experience. (For folks who doesn't like long reviews please skip to last paragraph).
I once wrote, I put restaurants in two categories, one which takes you back to flavors that you've craved for years and the others who create their own unique flavors for you to visit them again. Spice Village is the one where you will visit them again and again for their unique flavor.
We called ahead for reservation and requested and we're assured a spot far from everyone to avoid crowd near us due to pandemic. The entrance has two signature piece of art, a small fountain and a frame where a man is capturing a black leopard, which gave me nice feel, like today I will conquer my food. As we walked inside the restaurant, we got this open and aesthetic feel of modern mixed with contemporary. A statue of horse on its two hind legs on the right and a beautiful mirror on the left along the glass wall. It definitely got me in the celebratory mood once again. We were greeted and walk past the lush looking seating arrangements at one of the corners. The sitting booth didn't have regular chairs but luxurious arrangement like how you would find in a lounge and every table had sanitizers.
The wait staff handed us beautifully designed menu, whose cover page was made out of wood like material. The owner stopped by at our table and explain us that they currently opened two out of four concept menus. We could order anything from Peri Peri and steak sections, while Shinwari and Chinese menu will be available in a few weeks. We ordered ourselves some drinks, which included Pina Colada, Oreos Milkshake, Mango Lassi and sweet Lassi, while we continued to explore the menu.
The wait staff got our drinks along with complimentary chicken corn soup to our table. In the mean time we decided on what we would get and ordered Fillet Mignon, New York Strip, Ribeye Steak (we like our steaks Medium Well), Mushroom Chicken, Peri Peri Chicken, fried chicken wings, along with sides of Mash-potatoes, Asparagus, French fries, garlic Bread and onion rings.
I added spicy red sauce and vinegar with green pepper in my chicken corn soup, and had a sip and loved it at first slurp. The first sip of Pina Colada was perfect, juice at the end, crushed iced in the middle and whipped cream on the top, with perfect blend of coconut and pineapple.
By the time we were done with our soups, steaks came out. Since BK Grill closed, we've never had steak at a place owned by Pakistanis and were curious. The steak knife cut right thru and I had that first bite. OMG. The steak was perfectly done and was seasoned to perfection and melted right in my mouth. I got their house sauce and mushroom sauce and both were delicious. Definitely the chef knew exactly what they were doing. Friend chicken wings, onion rings, and garlic bread were all flavorful as well. My dad, who is not a fan of American food, loved the mushroom chicken he got. The chicken was grilled to perfection and was moist and juicy. My wife and mom enjoyed their fillet mignon while my older son finished his ribeye in no time. Every steak was grilled to perfection. My younger son made sure he finished his mild peri peri chicken.
The wait staff ensured that we were taken good care of. Once we were done with our dinner, two of the owners stopped by at table to see how our "experience" was. We had nothing but praise for the entire experience.
The Spice Village is the next level restaurant. The food, the ambience and service, everything was amazing. I would definitely visit them again and soon. I can't wait for Shinwari and Mandarin to open up there. The owners know what they are serving and knows their speciality. They are not experimenting or learning on job. Spice Village will not only give good competition to Desi restaurants but most of the American restaurants. Keep it up guys.