- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Teddy's Roti Shop
Rating Details »
7304 Georgia Avenue NW
(between N Fern Pl & N Geranium St)
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 882-6488
(between N Fern Pl & N Geranium St)
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 882-6488
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- None
16 reviews for Teddy's Roti Shop
Huge portions of delicious Trinidad food.
I liked chicken curry with buss up the best. Great vegetarian options as well.
Owners, Teddy and Delia are very friendly and cool.
Location is not swell but most people come here for take out.
Although it may sound like Teddy plies a trade like a candlemaker or blacksmith, I assure Teddy's Roti Shop is indeed a restaurant. And a very good one at that.
No, it's not much to look at. And yes, you need a car to get to this almost-Maryland spot on Georgia Avenue. But the Roti is yum, yum, yum,...so good.
For those that don't know, Roti is a flatbread similar to Naan, but softer and more pliable. It is found more in West Indian cooking, which is what Teddy's specializes in. Teddy is Trinidadian, but this Roti is very similar to what my Guyanese family also makes. In fact, for a potluck at my office two years ago, I brought my aunts roti and curry. Since I couldn't get out to her house the next year, I secretly replaced her roti and curry with some from Teddy's Roti Shop, and it was just as popular. This doesn't provide much context unless you've had my Aunt's cooking, but take my word for it, it is dee-licious.
Not having had a lot of Caribbean food in the past, I was excited to try Teddy's. The food has a definite Indian flair, but the ingredients are all Caribbean as far as I could tell.
Have the goat, it is delicious. The meat is tender and has a bite; much like correctly prepared lamb does.
Also, get one of the homemade drinks. I decided on the Pineapple Ginger drink, it was super sweet and full of ginger spice.
I enjoyed a delicious meal of Goat Bussup Shut and plantains and Teddy's. The goat was served stew style with stewing veggies (potatoes, etc.). You use your roti, bread type food, to scoop it into your mouth. The roti was a little greasy, but the stew part of the meal was far from it. The plantains were cooked perfectly, brown and caramelized, but not burned.
Enough food for 2 people I would say, for under $15 TOTAL. Also, the manager figure and the cooks were friendly and great to chat with. Definitely going to make this a regular spot.
This place is just about the perfect ethnic hole-in-the-wall: delicious, unusual, reasonably-priced food. The greatest downside is its distance from any metro stop.
The main decision you'll have is between the dhalpouri (a roti sandwich) and the Bussup Shut (curries with a thicker version of the roti on the side). They're both really good, but I think the latter is even better. Ask for pepper sauce on the side if you like it spicy. Also, try the very good fruit juices.
Roti is one of my favorite things, so I had to check this place out. Very generous portions. You can split some of the items with a friend, they are so large. Authentic food and beverages (like sorrel).
Very wide selection of roti, including the different skins. I got take out, so when I heated it up it had dried out more than I liked. Next time I will eat (at least part of it) at the shop for the true experience.
Does not accept credit cards which is a bit annoying since the meal will typically be $10-20.
***WARNING WARNING WARNING***
Beware of the effects of overeating at Teddy's Roti. Chance are high that you WILL overeat, and effects include overtiredness, distended belly, etc.
I visited Teddy's Roti this past weekend with two of my friends, and we seriously overate. Not having had breakfast on a Saturday, we decided to order WAAAAY more food than we needed. My omnivorous friend and I shared the goat buss-up shut and a goat roti, both of which were incredible. I'm no expert on Caribbean food, but this stuff was GOOD. Chickpeas and potatoes and goat wrapped in flat bread, or in the case of the buss-up shut, to be picked up with thin pieces of dough that are transparent. My vegetarian friend had a pumpkin roti which she said was also excellent. I would have tried it for myself, if I was not already overwhelmed by the amount of food we had.
I had the homemade passion fruit juice, while my friends went with the ginger pineapple. The juice quenched our thirst and went well with our greasy meals.
If you like spicy food at all, you must get hot sauce (and ask Teddy for extra!).
Why not a 5 then? Well, the food was quite greasy, and I felt sort of uncomfortably full until well into the evening ( I couldn't even eat dinner). I may have to blame myself for this, however, since I did choose to eat way more than I should have...Well, I guess I'll just have to give Teddy's another go, but this time, with more moderation.
I realize this is a strong statement, but I believe Teddy's has the best food I've had anywhere in the district. And even though it's a Trinidadian restaurant, it most definitely has the closest thing to great Indian food that I've tried in DC. It's a little hole in the wall carryout with a couple of tables inside and outside.
I'm not too familiar with Caribbean food, so when I ordered a dalpuri roti with goat, I wasn't sure how to eat it. I know dalpuri is a fried thing made of lentils, and I know roti means bread, but this gave me no indication of how to eat it. I decided it was probably like a dosa and that I should use the ample bread to pick up the goat curry and aloo bhortha filling. It was delicious. The goat curry was perfectly done, with minimal fat and maximum flavor. It wasn't too tough or chewy; it was just right. The dalpuri roti was amazing, much better than a dosa and less greasy.
I soon discovered that I was eating it incorrectly when the owner saw me from inside and ran outside to stop me from my mistake. He informed me that you eat it like a burrito and that it tastes better that way. He was right. So basically, it's a big, amazing burrito with a thick, chewy dalpuri roti for bread and potato curry and goat curry for filling. I don't think I could ask for more.
For sides, I got the aloo pie and doubles, but the goat roti was so big that I had to take the sides home with me. I also tried their homemade ginger pine drink, which complemented the food really well.
If you're lucky, you'll get a chance to talk to Teddy himself. Teddy is a Trinidadian immigrant of Indian descent, hence the amazing Caribbean/Indian food. He was like an uncle, and I mean that in the South Asian way, not in the regular way. He told me about the food and the story of his life. He asked me to tell him my life story. He asked me to rent the basement of his house. He made me feel bad for not having a boyfriend. He asked me how to correct the address of his business on Yelp and then asked me to do it for him. He showed me pictures of his family. After an hour of eating my roti and chatting with the owner of this fine establishment, I had to leave, but I will definitely be back. It's absolutely worth a special trip.
**Update** I went home and ate the doubles, even though I was still ridiculously full five hours after the roti. Doubles are AWESOME!!!! It's this amazing, thick dal curry thing sandwiched between two delicious, fluffy fried things. Get the doubles!
I found this place via Yelp. I bought a chicken wrap (roti) and a ginger drink. Both were good. My only problem was that the bill was $12.50 for the two take-out items which seems a little pricey for take-out fast food.
Great place! The guy, who I assume is Teddy, is very nice, helpful, and proud of his place. He happily offers recommendations and instructions on what to order, how to eat it, etc.
Got the chicken buss-up-shut. This is more than enough for two hungry people. Not knowing this, we got the beef dahlpourie. It's waiting to be eaten for lunch tomorrow! Both are savory, hearty and rich. I highly recommend the buss-up-shut. The fresh roti is unbelievably "buttery" (is it butter? Probably lard. But lard is oh so good!). The hot sauce served alongside is fresh and actually hot! I appreciate a truly hot hot sauce.
The pineapple ginger drink was refreshing. The passion fruit was delicious, but a bit too sweet for me. I've decided that you have to get some sort of fruit juice with the roti. The fresh, sweet juice perfectly cleanses the palate after the rich, spiced stews.
Can't wait to go back to try more menu items.
What is a roti, you might ask? Bigger (and tons more filling) than a Chipotle Burrito, it's a Trinidadian sandwich, a flat bread (much like the roti you might find in Indian cooking) filled with curry flavored potatoes, and amazingly spiced meat. I picked goat (always pick the goat). One roti, around $9 with tax, will easily get you through two meals. Make sure you have some paper napkins.
Also, get the Ginger pineapple homemade drink. You won't be sorry.
This is how Roti should be done. Hands down it is the best place to get authentic roti in DC. Anyone that says different is a hater. Its located in the upper upper section of Georgia Ave.....you will damn near be in silver spring thats how far up Georgia Ave. it is but it is SO worth the trip.
Do not let the rustic decor fool you this is straight Trinidadian cooking going on here. No frills. Its a carryout. Place your order and bounce. Don't forget to tip the cashier.
There should be WAY more traffic at this place. The roti here is simply amazing. I usually go for chicken or beef (I've heard the lamb is the best but I'm not a big fan of lamb).
Don't bother wasting your time with the patties, head straight for the roti or bussup shut. The curry in both the roti and bussup shut is the most flavorful I've found in DC.
The other reviewers who rave about the rotis are right. I had the beef roti and it was big and delicious. The fried plantains were also excellent.
The woman who helped us was very nice and walked us through the items on the menu that we weren't familiar with. I'm looking forward to coming back here.
I was looking to try some Trinidadian food after working on a Sunday, so I stopped by.
I was obviously confused so the man behind the counter helpful and asked me what I liked and for and for how many people and he said he'd hook me up. I took a seat and happily waited.
I ordered food for 4 and two are vegetarians so I got a container of chick peas, potatoes and pumpkin and another with potatoes, chick peas and goat. Along with that I had the cow's feet soup and a beef patty.
Now I never asked how much, which might have been a mistake since my bill was $50 pricey for the food and the place, I think that maybe I should've questioned the price but of course i didn't.
The patty was bad I've had much much better ones and the food overall was salty but good, nothing amazing but we were all satisfied.
So you might be wondering why such a bad review, well EVERYONE in my family got food poisoning. I don't know what was bad but it had to do with the veggies or maybe roti since the non meat eaters got sick as well.
Beware you just might be the next to get sick!!!
Great place, the people working here are always the best part. Some day's teddi is there, sometimes it's his wife, either way they'll help you pick out something good.
Their home made juices are the real prize here. Great selection of juices and wraps, and they are guaranteed to fill you up.
Their specialty is the Bussup shut (meaning: busted up shirt, so I've been told). Basically a bunch of the roti wrapper and some of the filling and you just eat the filling Ethiopian style with the ripped pieces of wrapper.
It's mostly a pick up place, though the have tables there. Either way you better come here and try it out!
Definitely recommend this friendly little inexpensive hole-in-the-wall. I had never had Trinidadean food before, and was impressed. The curries were flavorful, and you'll long for the dalpuris next time you find yourself eating an unsatisfying "wrap" at Cosi.
