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Categories: Indian, Pakistani, Vegetarian
8046 New Hampshire AvenueThe way I see it, there are two woodlands. the restaurant that serves insanely good buffets and the restaurant that serves dinners that are decent but nothing to get yourself rolled up in a Gulab Jamun about.
The buffet is incredible. I usually go on Sundays and I recommend going before the lunch time rush.
I always tell people that Indian food is far more diverse that "curries" and Woodlands is one of the best places to experience that. They have a separate table for pani puri, a table for bhel puri, amazing pakoras, great idli sambar, and super sweet (and tasty) ras malai. their dosas suck but who really eats a dosa at a buffet?
I love their chai but I think their Mysore Coffee needs some work. Service is not the best but its a buffet so you are kinda your own server.
be sure to try all of their breads, esp their puris which are great. I highly recommend it.
The best Indian food I've had on US soil. Seriously.
Woodlands is so good that I barely have words for it. If actions speak louder, suffice it to say that this is the only DC restaurant where I consider myself a regular. I come nearly once a week to share a South Indian Thali with my boyfriend. It's a substantial amount of food, pure vegetarian, and only about $15 for both of us to eat dinner.
For an even better experience, check out the Indian grocery that's adjacent to the restaurant. You'll walk through a long hallway to the right of Woodlands and come to a small store packed with all kinds of spices, staples, and treats that you can't find elsewhere.
What can possibly de-grouch two very grouchy folks after they've spent five hours in the car? On a trip that was supposed to take two hours? When they are sunburned? Woodlands, that's what!
Post-unbearable Labor Day traffic coming back from Rehoboth, we showed up very late to a friend's birthday still wearing our bathing suits and our traffic frowns. Welp, it took about two bites of samosa before we were all smiles--those things were seriously delicious, and only the start of a great birthday feast! I ordered the vegetable korma, my usual staple, and it was delicious. Not quite as good as the korma at Fusion (not as much sauce), but certainly worth ordering. I also sampled the mutter paneer (so good, a very unique flavor compared to others I've tried) and the dal makhani (mmm), but what I was really scoping out was the variety of dosai. Each was presented differently, but they all looked absolutely fantastic. Sadly I didn't get to taste them, as I had also ordered poori and was already in need of a stretcher to roll me on home (the poori was amazing, but I don't even want to think about the amount of butter that went into it).
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I also ordered the gulab jamoon for dessert... It was too rich for me to have more than a bite, though I'm not sure if that was the fault of the cook or the gluttony that preceded my attempt to eat it.
One thing that was sad was that they don't have a liquor license, and understandably all David wanted after our ridiculous day 'o driving was a cold beer. Though after a few bites of the food here, it's pretty hard to feel unsatisfied. They were very good about keeping our water glasses full and checking up on us. Definitely a great spot.
For the best pure veggie Indian buffet... no need to look elsewhere. Weekend lunch is best time to dine. Each selection is distinguishably seasoned & memorable to the discrete palate.
Woodlands was recommended to me by a co-worker who is married to an Indian woman. I have been there three or four times with a couple of different people who are vegetarian, as well as my daughter.
Even though I'm not a vegetarian and my daughter doesn't like food that's too spicy, everyone has always enjoyed our meals there - athough I can't remember any specific dish that stood out (the sag paneer maybe?).
The service seemed fine to me, especially since it can be really awful in Indian restaurants. The decor is ascetic, the location is a strip mall. As for the neighborhood being "too scary," I guess that might be true if you never venture outside your gated community.
Bottom line - if you are a vegetarian who likes Indian food, go. If you like Indian food and you are with a vegetarian, go. If you live in a gated community, stay home and heat up a hot pocket in the microwave.
We've only gone for the weekend buffet, which compares well with the best restaurants we've gone to.
Probably the best vege indian food I've had in this area. When 90% of the customers are Indian, you know it has to be pretty decent. And, it is!
Not much money was invested in the decor. But who cares, it's a cheap eats anyway. Priority is on the food!
This is THE BEST indian food in the area. It is head and shoulders above Heritage. I am not a vegetarian (oh, btw, Woodlands is vegetarian) but this place is sooo deelish if you are are a complete carnivore i really dont think you would even THINK about the fact that they have no meat.
The best deal around is their lunch buffett - 10.95 + tax for all you can eat BEST BUFFET EVER! I wish they had this for dinner - but luckily they even serve the lunch buffet on the weekends!
The only bad thing about this place is where it is - I live in the city and driving out there is hooooorible. If this place were in the city I would go all the time.
Best thing I've had so far is the roti - basically big crepes filled with potatoes, onions, etc. I've also had many delcious things on the buffett and I would name them but I have no idea what they were called. Just go to the restaurant and try everything for yourself - I am certain there is not a bad thing on the menu.
Outstanding vegetable korma (spiced yellow curry and cream sauce). I prefer the pongal avial at Udupi (it is a matter of taste - the pongal at Udupi has more cashew crunch) and prefer the curry here.
Try out their buffet.
I love Woodlands! Lunch buffet everyday, but the best on Saturday! Dosas, pav bhaji, and all that good stuff. This place was recommended to me by my Indian co-worker and I've been addicted ever since. I daresay it's the best Indian food I've had thus far.
Enjoyable vegetarian Indian grub, however it wasn't as mind-blowing as the previous reviews make it out to be.
The selection for the lunch buffet is quite reasonable for a place that doesn't serve meat. I especially liked the idly here - although they weren't as puffy and round as I'm used to, the consistency was right on, and it made for a great chutney delivery device. At one point, a server came around with a tray of good-sized dosas, to which we each obtained one. Crispy, filled with spiced potatoes, and great for dipping, these dosas are worth coming back for.
I could have used refills of water more frequently. I think my glass of water was empty the majority of the time that we were here.
Curious yet as to why four stars given my lukewarm reaction to Woodlands? Lunch buffet for under $9 a person. Yes, that's right. I can stuff my figgity-fat face until I hurl for less than one Mr. Hamilton! And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
There's lots to like about this lunch buffet - plentiful portions, nice variety, and it's super reasonably priced. Even better still, you'll probably get a fresh dosa brought straight to your table by one of the staff members (they bring them around as soon as they come out of the kitchen.)
For vegetarians, I imagine Woodlands to be a paradise of sorts. There's no meat dodging here, everything's of the veggie variety.
In the end, though, while I enjoyed my lunch there was nothing that particularly excited me about it; no single dish that I could crave.
Really one of the best indian vegan restaurants, they have the ability to make vegetables taste absolutely amazing. I love the peanutty jalapeno, aloo gobi, the fritters and sambar. It's always packed on the weekend with Indian people - you know when that's good!
Pros: Good selection, fresh dosa, excellent sauces, authentic, not too spicy...
Cons: Not cheap, could be fresher, not too spicy...
Good Indian vegetarian buffet, but a little pricey ($9.50 after tax for a VEG lunch buffet). The dosa are fresh and the sauces (riata, taarind, pickle, etc) are homemade, delicious, and not watered down at all (thick, gloopy!). The saag paneer (no cream, authentic) and the dosa were my favorites.
The day i went (Thursday lunch), it seemed that some of the food had been out for a while. Admittedly, it's hard to tell with curries and rice, but the paratha had been sitting in the warming tray way too long and was closer to cardboard.
It was good, but I'm not rushing to go back. It just seemed a bit pricey for a strip-mall lunch in the middle of nowhere.
Two words: buffet lunch.
Superb all-you-can-eat veggie Indian buffet, with many rich and interesting choices. This isn't the kind of buffet where the food sits there festering for god-knows-how-long. At Woodlands, the staff provide a steady stream of new dishes. They have to, because the room is packed with ravenous multigenerational families. The other customers seemed nice, explaining what a couple dishes were, since I didn't recognize all the Indian names (My favorite was the shahi paneer, or soft mild cheese cubes in a nutty yellow curry).
The only downside is that it's so busy, you might feel rushed. One family hovered near our table, not very subtly hinting that they'd appreciate it if we didn't loiter over dessert.
If your looking for standard "Indian food" this probably isn't your place. No Chicken Jalfrazzi or other standards. Firstly it is 100% veg and def. north Indian rather than southern. Not very spicy. I've always loved 'Indian food' and this different from what I was used to but it's VERY good.
Their lunch buffet is the BEST. Fresh food made with fresh ingredients and not expensive. Dinner is good too but if you aren't used to this type of Indian food it may be a little hard to know what to order.
My Punjabi relations introduced me to this place and I love it!
I'm over North Indian fare. Seriously, if I have to eat another mediocre chicken tikka masala and naan, I might die. Enter Woodlands. Oh, channa batura... how I love thee...along with gobi manchurian, puris, bindhi, sambhar, and potato bhaji. This food reminds me of summers in India visiting my grandma and aunties, whiling away the hours at various family friends' houses. My waistline thanks Woodlands for being a hike from Alexandria, so I can't indulge too often!
I eat out a lot and in many Indian restaurants. This is one of my favorites. The food is very spicy. There is such a large selection that I can't try everything on one visit. The place is usually packed and the kitchen keeps refilling all the serving dishes.
The price is low. Next store are a very inexpensive Indian food store, jewelry store and clothing (sari) store. The neighborhood is filled with all kinds of ethnic restaurants and stores.
The wait staff is excellent.
It is filled with Indian families. One of the enjoyable aspects of this restaurant is oogling all the babies and toddlers.
My rating for Woodlands is based on the food, which is very good, and consistently so. The service is also fine. Still, it's not my first choice for a lunch or evening meal, and I'll explain why. Whenever I am there with non-African American friends (I am talking white-to be specific)- the wait staff never ( and my white friends have noticed this as well) make eye contact with me-only them... Even when I am ordering..
I think it is a carryover from the good ( and still alive and well) old days of colonialism. At any rate, enjoy, fellow Yelpers. You won't see me
there.
The fella and I found ourselves up near those parts of MD and decided to try out Woodlands for dinner. We were very surprised at how great this place is. The food was delicious and the staff was very attentive and friendly, despite being near closing time. The prices were also great- not super cheap, but for the quality and amount of food it was well worth it.
I tried the Paneer Pakora (or Pakora Paneer) appetizer, which was wonderful. Deep fried paneer is a yummy gift to the world. We also tried the South Indian Thali (selection of multiple dishes) - don't be scared off by the $15 price. It's TONS of food and well worth it. Plus, if you can't decide on one dish, you get to try many. Two people are easily fed with an appetizer and the thali.
I haven't tried the buffet, but after the great dinner we had, Woodlands' lunch buffet is definitely on the short list of places I need to go soon. (As an aside, I totally disagree with the reviewer below who says $9 for a lunch buffet is high. In my opinion, that's a steal.)
My only complaint (and the only reason I'm not listing 5 stars) is that it's not easily accessible other than by car. Even biking would be tough - the roads seemed pretty busy.
This is the best vegetarian Indian food I have found in the DC area. We are regulars for the weekday lunch buffet. It is never too crowded and the food is always fresh. On holiday weekends it can get very crowded, but the food is even better.
I've been to this restaurant more times than I can count in the last 9 years, and it's excellent.
The service is wonderful, with friendly waitstaff who always keep your water glass refilled and ask if you need anything. We usually go for the buffet, but the staff is still very attentive.
The food is delicious. I'm South Indian myself so I have a discerning palate for what is good South Indian food, and Woodlands is clearly good South Indian food. It's like something my mother would make. The dosas are served piping hot and the chaat is excellent. I also like their gulab jamuns.
Definitely recommended.
I'm currently on a house-sitting gig in Takoma Park, and before they left, the house owners gave us the heads up on Woodlands. So glad they did--we just had a fabulous dinner.
To begin with, the menu is nearly overwhelming for a vegetarian. Accustomed to flipping to the back of the menu to find a short list of veg options, I was confronted with an entire menu of things I could eat. I settled on the palak makai, while Anna got the veggie korma. We ordered chapati to share.
My dish was fabulous, although a little hotter than the "mild" I had requested. Anna's korma was smooth and coconut-y. I hadn't had chapati before, so I'm not sure if this was a good rendition or not. In any case, I definitely liked it, especially the fact that it wasn't greasy like many other Indian breads.
Service was attentive and my water glass was kept full to the brim at all times. Prices are very reasonable. The surrounding area is a little sketch, but I doubt that even open gang warfare in the parking lot could keep me away from Woodlands. Quality eats, yo.
Fantastic all veg Indian cuisine. Great service and very affordable. The atmosphere is a little like a barn, but the decour is nice. Best Indian in the DC metro area. To bad it ain't near a metro stop.
Fantastic all veg Indian cuisine. Great service and very affordable. The atmosphere is a little… Read more »
Parking good- food well above average
The best Indian food I've found in the Silver Spring area. In an ugly strip mall off University Boulevard, though it's not too bad inside. Don't worry about the ambiance, it's worth it, and inexpensive too. Vegetarian, but with a lot more menu options than I've seen at other local Indian restaurants, including dosai and uthappam. Desserts may not be worth it (try the bakery in the same shopping center, across from Hancock Fabrics).
Yummy and inexpensive. Atmosphere not so great.
Caveat: I'm not Indian but.... I like the lunch buffet. Fresh and flavorful, there is variety. The dining room is vast, the chai is strong. What's not to like?
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