Virraaj

Love all of the following: - salt lassi (nicely spiced, tangy, salty, delicious!) - palak chaat (very crispy flash fried spinach with crispy batter, tangy and spicy chutney, yoghurt, and pomegranate seeds) - black lentil and chickpea stew - creamy corn and spinach - lemony lentil soup (my daughter devoured it all)

I was so excited to try Virraaj after one of my friends recommended it. The server was really friendly, the restaurant decor had an upscale feel, and we were able to order our items fairly quickly since we were the only people in the restaurant. It took about 45 minutes for any of the food to come, but the servers came and apologized for the delay, stating that there was an "error in communication." We said no problem at all and really enjoyed the food.The food was very good. We ordered the vegetable samosas, saag paneer, lachha parantha, and onion kulcha. One of the best saag paneers I've ever had, and I also really loved the lachha parantha which was so flavorful. The vegetable samosas had the right balance of spice. The onion kulcha could have used a bit more flavor despite the abundance of onion. I also loved the Farzi butter chicken and highly recommend this for my vegetarian friends.

Located in Bethesda, Virraaj was a cozy Indian dining restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. We ordered paneer makhani, samosa chaat, tandoori gobi, and garlic naan. The paneer dish and samosa chaat were great!! We enjoyed it and though we had originally thought the portion sizes would be too small, they ended up being the perfect size for our group. That being said, we wished we hadn't ordered the gobi as it came out a little less flavorful and we had high expectations given the other dishes were so great. Despite that one dish I would still recommend and will likely come back!

Wow we just found our new favorite Indian spot! Having experienced run of the mill Indian to Michelin tier (Rania) Virraaj is the perfect in between. They serve traditional Indian dishes but also specialty things not found on your normal Indian menu. For example, they had a wide variety of goat curries (DELICIOUS tastes like an earthier beef!) and fun chaat amuse bouches (don't remember the name exactly but dang they were flavor bombs). Our favorite things were the butter chicken, goat curry, and the chefs special paneer dish. I wouldn't recommend their alcoholic drinks, most are way too sweet. Also, I've had better naan. But their curries and appetizers are so on point it doesn't even matter, I'll be dreaming about the other dishes until we come back!

After working us in without reservations, the service was amazing! My date is Indian-Pakistani so she requested extra x10^4 spicy food and it was... me being a simple white boy had "Indian hot" and it was perfect. We both had Lamb dishes. She also ordered spicy Naan and Daal tadka for the table. Portions are perfect for leftovers. Great value. To say that this place was packed with culture and great food is just not sufficient. Highly recommend getting reservations and would come back.

Excellent cocktails, authentic and fresh Indian food, nice decor, good service, welcoming, and very hospitable.

We recently tried Viraaj Indian cuisine in Bethesda and the food, the ambience and the service was all first class. From the quantity to the quality of food was amazing. You know a restaurant has got its act together when the appetizers are given so much attention. Indian street food is known around the world for its tangy and tasty appetizers and Viraaj has nailed it. We started with different type of appetizers, Aloo Pakora(Potato fritter) Dahi Bhalla, spinach Chat and Fish Pakoras. I have eaten at lots of Indian restaurants in the DC metro area and I have never had similar Aloo Pakora anywhere..they were crispy with right amount of seasoning. The Fish Pakoras were also so amazing that even my kids who are not fond of seafood enjoyed them. For the main dish, we ordered Delhi butter chicken, Ma Ki Dal, Chicken Biryani, Corn Saag and several different kinds of breads like, Parantha, Naan Bread, Makke ki Roti. For dessert, we had kulfi and gulaab jamun. Everything was so fresh and the quality was top notch. The DC metro area has many Indian restaurants but only handful are any good. It's great to see the passion of the owner and chef in every aspect of the experience at Viraaj and I am hoping Viraaj expands to other parts in the DC area. You know how when you want "Peri Peri Chicken" or Italian food, Nando's or Magianos comes to your mind? I wouldn't be surprised if when you want Indian food, Viraaj is the only one that you would think of. Try this restaurant and enjoy the best Indian food in this area.

Great food! Definitely a different vibe than what I'm used to but loved the flavors. Samosas were excellent and honestly, although the butter chicken wasn't the "classic [americanized]" flavor for me, it was tasty and worth getting again.

Not returning. Everything was entirely too spicy. My 2 year old threw up everything. We usually eat at Kadhai but decided to try something new. I told them no spice. Then the basmati rice, the one thing I was depending on my baby to eat, included a very harsh spice. Spent$60 and can't even eat it

The food was good. The restaurant was very unique and had very unique food and flavors. The service was excellent and the servers were very kind. The ambiance was very elegant. The food and drink presentation was very nice. For appetizers, I ordered the Chicken Tikka, Paneer Tikka, Punjabi Teekha Kabob, Palak Chaat, and Dahi Puri. The chicken tikka and punjabi teekha kabob didn't have a lot of flavor and the texture was different than other restaurants. The paneer tikka and dahi puri were good. The palak chaat was very good and had a great flavor. For the main dishes, I ordered the Lababdar Tawa Bindhi, Kofta Shaam Savera, and Maa Ki Dal. The dal was very creamy and had too much tomato, but it was still good. The bindhi had a very unique taste because it had green mango pieces in it. The kofta was an excellent dish that you don't find in other Indian restaurants. For drinks, I ordered Bombay Kala Khatta and Salty Lassi. I really enjoyed the taste of the Bombay Kala Khatta. The salty lassi was a little thick and tasted like raita. Overall, the food was okay, and the restaurant was very unique.