Clay Oven Restaurant — Restaurant in Frederick

For a wonderful dining experience complete with culinary delights featuring foods from India and Nepal, be sure to visit Clay Oven in Frederick, Maryland. We recently stopped in to grab lunch and see what had become of the eatery since a fire caused an interruption in business a few months ago. Much to our expectations based on prior visits, upon opening the door we were immediately bathed in the aromas reminiscent of the Indian subcontinent and typical of the Clay Oven’s tandoori specials. At lunchtime, diners are able to enjoy the spread available from the buffet. Of course, the menu is always a viable option when you visit. The buffet is a great choice, 7 days a week. For this visit we had our sights set on the buffet. Just like me and my preference for veggies, I found a generous selection on the buffet. This day on the buffet, the veggie dishes were Vegetable pakora, navratan korma, daal makhani, saag (spinach), vegetable chow mein, and zucchini masala. The non-veggie dishes were tandoori chicken, chicken curry, chicken tikka makhani, and beef curry. For starters we selected a fresh garden salad. We were sure to collect the condiments from the buffet line. These included tamarind sauce, cilantro sauce, spiced & chopped fresh red onions, and raita. Other staples that you might expect were present, so we helped ourselves to generous portions of basmati rice and naan. Diners may choose fruit salad or rice pudding to close out the buffet meal from the best Indian/Nepalese restaurant in Frederick County. For us, this place has the best lunch meal deal with a wide selection of freshly and kitchen-prepared items, that are delicious and tasty, and in an all-you-can-eat setting that offers sit down service with a friendly and...

This was by far the worst Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant I’ve ever dined at, and I have extensive experience with Indian cuisine both in the US and India. I don’t mean to be harsh, but the quality here is simply unacceptable.

We ordered chaat papri, lamb chops, and chicken tikka/makhani masala. The chaat papri was passable, but they initially forgot the sauce, which they brought out halfway through our meal (to their credit, they did apologize). However, the chicken tikka masala and lamb chops were a disaster—1/10 at best.

These newer Indian restaurants seem to prioritize speed and cost over authenticity. The food didn’t resemble genuine Indian cooking at all. For example, the chicken was clearly pre-boiled and then mixed with a pre-made sauce. Authentic Indian cuisine involves cooking the meat in the sauce, allowing the flavors to develop fully. You could tell by the bland, off-putting smell of the chicken. As for the lamb chops, they were tough and overloaded with spices, masking any flavor the meat might have had. The menu claimed they were "tandoori lamb chops," but they clearly came out of an oven, not a tandoor.

The food arrived shockingly fast—less than 7 minutes after we ordered. It's impossible to properly prepare lamb chops and chicken tikka masala in such a short time, and it showed in the taste and texture.

If you’re looking for authentic Indian food, I highly recommend going to Bethesda or DC instead. Restaurants like this do not represent real Indian cuisine and are disappointing, to...

So I needed to have something delivered and I could not choke down another Pizza, chinese or sub dinner!!! So i found this place delivered and decided since it was just me and my daughter, we would have a girls night, pretend trip to India dinner. I had Indian food only once before in my life and that was when a Friend from India, made Chicken Curry for me... that was the extent of my experiance. When I called, the gentleman who answered was very patient with my questions. I told him my daughter and I had very bland palets and couldn't tolerate anything too spicy. I asked him what he recommended for our unexperianced American taste, and he suggested the combo #2 and a side of chicken curry. My daughter and I layed down a blanket, wrapped scarfs around our shoulder, put on A.R. Rahman and set our dinner placement on the floor. When the delivery guy came, he was so nice! He taught my daughter how to say, "How are you?" and invited us to try the lunch buffet to experiance more Indian food. The meal was delicious and was a very different meal for us. We enjoyed our girls night "in India" and the staff at Clay oven were a big reason why, along with the amazing food. We will see you on Sunday for the buffet! Thank you for your kindeness! P.s. idk what the small container with the sweet purple sauce was, but WOW, make...