Royal Tandoor Indian Restaurant: Fine Indian Cuisine & Bar — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

I am changing to 3 star. Despite being very high price point, excellent service, they missed 2 points:

Not providing healthy and environment friendly to go boxes which is common nowadays despite being high price. I was promised by owner that they will do it. But has not been the case.

They provide sweet as free. I love that. But if I ask replace naan with rice, they don't do. Again, this might not be an issue if prices of curries and other food are not 20-25% higher than other restaurants.

I will still keep going but wanted to share 2 concerns.

• My past experience with 5 star rating * Why am I giving 5 star?

My son and we had a dinner at this restaurant recently. We often come here and we love food, we love service and atmosphere.

When we came recently I asked my 9 year old son Krish - “what would you rate?” Krish: 4.5. Me: How can they improve” Krish: Not sure. (After few seconds he changed his mind) Krish said: 5. Me: Why? Krish: Because I realized they have a lollipop. (He went to grab lollipop. Krish asked: what would you give? Me: 4.8. Krish: what they can improve? Me: I called the owner and said - I would love to have you use foam / paper cup instead of plastic for 2 reasons - #1 - It is not healthy to have hot food in plastic container and #2 - environment reason.

Owner immediately called his sister-in-law (saali) ask if such cups will hold liquid curry. His saali was smart and said yes and saw him picture. He said - let’s order them.

Exceptional service, go extra mile - always give free sweet - gulabjamun. If little wait time longer, they give samosa or something on the house.

One more thing - this is out of blue. They have king style sofa. When my son jumped on their big lavish sofa, owner Shaw I was asking him to sit down.

Instead of scolding my son or asking him to sit down, he said - “Enjoy”.

Of course my son made sure he didn’t have shoes on it and he kept enjoying.

No wonder they have...

Today, Brendan and I got the opportunity to check out Royal Tandoor for their Royal Lunch, which is served Thali style, Monday through Friday 11:30am to 2:30pm. They have four variations: Veg Set Lunch, Non Veg Set Lunch, Tandoori Set Lunch, and Seafood Set Lunch. All sets were reasonably priced ($12-15 depending on protein) and are served with Samosa, Lentils of the Day, Vegetable of the Day, Salad, Naan, Basmati Rice, Raitha, and Dessert of the Day.

The Lentils of the Day was Chana Masala (savory indian chickpeas). The Vegetable of the Day was Matar Mushroom (mushroom and pea curry). The Salad was Kachumber (cucumber and tomato salad). The Dessert of the Day was mini Gulab Jamun (syrup soaked donutholes).

The service was excellent. Thanks, Jenny!

Besides water, I enjoyed a Mango Lassi, which consisted of a clear pineapple shaped glass with streaks of maraschino syrup and mango lassi and garnished with a maraschino cherry on a plastic sword. It was mango-y and refreshing. It wasn't too thick or runny. It had a nice balance of yogurt, milk, mango puree, and spices.

Brendan enjoyed the Tandoori Set Lunch with Tandoori Chicken, which consisted of chicken thigh and drumsticks marinated with yogurt and spices and roasted in a Tandoori oven.

I enjoyed the Non Veg Set Lunch with Royal Butter Chicken, which consisted of boneless chicken in a creamy, buttery, and nutty tomato sauce, and Goat Curry, which consisted of tender cuts of goat in a mildly spicy curry sauce. I finished my meal with a Masala Tea.

I can't wait to return with colleagues and friends for dinner service to try their cocktails, street food, chef's creations, ginger rosemary lamb chops, mahi mahi tikka, salmon tikka, malai chicken tikka, methi chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, chicken korma, saag paneer, garlic naan, and...

I had been eagerly looking forward to trying out this new Indian restaurant located right between Downtown Crown and the Kentlands. It doesn't look like much from the outside, blending in with the surrounding retail on the strip, but when you step inside you are immediately transported to a swanky fine dining experience. Sahit was our server and he provided an overall great experience. Sahit was very attentive to our tables needs and ensured everyone got their food timely and correctly along with keeping our drinks topped off.

The food was delicious. I was pleasantly surprised with the Royal Raj Kachori with it's complex flavors. The Royal Kabob Platter allowed us to sample the tandoori creations and everything was flavorful and juicy. The Royal Lamb Curry had really great flavor but could have benefited from a bit more heat. The Tandoori Lobster Masala was a great value for the amount of lobster you get, and it tasted as good as the description sounded.

And finally, the Goatini was a treat. It was a coconut flavored cocktail that wasn't overly sweet and I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. Overall, I can't wait to return and try more food and also check out the whiskey bar. The owner, chef, and staff were all amazing. Special shout out to Sahit for making us feel welcome and the...