Woodlands Restaurant Pure Vegetarian Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

Wow. What an amazing surprise.

I had in recent months noticed with surprise that this new Indian restaurant had opened in my area and i had even looked at the menu online a couple of times and found it very interesting.

I'm also a trained Chef, so I don't give outstanding reviews easily.... but this was truly a great experience.

My wife and myself needed to find a good dinner after a long day and we didn't want to have to cook this evening due to a long workday I had coming the next morning....

I've loved good Indian food for many years and have been to some truly great places from Baltimore to DC, and Germantown to Frederick, and this was simply one of the best I have ever experienced.

It's a 100% vegetarian menu which is a challenge for my wife whose tastes are often very traditional meat-heavy American types of foods, but having cooked in several different cultures' foods and studied health and nutrition and cultural food histories over time this was just far beyond any expectations that either of us had.

The atmosphere is modern and brightly colored but also very warm. The windows face west and I found it quite magical as the sun set thru the clouds on this particular evening...

The staff were friendly and helpful and very patient in answering any questions we had about the menu... it's not the more typically Northern Indian types of food, and the menu is actually huge for a vegetarian selection.

You won't find mulligatawny soup here, but my gosh, if I didn't have one of the most masterfully flavored and richly fresh mixed vegetable soups I have ever had in a restaurant setting.... a level of subtle spicing and crispness of vegetables that took me back 40 years when I was younger and immersing myself in other cultures' foods.

The most amazing vegetable samosas I think we have ever found anyplace, came stuffed fat and screaming hot within minutes of our ordering.

The tamarind and green chutneys and raita were perfectly seasoned and just crystal fresh tasting. The lime pickle was so deep in flavor it literally flew my whole sense of taste to a different age and place in the world.

The entire rest of the meal was no less magical and as the sun set the atmosphere just became amazingly warm and cozy with their contrast of traditional and modern decor..

..the spicy vegetable Jalfrezi was amazing and perfectly spiced.

The Gobi paratha bread was hot and freshly made as it gets...the palak paneer was just as subtly and amazingly spiced in such a way that it just transported our taste sense to a different time and place.

Cannot say enough good about this unexpected gem of a new culinary/cultural adventure we had this night, except that we cannot wait to go back to explore much more of their amazing menu, and happily patronize their new local business.

It was truly exceptional and it takes real love to produce that kind of food and takes real guts to open any 100% vegetarian restaurant here in this culture, especially one this...

We recently decided to indulge in some South Indian cuisine and opted for Woodlands, drawn by its high ratings.

We arrived around 6 pm and found the ambiance pleasant, with the restaurant not too crowded. We were seated at a central table and assumed it was BYOB, as is typical with many Indian restaurants. However, Woodlands occupies a middle ground, offering beer and wine but no BYOB or hard liquor like whiskey or rum. I ordered a Heineken, while my sister enjoyed buttermilk, my son had a Coke, and my wife opted for water, no ice.

A standout feature was their accommodation of my wife’s Swaminarayan diet (no onion, no garlic). The staff was more than happy to tailor any dish accordingly.

For appetizers, we ordered Mix Bhajjias (no onion, no garlic), Onion Bhajjias, and Paalak Chaat. The Onion Bhajjias were perfectly crispy, and the Paalak Chaat was a delightful hit, especially with my sister – it was crunchy and full of flavor. The Mix Bhajjias, though filling, were also quite good. Lakshman, who delivered the appetizers, was friendly and pleasant throughout.

Theresa, our waitress, seemed a bit confused when I asked about whiskey and brought over Sharof, a senior staff member, who politely explained their alcohol policy—beer and wine only, no outside alcohol allowed. His professionalism and assurance regarding the Swaminarayan diet options made us feel very comfortable.

While the food was excellent, the service had some delays. It took quite a while for my Heineken to arrive, even after reminding the staff three times in twenty minutes.

For the main course, I ordered Onion and Peas Oothappam, my sister went with Puri-Bhaaji, my son had the Paneer Dosa, and my wife ordered the Swaminarayan Butter Masala Dosa. The Puri-Bhaaji was fantastic, with fluffy puris and flavorful bhaaji. My son's Paneer Dosa was creatively filled with paneer bhurji, which added a nice twist to the classic dish. Unfortunately, my Oothappam came with tomatoes instead of onions, though the staff promptly corrected the mistake. However, by the time my dish arrived, the rest of the group had already finished their meals, which was a bit frustrating.

Additionally, I asked for sugar with my dosa and had to make multiple requests before it finally arrived, which contributed to my decision to give a 4-star rating instead of 5.

Overall, the food was exceptional, and the staff was warm and accommodating, but the service could use some fine-tuning. I still highly recommend Woodlands for a satisfying South...

This is an old favorite for Indian vegetarian foodies that used to be based out of the Silver Spring area. The shopping complex they were located in was repurposed and they closed down. For a while they tried being a delivery only restaurant with no physical location, but that did not work out well. Last week they opened up in Gaithersburg, much to the delight of their previous patrons.

We went to check them out and thankfully were not disappointed at all. The restaurant is tastefully decorated with a collage of traditional Indian silk sarees (which appeared to be Kacheepuram style to my inexperienced eyes).

As soon as we entered we were greeted and seated in a matter of minutes though the restaurant was almost full. There seemed to be no allocated waiters to tables so we simply flagged down someone (who actually turned out to be the manager). He graciously took our order and gave it a waiter. The dishes started arriving within a few minutes.

We are somewhat of connoisseurs of South Indian food (which is the specialty of this restaurant) and were not disappointed. The dosa, uttapam, vada we’re all tastefully made in genuine South Indian style. I was a bit surprised to see that they charged $2 for sambar refills (they are typically free). But the quantities were ample and the food tasty. We asked one of the waiters to modify a dish (make it without onion and garlic) for us. Despite the crowd and busy cooks he agreed and turned the dish around within 10 mins.

All in all we were quite satisfied and happy with the experience.

Update (November 20, 2022)

Went there for a very late dinner (just 15 minutes before their closing time). The waiters greeted us with a smile and brushed aside our apology for showing up late. There was only one other table occupied and they left almost as soon as we came in. So we were the only patrons in the restaurant, by now past their closing time and we had a leisurely, customized dinner with absolutely no pressure from waiters who were patiently waiting for us be done. They even gave us a complimentary dessert (it was our 30th wedding anniversary), generous second helpings and took several of our pics (by wife is quite exacting about them). Wonderful food run by even more wonderful people. It was a real pleasure!

Highly...