5 Tara Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Leesburg

I was going to just leave it at a one off or bad experience but the owner asked for what was wrong. First, service- we arrived a bit later to our party and nobody stopped by the table for about 15 minutes. I actually assumed the rest of the table had already ordered and were waiting for their food. Nope, just nobody stopped by. I didn't realize the foreshadowing that was occuring. But the tabe did eventually order order.

When our entrees came out I asked for my order of pickled vegetables. The waitress told me there was pickled vegetables served with one of the appetizers so I wouldn't be getting it fresh? I'm not joking, and that 30 minute old bowl was gone.

Then we actually got free dessert, which is why I just put 3 stars and blank review initially. BUT the dessert took awhile, meanwhile nobody bussed our table, so I'm stuck waiting to be served dessert on top of my dirty entree plate-tea or coffee? Not offered (but mostly because we didn't see anyone)

Then another 20 minutes went by and our waitress passed by our table like a ship in the night. They offered separate checks and we said ok. She began to double check our order of pita and asked what we had, I accidentally started with our entree, she actually got attitude and snappily said 'I'm only asking about the pita.' (I blame management by the way not our waitress, I think she was 16ish? And the only one in half the dining room)

Then there was a mix up with checks (again) where she gave us the wrong one/swapped with the other end of the table. Again, completely cool UNTIL she just crumples it up and huffs about it.

Finally, we get the right check.

Guess how long it took to pay? At least another 15 minutes until I discovered there is a qr code in my receipt. Cool, paid online. As we are standing up to leave guess who appears our waitress to tell me that my card didn't go through online. I say uhh ok, here's my receipt but let's go to the p.o.s. and take care of it. Turns out mine went through fine- completely honest mistake made when you are understaffed and have to manage 15 tables with no busser and minimal support. (Again not blaming the waitress) Finally, after arriving at 5:15, we were out the door at 9:15 having only managed to order an entree, a side, and a glass of wine. No coffee, no additional glass of wine. Lots of missed sales opportunity with us, we would have liked to have spent more and tried more things Just a below average dining experience, the food was delicious though! You need a busser to fill waters and pick up plates I added a photo since you guys asked for a review

I'd also consider a class, (for when you are there) for instance I was constantly rearranging myself, my water glass is on the right, why would you reach across me from the left? I wasn't near a wall or an inconvenient spot but at least the manager has a nice cologne combo.

Use seat numbers for checks and serving.

If you staff for low business and then are taken by surprise on a Friday...how many other people (including us)...

Some of the most authentic and flavorful dishes I've had in a while. My family I have been going to this restaurant for years now and I don't think I've been served something that wasn't immediately my new favorite. There's a massive selection of flavors (especially among the vegetarian dishes, which are my personal favorite), so repeated visits never get boring, but each dish is so well-designed and professionally made that I feel like I could happily have it every day for the rest of my life. The environment of the place is very intentional and professional, with homely orange lighting complimenting the pretty interior design and fancy seating arrangements (clean and pretty-looking chairs and booths around large tables with a paper covering which is replaced every time a customer visits). The service is extremely attentive and accommodating, with servers regularly checking in with a professional attitude as is typical of professional locations such as this, but servers also go above and beyond. Our regular waitress Sonia has recommended us dishes on several occasions now, and all of them we've loved even more than our own menu selections and usual meals. Recently, she sold us on two types of na'an to have instead of plain, which were so flavorful they felt like meals of their own (we actually got one of them, Kashmiri na'an, on our next visit as a shared side for the table!). Another time, she actually recommended me a dish when she noticed I was having trouble deciding on an order, which turned out so wonderful I also got it twice. When we visited today, she even noticed how cold me and my family were and offered us all a very homely-tasting chai tea. The general atmosphere of service at 5-tara is so friendly and welcoming that it's almost energizing just to interact with the staff. This restaurant has spicy, mild, meaty, vegetarian, big, small, sweet, tangy, it doesn't matter. All of it, however, is authentic and beautifully flavorful Indian cuisine with very obvious care and effort put into developing and preparing the recipes. I genuinely cannot think of a time that I did not leave this restaurant with a smile on my face. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you try this restaurant...

Don't be fooled -- go elsewhere.

TL;DR version: meh meats and veggies in syrupy sauces reminiscent of Americanized Chinese food from strip mall carry out. And WAYYYY overpriced.

Here's the TL version:

Do you know how you win "Loudoun's Best?" By hounding your customers to vote incessantly for you over a small time frame. These votes having nothing to do with food quality.

About that food quality: low average. And with these prices, it's comically unfair.

To be clear: our family LOVES Indian food. We also work hard for our money, and don't have a disposable income. That said, if we're paying $20 a plate for carry-out, we'd better receive tod dollar.

Now, we have our favorite Indian go-tos. Of course, those other places are incredibly genuine (customers, spice level, authentic dishes -- not Americanized). And those other places? Not cheap, but very fair pricing (especially for portion sizes) and great buffet options.

So, we thought we'd try something new, right?

Big mistake.

All dishes had little to no spice -- strike one. Customers didn't seem to mind this at all -- strike two. And portion sizes never matched what we paid -- you're out!

And the sauces? I mean, they put their money into their butter chicken (which if you know anything about authentic Indian food means they're not cooking for family). Admittedly, that was good. Everything else? Hefty portions of gloppy, syrupy sauces overpowering everything in the dish. And the sauces tasted like what you'd find on the shelves at Harris Teeter; not at all worth going out to eat for.

Final verdict: if you care about good food, if you get EXCITED about good food, and if you love spending your hard-earned money on a quality...