Al-Madina Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

As a place to take your kids if you are just passing through, this place is fine. The atmosphere is nice, and the buffet is preferable to the other places at this exit. My child is happy with the place. And you can always park in the motel parking lot if the spaces in front of the restaurant are full. The biriyani is fairly tasty. If you mainly want some sort of cooked meat, this place is good with moderate prices. I like the place and I wish it good fortune.

My reviewer score of 1 is meant to compare to other Indian Restaurants. Here it fails in two ways: First, the food is not prepared the way an Indian restaurant would prepare food under the same name. And second, most of what they serve is unhealthy compared to an Indian Restaurant.

Health: I go to Indian Restaurants because I want a meal that is as healthy as what I make at home, which rules out most restaurants but not Indian Restaurants. Whole wheat breads are healhy, so you can get roti or paratha--but this restaurant no longer carries roti (though as of today the online menu has it.) White rice is unhealthy, but the basmati rice at Indian restaurants is ok--but this place serves plain white rice that you expect to find at a Chinese restaurant. The buffet at an Indian restaurant will be mostly vegetarian choices with a few meat options. (Here your main vegetable choice is a lettuce and tomato salad.)

Taste: Tandori chicken, Usually it comes out with red spices, especially if it is spicy. Here, the extra spicy tandori had no red spices and was not really spicy. It was quite tasty, and I might buy it again---but it is not tandori chicken as commonly understood. The bhindi masala did not take like bhindi masala, it tasted about what I would get if I sauteed tomatoes and okra on low heat. I asked for it to be extra spicy, so they added jalapenos to it. Overall, the sense I have is that they simply do not have a chef who understands how to run an Indian Restaurant.

Conclusion: If you are driving up I-95 and want an Indian restaurant with choices for a vegetarian or omnivore, I suggest Spice-and-Curry near I-95 and MD-175 or Amber Spice on US-1 in Laurel. Or a few places on the Virginia side of the river. If you only want meat (e.g. you have lots of veggie at home or in your car) then this place is a good place to order (which explains alot of...

I really hate to do this because I typically don't write bad reviews. If a restaurant is bad I normally just stop going. However the food at this restaurant is quite literally the worst Indian food I have ever had in my life.

I have eaten at at least 12 different Indian restaurants in NYC, Maryland, Texas and even once in the Caribbean.

But I have never had Indian food so bad that I had to throw half an entree, and a whole entree in the trash after just 30 minutes of picking up my food and trying it.

Palak and Saag Paneer is my favorite dish from an Indian restaurant. As with as any type of Biryani.

I order both from this restaurant.

The first hint of trouble was the smell. The Palak Paneer smelled kinda off. It gave a candie yams kind of smell and the paneer texture was way off.

The rice that came with it tasted like plain Basmati rice but didn't have a flavor, which is fine as it is supposed to mainly come from the Palak.

The Briyani was just bad, even worst. I just took a forkful and tried to eat it and couldn't and just threw it away. Plus the presentation with the bone in the chicken just didn't do it for me. But if it tasted fine it would not have been an issue.

The only good think that I had was the garlic Naan. But it's Naan, it's should be impossible to mess that up.

So in short, I will never eat here again.

There is an Indian restaurant in silver springs that is wonderful and one in Crofton that is also great. Try them.

I just wish Lanham had a good Indian restaurant. I would be there every week.

I gave them 2 stars because the gentleman who took my order seemed very nice.

I should have trusted the other reviews that said ever since the old cook left the food wasn't good.

Trust them, it's not.

Edit:

No, I'm not related to the old chef, it's was the first time I had the food, and the last time.

Also considering you have replied to other people who had the same experience with at least one having the same dish as me. You should take to heart how bad the food was and improve.

But I hope you do have better cooks, for any future clients so they don't waste their...

I ordered 2 Malai Kofta and 3 Paneer Makhani and 8 naans on 11/19/20. SO from the quantity ordered you can understand that its for a party of 10 people at least. However, I picked the food and specifically told the guy at the counter that this food is for a party at night. So, at the dinner time we opened the food and it was such an embarrassment in from of my guests as everyone started spitting the food out and the food was PLAIN HORRIBLE. The Paneer Makhani was so sour we could just not eat it. The Malai kofta they served was nothing but big pcs of Cauliflower (see 2nd picture) and I am not sure but when I called the guy to inform about the same he simply argues back saying that this is how Malai kofta is suppose to be. Are you serious? Malai kofta doesn't have kofta but cauliflower chunks? Whom are you even kidding mister? However, best part the guy just chose to hang up the phone saying I will call back with his Chef so I can complain to him. Obviously he never called back. I have attached the pictures where in we have literally garbaged the curries picked from this restaurant. Guys, there are much better restaurants around here please try to avoid this place. Doesn't even deserve half star actually speaking. Response to the owner's reply (12/08/20; 11.30am) : Mr. Owner, At what magnitude of the 50 customers you are talking about have ordered Malai kofta? I mean seriously if you are putting big chunks of cauliflower as kofta in the dish its ridiculous. I am writing the review of the food I paid at your restaurant and I did call you for feedback but I don't think you really can take criticisms well. Instead of being nasty to all the consumers who are not giving good reviews, rather focus and pour the energy in improving the quality of food instead. Would...