Metro Dhaba — Restaurant in Maryland

NOTE: Ignore the online menu prices on Google. The actual menu prices are lower. (I've included a picture of the menu here.)

I'm giving this place five stars...and it isn't because the food, the service, or the atmosphere is top notch for an Indian restaurant! There's an old saying: "Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick any two." Metro Dhaba has somehow managed to cheat this universal concept and deliver all three things at an incredible value.

First of all...no, this isn't going to be the best Indian dining experience you've ever had. In most places, dining Indian is a pretty fu-fu affair...and you pay for it! MoCo has its share of top Indian eateries, including the nearby Minerva and Royal Tandoor. The food, service, and atmosphere in such places is worth the money and time. But, you simply can't afford to eat in those places all the time. Not the case at Metro Dhaba.

As you can observe from looking at the menu (pictured), they offer a compelling selection of vegetarian and meat entrees that would rival the menus of any Indian restaurant. The entrees are solidly authentic. Same for the appetizers, side orders, and breads. The only thing that leaves you scratching your head here are the prices. (More on this.)

My first experience here was purely by accident, when I used a drive-thru ATM across the street today. I spent a lot of time in this area of Gaithersburg 20-30 years ago, but haven't been back much since then. It being around dinner time, I was interested to see a sign for Metro Dhaba hanging on the building that used to house the brick oven pizza restaurant, Il Forno. But, when I drove closer I saw that Il Forno was still there, too! Both restaurants share the same space! Walking into the deserted restaurant, I could see that it hadn't really changed in 20 years...other than being much more worn out. The only menus in sight were the Il Forno menus (also pictured) which also held the Metro Dhaba menu. Looking at the prices on the menu, I wondered if they were 20 years old, as well. The smiling Hispanic man who handed me the menu signaled that they weren't.

Still confused, I just began ordering some stuff. An order of two samosas for $2.50! Lamb curry for $6.00!! A chapati and a puri...each for $1.00! I decided not to be a glutton this first time out. (I also wanted to see if it was any good.) The final bill was CHEAP! With tax, it was like $10.80! On the way to the car, the bag did seem a bit light...which worried me. But, I would find out once I got home.

When I opened the bag, I realized why it was light. I later confirmed online that rice is an ala carte side dish. While this was a bit disappointing, it turned out not to be a big deal. The two breads were smoking hot and fresh. The puri was delicious, as was the soft, buttery chapati. Both were clearly hand-rolled and made from scratch. The samosas were as good as most I have had. They were clearly made ahead of time and my only regret is not heating them slightly. The lamb curry was the real shocker. I had wondered if it was from a premade batch that had been sitting around all day, but it didn't seem to be. The meat was nicely prepped and juicy. The sauce was very balanced and totally soaked into the meat. In the end, I'm glad I didn't have the rice. I was stuffed what I had in front of me. All-in-all, this Indian food was very respectable.

Now, a word on the pricing. The ONLY explanation I would venture a guess on is that this business owner's primary business isn't the restaurant, itself. When you walk in the door, you see a freezer full of frozen Indian dinners that are professionally packaged for retail and branded with the same lady who seems to own Metro Dhaba. I'm also guessing (from what I see online, on the menu, and in cases in the restaurant) that these folks do a pretty active catering business, as well. The extensive menu selection reads like a catering menu for an Indian wedding.

Bottom-line: This place is to Indian food, what Panda Express is to Chinese. Definitely...

The $6 buffet is exceptionally cheap, and more like home food than restaurant food. For the same reason, do not expect anything spectacular. The quality of the food so-so. Tanduri chicken was not made in tandoor (I am yet to find real tandoori chicken in the USA), but felt like boiled and then maybe broiled a bit. Also it had an atrocious red dye that made it look more like beet roots. The place is run by an old Indian couple. The service, hygiene, and organization are more like India than the US of A. Which means, there is nobody to guide you to the tables or to the buffet. There is a notice advising you to sear yourself. They have too many tables arranged in awkward manner. I do not believe that the place ever gets full. The cutleries are a mixed bag, some heavy steel, some light like aluminum, probably unrelated sets randomly collected over the years. The mugs are transparent plastic that mimics glass, but due to lots of scratches, look opaque now. The complaint about bathrooms is true. They are dirty, and again, poorly designed/organized. Apparently the place is popular for samosas and jalebis. They also have panipuris. Overall, it is cheap north indian food at a quiet domestic...

Butter chicken was lukewarm at best… I arrived shortly after opening, I think they were reheating it from the previous day and it hadn’t quite reached temperature yet. It was also not a creamy tomato sauce like I’m used to (and I eat a lot of Indian food)

Naans were just ok. Stuffed naan had same potato/veggie/ginger mixture as samosas. Didn’t like. Veggie samosas just ok, but came with no sauce, like tamarind or mint...

Chicken Biryani seemed like a joke. Badly fried rice with chunks of chicken that seemed to have been picked out of the butter chicken pot. Raitha was ok.

I asked for 2 butter chickens and 2 raitha, but they combined them into bigger containers (So I received one container with butter chicken and one container with raitha) - luckily they were all coming home with me.

Owner (older gentleman) seemed nice, though The first time I visited this restaurant a few years ago he seemed a little odd.

Agree on comments about cleanliness (or lack there of.)

A lot cheaper than other Indian food in the area… But I guess you get what...