Chettinadu Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Rockville

Coworker recommended this place long time ago but I recently moved in the area and was looking for a new restaurant so gave this a try. I was blown away by all dishes I have eaten here. I have tried Gobi Manchurian, goat curry, biryani, and naan. All were very tasty and you can ask food to be made more spicy. Prices are little more than what I am used to but quality is hands down one of the best in the area.

Update: last night I ordered carry out from here. When I called, the line was somewhat noisy but I ordered two dishes. I was told to come by in 40 minutes. I was little surprised by longer than usual wait time but I thought they may be overwhelmed with customers. I went by 40 minutes later and just like last two times, one guy was taking orders from 6-7 tables and he seemed a bit panicky. That same guy was also giving out carry out orders. The guy seemed overwhelmed. After taking an order or two, he came to give me my order and told me my bill was 80 some dollars. I was surprised since I only ordered two dishes. He said he had confirmed with me on the phone that I had five of one dish and one of another dish. I told him that that’s not correct. I only got one each. I asked him to just take out four of item one and give me my order so I could be on my way. He very rudely said to wait because now he had to cancel my order and went into kitchen in a hurry. After he came back, I initially didn’t say anything because restaurant was pretty much packed and few people were in line to pick up food. I let him take care of people who were waiting. While I was doing that, couple of guys behind me were talking about their bad customer service in Hindi. I didn’t join in the conversation but I was about to experience it I guess. Once he took care of most of people who were waiting, I tried to get his attention to know what exactly was happening with my order. He just raised his hand in my face and told me to wait 15 minutes. At this point, I got irritated and asked him what exactly are you doing for my order. He still didn’t respond and just went in. When he was in kitchen, another customer of his came at counter to order sweets for his table and asked me if what is the problem. I started explaining to him what had happened. As I was doing that, he came out from kitchen and asked me not to disturb his customers in a very rude manner like I was trying to bad mouth them and I was the one initiated this conversation. I raised my voice and told him to mind his business because I was just answering a question this gentleman had asked me. I realize now that I should have just left the restaurant at this point. You can make all the delicious food in the world but don’t treat your customer horribly over your bad customer service. I had gotten there around 8:25 and had to wait another half hour to receive the order that was already to go 30 minutes ago. If I had not waited that long, I would have left the place without taking my order. I at least should have gotten his name or talked to his manager. This guy seemed very incapable of handling the place by himself while being nice to the customers. I am sure this attracted attention of other customers who were there. I hope they understood what took place. I have never been treated this way...

Ordered food over the phone and went there to pick up after an hour (was told it it will be ready in 35 minutes). Lady at the front desk said it will be 5 more minutes. I decided to pay while waiting. She went inside to check the order. Guess what! Nothing ready and according to kitchen, they didn't even get the order. The only reason I do pickup is their service always sucked and with pickup issue didn't change. And this was my third time experiencing a disappointment with pickup from this restaurant. At least the last two occasions were just a long wait (after a 45 minutes drive and an hour wait inside the restaurant). Unreal! There is never a manager or an owner present to address the issues with customers. My guess is the owner is the chef inside and thinks tasty food alone can keep the restaurant up and running. He doesn't realize he is only getting half the business of what he potentially could. My order was huge as usual since I order for a few meals together. They had two tables at that time occupied and one to-go order sitting on the side-table ready. I am pretty sure there weren't more than 5 order since opening for that day. Not like it was a crazy busy day! Ended up getting a burger from McDonalds finally since it was already way past my lunch-time. I will find alternative places where they truly respect customer service and offer good food at the same time. There are a couple of other restaurants right around the same neighborhood that serve pretty good South Indian food too. And their service is excellent and consistent. PS: I suddenly find a lot of 5 star ratings here recently. Only looks suspicious! I know this restaurant since opening and nothing has changed. Only gotten worse with service after that manager sort of guy left this place. I agree food is close to authentic chettinadu though. I cannot give more than one star for a disappointing management like this. Nothing to do with the staff who work hard anyway. I have handled restaurants for many years in...

The saddest part about giving Chettinadu 3-stars is that the restaurant has really great food-- it's just let down by a poor atmosphere, poor service, and frankly dirty restaurant. I've come here several times and continue to do so only because it's some of the best south Indian food you can get in the area. The dosas are crisp, the curries are spicy, and all of the dishes stay true to their roots.

However, the restaurant is so small that it easily gets overpacked and wait times can be baffling. The staff also does not know how to cope with high amounts of traffic and will send you away. The service itself is just okay-- the waiters aren't all that attentive and do not know much about waiting on tables; this becomes immediately apparent. For example, my friend asked for the ginger coffee without sugar (due to an intolerance). The waiter brought it out with sugar despite strict instructions not to. He failed to mention that he put sugar in the coffee anyway until after we finished the drink. After we brought it up, he simply laughed and said "ok", nodding his head over and over until he just walked away.

The restaurant also has a strange smell to it at times and you can tell that it's just not that clean. There have been numerous occasions on which my utensils were not washed properly.

Then you get to the food-- and Chettinadu finally delivers. Every dish I've had here has been close to perfection.

Things I Liked: Chettinadu Chicken - A fantastic coconut based chicken curry. 5/5

Rava Masala Dosa - The dosa is perfectly crisp though a bit too oily for my liking. Still, it's delicious alongside the fresh chutneys and sambar. 4/5

All Appetizers - Each and every appetizer here is delicious.

Ultimately, the food is Chettinadu's only saving grace-- but it's not enough for me. The lack of any substantive atmosphere or service, alongside the poor cleanliness, keep me from...