Turmerica By Tanvi Modi — Restaurant in Virginia

We have been to this restaurant three times since its opening. The first time with 4 members of our family, second time with one additional friend, the third time with another family. We were excited to compare Turmerica with Rupa Vira at first, sure it beats out most restaurants in the area after the second and decidedly depressed after the third.

We would have rated the first visit 4/5, the second 5/5 and the third at 0/5. After the second visit, we made it a point to thank the Chef and all the wait staff who made the visit incredibly "tasty" and enjoyable. "Ram" who waited on us at the second visit was a thrill to have making recommendations on choices.

First, kudos to the decor designer - excellent attention detail. One area to improve, I would encourage the restaurant to keep the shades down - for the evening service, the sun is reflected directly on your face and it is hard to be comfortable.

Second, hire some professional wait staff to, (or retain those who) make customers feel comfortable. "Ram" from the second visit was outstanding. We had the same staff member wait on us for the first and third visit. Did not do a good job. Entrees arrived before plates. New plates arrived before the dirty ones were cleared off. Serving entrees with the same dirty hands used to clear dirty dishes is not acceptable.

Three, when a group calls ahead to make reservation, give them some space for the size of the reservation party. The same wait staff refused to chain 3 tables for a party of 8 saying it would waste the space that could seat 10 and would only pull 2 together that would seat 6 asking us to adjust. Needed a lot of convincing. It is not enjoyable when the first 15 minutes of your outing starts with an argument.

Four, maintain the consistency of the dishes even if the menu needs to be trimmed. For the third visit, none of the apps or entrees were good. Flavor, freshness, thoroughness (fully baked) were all lacking. Items were not fresh, were over or undercooked. For a restaurant to go from a 5/5 on every item ordered to 0/5 on all item ordered is a bad swing.

Last, if a customer reaches out to offer feedback on the food and service, provide a venue. I reached out through the website to offer some feedback. Never heard back, and so, the comments are out here.

Starting a restaurant or any business is really hard and one that has retail presence is one of the hardest things to do. But if the menu is as expensive as some of the top notch ones downtown, it is time to pay closer attention to consistency of the food and service as much as the elegance in the dining room.

We will visit once more after some time elapses in the hopes of having...

I visited Turmerica few days back with my family and we liked it overall. But I feel, the restaurant is missing out some finer points which if they can improve in next few months, it will be one of my go to places. Here is my honest review Pros: Outstanding Ambience - There is a lot of thinking gone in designing the seating, color combination and overall setup. We loved it. Serving Style - We were impressed with different wooden elements they have used to serve different appetizers. Chinese Cigar is a good example Friendly Staff - Staff was always smiling and very accommodative No Loud Bollywood Music - Thank you so much. We all love Bollywood music, but we have stopped going to place which play loud Bollywood music.

Now here are improvement areas Paper Napkins (Really!) - Come on! You made us sit on a stylish chair, served us food in a nice looking plate and next thing we see is - white paper napkins all over the table. It is so messy to the point that even poor staff is overwhelmed with cleaning things over and over. You can definitely make this change immediately. Tiffin vs Restaurant - This is purely personal, but here is the thing - If I cannot distinguish between tiffin that I ate from Chef Modi and the food taste that is served in the restaurant, than the value proposition of eating at this restaurant diminishes drastically. I think they need to introduce new items in the menu that were never served in the tiffin service Food Quantity - This sort of relates to point#2. So if I am getting same food as it was in tiffin service and same taste with a big difference of I am paying double the price to eat it in a restaurant - I will think twice before stepping in again. I will repeat myself here again - Introduce new items to increase the value perception of your existing customer base. Kid's Menu - I am glad the team gave it a thought to introduce this category. However, the execution lacks the excitement. For example, it only has 4 items. The Hakka noodles we ordered came with black pepper - which our 4 year old does not eat. As simple as cheese pizza sometimes goes a long way to keep this clientele happy.

I hope the owners take this as a constructive feedback in positive light, because I want them to succeed. But the Cons offsets the Pros. I will give this restaurant another shot after a few months and see if they have changed few things. Hoping to change my 3 star...

Today, I had the pleasure of dining at an exceptional Indian vegetarian restaurant, with my hubby and my toddler and I must say, the experience was nothing short but truly extraordinary