Karma Modern Indian | Karizma Modern Indian — Restaurant in Washington

I had high hopes for this restaurant, but unfortunately, our dining experience was far from satisfactory.

Our server was not present early on, and someone else kindly answered our questions. When our server finally arrived, he curtly stated, "Hey what'd you say to him? I'm your server, not him.” This attitude was uncalled for, especially since he wasn’t around initially, and it should not be the customer's fault to speak to any waiter they see.

The restaurant was too brightly lit, and the Top 40 pop music blasting from the speakers was off-putting. A better atmosphere would significantly improve the dining experience.

The person clearing our plates was wearing AirPods, which felt very unprofessional.

While the appetizers were excellent – some of the best I've had at an Indian restaurant – the main courses were just okay. They were no better than what you might find at a more casual suburban place, just more expensive.

We received our dinner, and then we started eating and two minutes later, palate cleansers were brought out. This sequence should be standard for every customer. It would have been better to not send palate cleansers at all rather than after the dinner.

After finishing our main course, the server asked us if we wanted desserts, and we said yes. Then we waited for 30 minutes for our dessert menus and he completely forgot to bring it, we had to go track the waiter down and ask for our menu. When we finally ordered, he tried to walk away after taking just one order. We had to call him back to place our remaining orders. Then we ate in a timely manner based off of when our desserts were finally served. There were only two other parties left in the restaurant and the server made a comment saying: "its a competition between you and the other table to see who stays the longest". Considering our reservations were at 7:30, this comment was completely uncalled as we would have been gone 30 minutes earlier if the server didn't forget about us.

And a few more things about the desserts - it was the birthday of someone at our table and so we discreetly asked the waiter "when the birthday boy's dessert comes out, please put a candle in it" and he said yes. Then, the desserts were served WITHOUT a candle, but we said forget it and started eating. The waiter came by and went "candle candle no candle" and pulled a candle and lighter out of his pocket and pushed it into the birthday boy's partially eaten ice cream. All of us were very shocked as we had never seen that behavior before. 2 minutes later, another server came out with a free dessert that had a candle in it. Clear lack of communication. Also, the desserts were all very mediocre except for the pistachio kulfi. I do not recommend the raspberry ras malai whatsoever.

At around 9:00 PM someone from our party stepped out for a few minutes, and upon returning, found the door locked. The worker inside asked him " were you already seated inside?" before letting him in. This was unexpected and should have been handled better given there were only a few parties inside, and she had interacted with our table at least 2 or 3 times at that point. This isn't a big deal, but at a restaurant of this caliber you expect that the staff can keep track of a few faces.

Around 9:15, I noticed kitchen staff leaving the restaurant in casual clothes with Nike duffel bags, walking through a dining area where guests were still present. While not a major issue, it was noticeable and felt unprofessional.

Overall, while the appetizers were outstanding, the numerous service lapses and unprofessional behavior of the staff overshadowed our experience. For a place where we spent roughly $100 per person, I expected much better. We came for the food as much as the service and although we thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers, we weren't as pleased with the desserts or the entrees and were especially unhappy with the quality of service. None of these comments would be as big of a deal at a casual restaurant, but it was a shock at such a...

Outstanding dining experience from start to finish, exquisite and creative dishes, exemplary service, and sophisticated but unpretentious ambience.

We pretty much ate the menu, nearly everything between the 4 of us.

We started with the following shareable dishes:

Tamarind potato sphere with Crunchy Chicken Vermicelli & Beetroot Chutney - incredible flavors that just burst in your mouth, and gorgeous presentation.

Paneer Pesto with Grilled Cottage Cheese Basil Pesto - incredible paneer blended influenced subtly with the flavor of pesto, delicious.

Lamb Chop with Cumin Potatoes - the most tender, well marinated and succulent lamb you'll taste, and the accompanying cumin potatoes

Tellicherry Pepper Crab with spiced crab and garlic dip - delicate crab spiced evenly with this hint of garlic. I savored every bite.

Chicken Tikka with Yogurt and their House Blend of Tandoori Spices - absolutely some of the best grilled chicken Tikka I have had, just expertly seasoned.

As for the mains, we kind of overdid it but felt like we needed to go big!

Lobster Masala with Green and Red Peppers and Beetroot Poriyal - solid but not as awe-inspiring as the other dishes

Butter Chicken - not as epic as I expected to be honest, but it was good

Baked Chilean Sea Bass with Cauliflower Sauce and Watermelon Radish - really delicious tender sea bass, superb flavor with the creamy cauliflower sauce.

Paneer Pasanda with Stuffed Paneer Triangles with Peach and Spicy Gravy - This was so memorable, not just because of the textures of the crispy triangles with the soft paneer, but because of the sauce! Just amazing flavor.

As for sides, those deserve mention as well:

Dal Makhani - superb, just incredible flavor in however they spiced the sauce. One of the best dishes, period.

Beetroot Poriyal - loved the fresh beets, and the Poriyal added great texture to the dish.

Goat Cheese Naan & Garlic Naan - This was the most dense naan I've had, and this is just an observation, not necessarily good or bad. I prefer the lighter naan, but the flavor of theirs was good.

Lemon rice - fragrant and well flavored

Last but not least, we tried pretty much all the desserts!

Coconut Medallions - really dense, dry coconut flavor. Old school south Asian treat vibe. Not my favorite though.

Rose Ice Cream - Really delicious flavor and aroma, probably my favorite dessert but a close tie with..

Kulfi - Indian ice cream, this was a creamy and very tasty off menu dish we loved

Peach Mascarpone Tartlet - really elegant and well presented dish, very modern take. Good flavor.

Also, cocktails and mocktails were solid, a bit sweet as to be expected from south Asian-influenced cocktails, but well crafted and balanced.

Service was polished as to be expected from a solid Michelin star restaurant.

Highly...

Short: Will be back. Excellent service. Great recommendations. Fun drinks, inventive food, and just plain satisfying.

Living on the 14th St corridor, had been looking for a good Indian place to go to. Previously frequented Heritage India in its heyday across the street from the now defunct lower Wisconsin Ave Whole Foods, Indique Heights both near Woodley Park and up near Friendships Heights and Masala Art in Tenleytown. I've also stopped at every little hole in the wall in between as well. When this place first opened, had my eyes on it but it was too busy to just walk into. Finally got a chance to grab lunch here after an overnight shift.

Cocktails Menu: Strong varied menu, and a deep liquor chest from which the bartender (Harley) is able to craft prn creations. Existing menus use high end base liquors that so far(two drinks) elevate and accentuate the flavor profiles of the resultant cocktails.

Old Fashioned: previously used 3 year willett rye, whistlepig now. A great bolder version of a classic. (Off Menu) Boluevardier: made off the fly using a Campari alternative; vermouth, and elijah craig. Sweet, dry, without without the cloying sweet aftertaste of Campari, but a smooth finish. Harley is super knowledgeable and will guide you to the drink that will satisfy.

Appetizers Chicken tikka was succulent, tender with a subtle smoke to it. The accompanying tandoori spice sauce was just the right amount of bite to complement each juicy bite. The Nariyal Chili Prawns were well seasoned, spicy but without significant heat, with a tomato base that had an unusual umami fullness. I didn't stop until I was scraping sauce off the plate.

Lunch deal This is one of the best lunch deals I've had, not because it's a buffet (it's not), but they provide dinner sized entree portions for a lunch prix fixe menu just under 30 bucks for appetizer/entree/dessert. Furthermore the Butter chicken (my litmus test as I like butter, for any new Indian restaurant) was tender and moist, seasoned perfectly with a very subtle heat through the creamy thick sauce and chicken, portioned generously( for anyone slightly less gluttonous than I, 1.5 portions). The truffle mushroom naan was a novel creation and went well with the remainder of the meal. It was best had before the powerful flavors of the entree and appetizer but provided nuanced notes when combined with the stronger flavors.

Summary: Lunch was amazing. Menu is creative, definitely modern, with wildly inventive protein/flavor combinations. Will definitely return for a...