Laliguras Indian and Nepali Bistro

As a south Asian I was deeply disappointed with this food. As a customer, I was also deeply disappointed. We ordered 2 orders of pani puri and an entrée of chicken momos. I have eaten pani puri in India and in the US. This had to have been the worst pani puri I have ever had. There are only 4 puris in a single order. The potato in it were cold and seemed like they needed to be cooked more. Could not taste the jaggery at all. There was no chutney or any source of spice. And the pani was freezing cold. The momos tasted like microwave food. They were not hot. The edges of the momo were hard as though not cooked all the way. The chicken was also seriously questionable. Th service was also pitiful. There were 2 individuals and 2 families in the restaurant. We got the pani puris after a 10 minute wait. It then took an additional 10 minutes to bring out the microwaveable momos. Mind you, we were sitting at the bar. Thankfully, we decided to order the appetizers before ordering anything else.

Food is very good! However, service was a bit slow. Better to do delivery!

This review is for Laliguras delivery — it’s so good. The sag chicken is amazing, and the tikka masala is good — but seriously, anything SAG on the menu you won’t regret! The food arrives quickly, is hot, and comes with rice!

We ordered from them last night — for delivery. They were an hour late in getting the food to us, and when we got it there were two small containers of what was supposed to be our meals. All of this for $ 35. Over-​priced and unreliable service.

You need to change your timings on Unilocal or be honest about your hours. I called and asked if you guys were open at 3 and you said yes, only to disappoint us when we arrived.

I’m sadly giving this place 3 stars bc of the portion. Not only that the portion is small for its size but also they charged different prices for lunch and dinner eventhough the portion is the same. We ordered chicken tika masala and shrimp with spinach. It was delicious except the portion was small. Each dish was $ 16 and there were 6 pieces of chicken/​shrimp in each dish. Good but not worth the price. No wonder why the place is so empty.

I’m not sure why there are so many good reviews. Ordered from here because of the 4 star rating and was very surprised at how much I didn’t like the food.
To note, this food is quite bland. I ordered both dishes as spicy (sag paneer and chicken biryani) and neither had much kick to it. The chicken had an odd texture and was incredibly bland. We got an order of somosas as well and my friend didn’t even finish hers, she said it tasted like wet paper, which is pretty accurate.
And then you come to the price. I don’t expect Indian food to come in at the same price as Chinese takeout, but at well over $ 50 for two people I was shocked at not only the quality but the quantity. One order of naan is $ 3 and comes with a below-​average serving of one piece. I’ve had much better Indian here in the DC area and in Philly for way less.
Try elsewhere if you’re in the mood for some tasty Indian food.

This is going to be a goldie-​locks review, the Lamb Vindaloo was too spicy and the Paneer Makhani was too sweet. And the $ 16 Hariyali Chicken Tikka, while good, was the smallest of all the entrees with a meager 6 cubes of chicken. To their credit the food was 30 minutes earlier than the Grub Hub app predicted.

Ok… this is a hidden gem. There are never many people there but the food is delicious. THe spices seem so fresh. The server doesn’t seem like she really likes chatting but she was nice. The seating I a little different but the benches makes it easier for large groups. Really close to the Van Ness Red line metro.

I like this place a lot. It’s one of the best Indian restaurants in DC in my opinion; even better than Rasika and they have mango lassi!

Come for the Indian, stay for the Nepalese. The best thing on the menu is the Nepalese style goat curry. I also would recommend the assortment of naans and appetizers (pani puri!).
I don’t find them to be too expensive considering the quality of the food is so high.
They have good service in the restaurant and are prompt when ordering delivery.
What’s there not to like?

I have been to this restaurant many times as I use to live around this neighborhood. I moved out of it and came to have dinner on new year day. Lot has changed the interior. The food always had been good. I went along with four other friend. We ordered
Pani puri, Dahi puri, pokhara and mix khaja with lamb — appetizer was good .
For our entrée we had
–chicken chilli
–khasi ko masu (goat curry, Nepalese dish)
Chicken kroma
Palak makai
Allo dum (potato)
All these were so good. Specially khasi ko masu the best part was they all have distinct taste. Which made me feel good that my taste bud are actually working. This is worth spending 160 dollars for 5 ppl. We ordered so much including drinks. Mango lassi here is my all time favorite.

NO AMEX!
CONS:
Very bland for Indian – which is good if you don’t like spicy.
Momos (dumplings) are decent but overpriced. They should be cheap (like in India).
Not really fast… about 25 min for carryout.
Expensive overall for mediocre Indian food.
PROS:
Their vegetables curries are pretty decent.
Place is always empty so it’s easy to get a table.
Close to Metro.
Go to Café of India in Tenleytown or Le Mirch instead.

Food is good, but I’ve had better, delivery is fast, but every single time they forget to put the coriander chutney and it’s starting to get old because every single time, I ask the girl to please add a container and every single time she forgets. I called back once to complain and she offered to have the delivery guy go back, which is pretty ridiculous. Just remember a small thing of chutney– you cannot be THAT busy.

The menu isn’t quite as robust as other Indian restaurants in the area, but the flavors in the dishes they do offer are quite average. The service is a bit disappointing and none of the staff appears to want to be there. I ordered naan to go, and the waiter appeared taken aback that I would actually want sauces with my naan and proceeded to charge me an extra dollar. The sauces were packed so haphazardly in the bag, that when I arrived home, it was spilt all over everything. I can’t say I am impressed by anything this place has to offer, especially thr high prices, which is unfortunate since it is right around the corner from me.

Totally a mom-and-pop-(and daughter) shop that’s worth visiting from time to time.
If you don’t have curry cravings, you should come to this place — that’s where I got mine. Came here about 3 months ago and was accidentally served a Kashmiri lamb dish instead of my Masala chicken (or something). I tried some of that Kashmiri, son, and it was gooooooood. Been on my mind since until I returned recently. It was just as good as I recall. Spicy, savory, and the lamb was not overcooked and dry.
Knocked some stars off bc service was okay, but they really wanted to close the shop down after lunch. Walked in around 2:15PM and first thing the lady said was that they close at 2:30. Does that mean I have to eat that fast? Why are you open then? Ended up letting us stay until 2:40… felt the pressure to leave a bit.
Slight overcharge, imo, but that’s all of Washington, DC, right?
dmo out

I was looking forward to trying Laliguras based on its 4-​star Unilocal rating, but all I could think after my meal was that I was glad I wouldn’t have to return. We arrived for an early dinner around 5pm before heading downtown for the rest of our evening plans. We were greeted by a waitress who looked like she hated her job and wished we hadn’t come in. She didn’t take us to a table, but rather gestured toward one side of the room and said, «sit over there.» We had a Groupon for a 3-​course meal, including a shared appetizer, two entrees, one plain naan, and a shared dessert. For the appetizer, we chose the vegetable pakoras. I was unimpressed. They weren’t terrible, but they were way too dry. The sauces that came with them were good, and did help with the dryness a bit.
We chose chicken vindaloo and vegetable korma for our entrees. The chicken vindaloo was good. The chicken was tender and the sauce was sufficiently spicy. But the vegetable korma was bad enough to overshadow even the best meal. When it arrived at the table, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kid you not — the vegetables were literally frozen mixed vegetables from a bag. I’m talking the little cubed carrots, freezer-​burned peas and green beans, and tasteless kernels of corn. I could actually still taste the freezer burn. The sauce wasn’t even very good. I joked that it had probably come from a bottle and they’d just dumped some frozen mixed vegetables into a bowl along with a jarred sauce and popped it in the microwave. It’s funny because it’s probably true. All of the other Indian restaurants I have ever been to have taken pride in their vegetable dishes, and have used delicious fresh vegetables, such as eggplant and okra, bell peppers, and onions. You won’t find any of that in your vegetable korma here.
When the waitress came to collect the plates, she proceeded to pile dish upon dish directly in front of my dining companion, occasionally rearranging them to keep them from toppling over. The pile of plates, bowls, and utensils reached about a foot in height before the waitress heaved it all from the table and trudged away with it. She returned moments later without uttering a word and dropped the dessert menu on the table. We decided on the rice kheer. She returned once again to deliver the dessert, and put the tiny dish of rice pudding on the table (again, silently). She did bring two spoons, so she knew we were sharing, but didn’t even offer to bring an extra plate or bowl so we could split the dessert and eat off of our own plates.
Mediocre food, small portions, and unfriendly service do not make for a pleasant dining experience. I recommend dining elsewhere.

Mediocre food, expensive prices, small portions, unfriendly service. For the most part, I was not very impressed with Laliguras. It’s a shame because I was truly looking forward to it, as it had been on my restaurant bucket list for a while. And I also generally love Indian food.
I visited with a friend for dinner on a weekday afternoon around 6pm and it wasn’t very crowded — only two other parties were being served so the restaurant was practically empty (and it didn’t get much busier throughout our meal). Our servers were a bit surly and looked upset when I told them they had brought out the wrong entrée (I had ordered something else).
I ordered my customary chicken tikka masala and the dish was a lot smaller than I’d expected. I asked them to confirm whether that was the entrée size and they said it was. It cost $ 14 and felt like a ripoff. My chicken tikka masala was really bland and didn’t have many spices. My friend ordered the vegetable korma and paneer tikka masala and took about half home. Overall, I was not impressed with the food. I left feeling full enough, but not entirely satisfied.
The only thing really going for this restauerant is the décor and also the convenience to the Van Ness metro station. I used to live in Van Ness, but this place opened after I moved out of the area. Note — there is hardly any street parking (and none before 6:30pm), so your best (and probably only) parking option if you’re driving is parking at the Van Ness Center across the street (next to the Giant), but you’ll probably have to shell out at least $ 8 (for 2 hour parking).
I think I’d go elsewhere for Indian food in the future. Indique (located in both Cleveland Park and Friendship Heights) is an excellent Indian restaurant.

Hands-​down, the BEST Indian food I have ever, ever eaten. After many uninspiring Indian cuisine experiences in the past, my husband and I, who happen to live about a block from Laliguras have put off trying this place until this weekend… and we are SO glad we finally bit the bullet.
We loved it. From the friendly service, quaint atmosphere, and neighborhood charm to the incredible food, we were smiling ear-​to-​ear from beginning to end. We both got the shrimp makhani, garlic naan, and samosas to share. The garlic naan is out of this world. I particularly loved the mint chutney which I requested on the side. It was the perfect spicy and herby kick to add to the savory, tomato-​based makhani. The samosas were the best I’ve ever had.
The entire meal was perfection. We loved it so much that we shamelessly ate it again the next night from the comfort of our own home since the restaurant does do take-​out and we live just a short walk from it.
We will be regulars now, and Laliguras has changed the way we think about Indian/​Nepali fare. Absolutely delicious.

Seems just like yesterday I was wondering why this place didn’t have a page on Unilocal.Now, 41 reviews strong, and a few tries later, this spot has become a true favorite of mine. From the cool, comfy décor and the welcoming service, to the flavorful food, everything at Laliguras is amazing.
Be warned though, since my long lunch breaks a few months back (when this establishment first opened), they have become increasingly more popular. Hence, tone early, as they will run out of seats. However, you can call ahead and order take out.
Meanwhile, their delivery option (free) saves office dwellers who lack the time to take walks in the sun on lunch breaks (I feel sorry for you).