The Indian Experience

Stopped by this place today for their lunch grand opening. The food was very good and authentic compared to what I’ve had in DC and also very decently priced. They had a mix of greek, italian and indian buffet. This place is also looks great! Definitely a plus from what it use to be.

Officially closed it’s doors September 2012. It is now a Greek/​International Lunch Buffet called Balleto.

I went here for their for lunch buffett ($ 12; 11:30 AM — 2:30 PM)
There were not much variety, but the food’s a little below average. They got like 3 meat dishes and the rest are veggies, yogurt, naan & rice. They also got like 1 – 2 desserts.
I find it to be kindda expensive considering there’re not many options. Anywhere else, they should be charing us only 8 – 9 bucks, I guess it’s DC so they have to jack up the price.
The service isn’t that good. Not only wass our server very slow at everything, they also would NOT let you split the tab. also I found it highly annoying since most of us did not bring enough cash at the time.

By far the worst Indian/​Pakistani food experience in my life.
It started with a walk down some depressing stairs. No sign on the door. A patron was spotted by the host stand desparate to leave. I should have. I was sat in the back and grabbed my plate. The salad was the highlight, with tomatoes & cukes. Downhill from there. Rice, chickpeas, soggy okra and sullen potatoes, lumpy and gooey veggie pakora, three chicken dishes and some fruit. They had a separate dosa station with veggie dosas set out.
The chutney was mild and difficult to find. There was no spice to any of the dishes. I feel like they were cooking for an old folks home in Dyersville, IA.
The server was a really nice old man who blended into the dismal surroundings. I gave him a nice tip. I’ll give you one too; don’t ever eat here. I feel sick as I write this and could not stomach a second trip /​plate.

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. This was the WORST dining experience I’ve had and they are running a scam. I had a
certificate and they said that they don’t take those anymore. This was a total scam. Don’t come here under ANY circumstance! Additionally, they had blaring music and we couldn’t even hear each other even though we were the ONLY people in the restaurant. Every person we talked to about complaining about our treatment claimed he was the manager… very shady business going on here!

Pretty decent, albeit a little expensive. Not the best, nor the most diverse buffet, but perfectly good food. Probably wouldn’t eat here again, as there are better choices in the area.
Is it racist to say I was happy to see several tables of Indian businessmen eating in the restaurant when I was there? For some reason, I find it comforting to know that those who know the food intimately purposefully chose to eat there.

Very mediocre food… and costly also…

The buffet was expensive for the subpar quality food. They only had 4 or 5 selections to choice from. There was no chutnney, dressing, or yogurt available. The curry chickpeas were heavily seasoned with cinnamon and clove and were overcooked. The butter chicken tasted like the only ingredients were chicken, yogurt, and tomatoe sauce. The rest of the food was just as bland. Considering this place is called «The Indian Experience» I expected a lot more.

Quick Tip: Bland food, only plain rice, bad veggies (no paneer), too litle variety… Nt fr indians at least

We couldnt get a table at bar-​code so we walked around to find an alternate place to eat. Diagonally across the street was The Indian Experience, as we were walking and debating if we should try it a lady next to us said, «It’s good!» So we figured why not?
The restaurant was deep down in the basement it made us think twice, we could always turn around and ran up the flight of steps. Once we opened the door, we felt like we intruded a party and there was a slight confused look on our faces? Was this an Indian restaurant? At 7 PM, the restaurant had turn into a nightclub with a DJ spinning very danceable R&B music. It was the wildest «Indian dinner experience» reiterating the restaurant name.
At 7 PM, we still made it to the Early Bird special. Boy, it was our lucky day! It was a $ 18 thali meal that came with lamb curry, butter chicken, lentil curry and saag paneer, served with plenty of naans, rice and yogurt. The curries were all very tasty but the rice was cold, way too cold. The naan was fresh and the yogurt sauce was zesty! It was a very good deal overall but it was way too bizarre being the few diners while all the others looked like Fed employees in their 40−50s hanging out at a special happy hour. It seemed very exclusive and we felt a little left out. At one point we considered just abandoning BYT and stayed there to groove it out on the spacious dance floor. Even our very nice waiter was African American! As we speculated it could well be an African Indian restaurant, you know like Singapore Chinese food? Definitely very interesting and only in DC! The music became louder and louder, to the point where we had to shout at each other to be heard. «Hey, do you like your saag paneer???» We didnt mind it at all and we were moving our shoulders to the music as we tore the naan and dipped it into the butter chicken. Ooooh yeah!
Totally bizarre dining experience!

I’ve eaten the lunch buffet here a couple times. The buffet consists of very standard Americanized Indian food — butter chicken the specialty, nan, unspicy chick pea curry, and the other dishes all very mild.
It’s great for a quick lunch meet up, you’ll leave satisfied but not overwhelmed at a relatively low price ($ 12)

Decent lunch buffet for a reasonable price (especially considering the neighborhood). The trip downstairs is a little unnerving, but you don’t really think about it once you’ve been there a little while.
The butter chicken was good, but I really enjoyed the eggplant-​whatever it was. A little too oily, but you could scoop food and avoid the oil for the most part.

Two things have changed since the last time I ate here, in early Spring: (1) the take-​out box is now half the size but the same price ($ 12) as before, making it a much worse deal than before; (2) the restaurant has addressed my previous complaint – no variety in the buffet – but the new dishes are much worse than the old ones. Dal Mahkni, for example, is new to the buffet but it’s easily the worst version of the dish I’ve ever had. Mahkni should have a thick curry and a variety of subtle spice flavors. This version is thin with undercooked lentils and no spices at all. The color is almost right but everything else is horribly wrong.
Indian Experience has been undergoing a slow death for years. Now they’ve finally jumped the shark. The food keeps getting worse and the prices stay the same. That’s a recipe for empty tables and it showed the last two times I was here — at the peak lunch hour, the place was mostly empty. That’s karma for you.

Probably a 3.5…My first experience here was pretty damn good. Food was excellent, buffet style made it fast and convenient for a lunch meeting. I thought the basement location and old-​world décor of the place added an interesting ambiance. The price was fair (not cheap, but not outrageous).
A very good place for business lunch… get there before 12:30 for seating.

Does this place have the slowest service known to man? Yesireebob.
Is the food middling? Yesireebob.
Is the ambiance outdated? Yesireebob.
Is this place’s existence a disgrace to Lahore Karahi in San Francisco? Yesireebob.

The [Underground] Indian Experience got the nickname «speakeasy Indian place» from my friends and me after one day one of us ordered a mixed drink on a lark at lunch and it came in a large water glass — so basically, you can sit there and get plastered at lunch, and nobody is the wiser. (And we’ve seen some people doing this.) The basement location also adds to the speakeasy feel.
I would say the lunch buffet is average. There’s a pretty good variety, but nothing stood out as truly great. Food is replaced frequently so it’s not hard to get something piping hot, which is good. Also, the salad bar offering is much larger than other Indian buffets I’ve tried. You can have a ridiculously filling lunch for $ 12. You also can get better Indian food at other places around the city. Basically, if you work around there, it’s a good bet. If you don’t, I doubt you’d go out of your way.

Waiters in tuxedos and a self-​serve buffet line make the Indian Experience a little confusing. The décor is that of fading grandeur, reminiscent of a long forgotten high-​end Italian restaurant, a members only steakhouse, or maybe just a banquet hall. Whatever it is, it’s unlike any «upscale» Indian restaurant I’ve dined at.
The lunch buffet ($ 12.00) can be a hit or a miss. In addition to a small salad bar, there were 4 vegetable curries, 2 meat curries (one goat and one chicken), naan bread, and a dessert (a carrot pudding). The chickpea and lentil curries were thin and watered down, but had enough spices to be flavorful. The cheese and green pea curry, on the other hand, had an ideal mouthful texture and for curry. The buttered chicken teetered between being too dry and just right. The warm, chewy naan bread is by far the best and goes quickly (grab two). And the gajar harwar, a carrot pudding made with honey and almonds) was delightful but overly sweet (a few spoonfuls will do). Overall, the Indian Experience was a decent place for a casual sit-​down lunch with co-​workers. [Last Visit: April 14, 2009]

2.5 stars
I love Indian food — and I used to be a fan of this place. Others have noted that inconsistency can be an issue and I would tend to agree. The last time I went it was pretty mediocre at best. The flavors are mild and the dishes are a pretty tame collection of the usual suspects. Best to venture up to Bethesda for Indian. Haandi buffet is better and Heritage India puts it to shame.

I think the problem with the Indian Experience (or the Ascot Restaurant, whatever it is called) is inconsistency in the quality of their lunch buffet. Some days I would rate them as four stars, other days I would rate them with two. Today was a four star day. Their butter chicken was spot on and the potato offering was spicy enough to make me sweat through my shirt. Admittedly, I have eaten here when everything seemed as bland as Mister Rogers, but I keep coming back for more.
Whether or not you like the food, it’s worth at least one visit just to check out the space. It looks like an old sleazy topless lounge more suited to someplace off the strip in Vegas than downtown DC.

It’s a Gentleman’s Club at Night!
I keep on forgetting that and have to be reminded by my co-​workers every time we go in there. The ambience does kind of remind you of a gentleman’s club, but you wouldn’t notice it unless someone told you.
Overall, it’s a great place to grab a quick sit-​down bite to eat. So, it’s perfect for a lunch meeting. Since the lunch is buffet style, you can go up, grab your food and do your lunch meeting at your own leisure without having to waste time on waiters/​waitresses.
The food is consistently pretty good. Of course no Indian food will beat my mom’s cooking, but their Butter Chicken is really nice, and they cook their Naan perfectly. There’s plenty of options for both the meat eaters and the vegetarians.