Order food through Door dash part of a large group order. I called them and asked them to please place everyone's name on the order. They told me they couldn't, that everything would be marked with what it was. This was far far far from the case. The food shows up and trying to figure out what 15 different people ordered was a nightmare. Stuff was missing from the order. The bowls were just marked what protein it was. Some of us ordered Extra protein and all the bowls looked the same.
In addition, the food was very dry, rice was hard, chicken was dry. Very very disappointed with this transaction and will probably never order from them again.
Food: 2
Service: 2
Shantanu Agarwal
One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. We waited over 30 minutes for our food even though the restaurant was completely empty. They were serving online orders before dine-in customers, which was ridiculous. When the food finally came, the portion size was tiny, and they got our order completely wrong — we asked for white basmati rice but got brown rice, and instead of tikka masala sauce, they gave dal makhani and some random mango sauce that made no sense.
The server was clueless, careless, and not attentive at all. Only when we asked after half an hour did they even start preparing our food.
For the price they charge, this was an absolute letdown — poor service, wrong food, and frustrating experience from start to finish. Never coming back again and wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Sid A M K
I was there for dinner the other day and ordered 4 different offerings. The food came in quick and it was flooded with deliciousness. I was having a great experience until the chef NOUR and her collegue Ashley walked up. After delivering such delicious food, these two came to deliver an amazing experience. Their genuine concern about what was good, what can be better, if the food met our expectations, etc was the cherry on the cake. A place that genuinely cares for its clients is unheard of!! A big shout out to Ashley and NOUR for making the experience worth cherishing!! Thank you guys!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
P Khanna
The service is extremely slow. Took 30 mins for my order which is weird considering this is considered fast indian food. The food itself is meh. Not going back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Malyar Farahee
This is the first Indian restaurant which doesn’t have butter chicken. Rice was hard . The gravy was not tasty. Naan was burned completely from back . One of servant black girl was so rude I asked her we ordered water also and she replied I have two hands to bring dishes . The workers were like pushed to work . Honestly I liked the location. They could do better with food with such a nice location.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
AD
The food options are pretty decent, and the food tasted good as well.
But, there is this nasty smell that hits you when you enter the place, from around the hand wash/hand dryer area, which also has the water dispenser, trash cans and sauces bar.
We did have a chat with the employees, and they mentioned about the property managers not acting on the issue, which has been there for a long time now.
I did see another review about a year ago complaining the same thing, but nothing seems to have been done yet.
For a restaurant/food establishment, it’s best to fix such foul smells, as it just kills to vibe of the environment and not sure how it might be contaminating the water as well. Please take note.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Timothy Ristau
Great place for Indian barbecue. It’s not your typical Indian restaurant, but still really good. Their Naan is excellent. They have good hot sauces too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Prachi Gupta
Great food and service. When I arrived at the restaurant to pick up my order, it wasn’t ready yet. However, the girl at the front counter was extremely polite and helpful. She quickly took the initiative to pack my order herself, and I really appreciated how professional she was. I noticed that she even washed her hands before handling the food, which showed great attention to hygiene and customer care. Her friendly attitude and prompt service made a great impression.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Samosas, Malai Kulfi
Alex Demas
It is impossible to order from their website. They ask for your location, you give it, select the Sterling Virginia store, and the only options for ordering are in Ohio or Pennsylvania. Despite, again, providing both location and address. Congratulations, you’ve lost a sale because your online ordering is impossible.
Raghavendra Aditya M
Good vegetarian and meat wrap and bowl options. Enough size for a meal. I visited this place couple of times. Plenty of space for dine in.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Paneer and Rice, Tikka, Paneer Wrap, Paneer Tikka Bowl, Chicken Choolah Bowl with Tikka Masala Chicken
Highly recommend. Lots of mixed options from traditional curry and rice to half and half bowls - each available with lots of flavourful meat and vegetarian options. Lots of flavour, great service and reasonable prices (when compared to other fast food bowl places). Will definitely be coming back!
Arch S
Been a while since the last visit, but have always enjoyed the dishes at Choolaah! I was sad when they stopped serving chai ☕️ Samosa chaat and the bowls are great!
Prabhu Umapathi
Chicken wrap and the sauce does t go well together & samosa stuffing has no flavor. Taste can be better..
Willie W (ninjaman80)
The Lamb Gyro was very good
Anjul goel
Choolah used to be my go-to spot for fast, flavorful Indian food — a place I proudly introduced to friends and family. Unfortunately, today’s experience was a huge letdown.
I ordered the paneer wrap after months, and to my surprise, it was filled with rice like a burrito. The flavors were completely off — it just didn’t taste right.
Really disappointed, Choolah. Sadly, you’ve lost a loyal customer today.
Order food through Door dash part of a large group order. I called them and asked them to please place everyone's name on the order. They told me they couldn't, that everything would be marked with what it was. This was far far far from the case. The food shows up and trying to figure out what 15 different people ordered was a nightmare. Stuff was missing from the order. The bowls were just marked what protein it was. Some of us ordered Extra protein and all the bowls looked the same.
In addition, the food was very dry, rice was hard, chicken was dry. Very very disappointed with this transaction and will probably never order from them again.
Food: 2
Service: 2
One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. We waited over 30 minutes for our food even though the restaurant was completely empty. They were serving online orders before dine-in customers, which was ridiculous. When the food finally came, the portion size was tiny, and they got our order completely wrong — we asked for white basmati rice but got brown rice, and instead of tikka masala sauce, they gave dal makhani and some random mango sauce that made no sense.
The server was clueless, careless, and not attentive at all. Only when we asked after half an hour did they even start preparing our food.
For the price they charge, this was an absolute letdown — poor service, wrong food, and frustrating experience from start to finish. Never coming back again and wouldn’t recommend to anyone.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
I was there for dinner the other day and ordered 4 different offerings. The food came in quick and it was flooded with deliciousness. I was having a great experience until the chef NOUR and her collegue Ashley walked up. After delivering such delicious food, these two came to deliver an amazing experience. Their genuine concern about what was good, what can be better, if the food met our expectations, etc was the cherry on the cake. A place that genuinely cares for its clients is unheard of!! A big shout out to Ashley and NOUR for making the experience worth cherishing!! Thank you guys!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service is extremely slow. Took 30 mins for my order which is weird considering this is considered fast indian food. The food itself is meh. Not going back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
This is the first Indian restaurant which doesn’t have butter chicken. Rice was hard . The gravy was not tasty. Naan was burned completely from back . One of servant black girl was so rude I asked her we ordered water also and she replied I have two hands to bring dishes . The workers were like pushed to work . Honestly I liked the location. They could do better with food with such a nice location.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
The food options are pretty decent, and the food tasted good as well.
But, there is this nasty smell that hits you when you enter the place, from around the hand wash/hand dryer area, which also has the water dispenser, trash cans and sauces bar.
We did have a chat with the employees, and they mentioned about the property managers not acting on the issue, which has been there for a long time now.
I did see another review about a year ago complaining the same thing, but nothing seems to have been done yet.
For a restaurant/food establishment, it’s best to fix such foul smells, as it just kills to vibe of the environment and not sure how it might be contaminating the water as well. Please take note.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place for Indian barbecue. It’s not your typical Indian restaurant, but still really good. Their Naan is excellent. They have good hot sauces too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great food and service.
When I arrived at the restaurant to pick up my order, it wasn’t ready yet. However, the girl at the front counter was extremely polite and helpful. She quickly took the initiative to pack my order herself, and I really appreciated how professional she was. I noticed that she even washed her hands before handling the food, which showed great attention to hygiene and customer care. Her friendly attitude and prompt service made a great impression.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Samosas, Malai Kulfi
It is impossible to order from their website. They ask for your location, you give it, select the Sterling Virginia store, and the only options for ordering are in Ohio or Pennsylvania. Despite, again, providing both location and address. Congratulations, you’ve lost a sale because your online ordering is impossible.
Good vegetarian and meat wrap and bowl options. Enough size for a meal. I visited this place couple of times. Plenty of space for dine in.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Paneer and Rice, Tikka, Paneer Wrap, Paneer Tikka Bowl, Chicken Choolah Bowl with Tikka Masala Chicken
Restaurantji Recommends
Highly recommend. Lots of mixed options from traditional curry and rice to half and half bowls - each available with lots of flavourful meat and vegetarian options. Lots of flavour, great service and reasonable prices (when compared to other fast food bowl places). Will definitely be coming back!
Been a while since the last visit, but have always enjoyed the dishes at Choolaah! I was sad when they stopped serving chai ☕️ Samosa chaat and the bowls are great!
Chicken wrap and the sauce does t go well together & samosa stuffing has no flavor. Taste can be better..
The Lamb Gyro was very good
Choolah used to be my go-to spot for fast, flavorful Indian food — a place I proudly introduced to friends and family. Unfortunately, today’s experience was a huge letdown.
I ordered the paneer wrap after months, and to my surprise, it was filled with rice like a burrito. The flavors were completely off — it just didn’t taste right.
Really disappointed, Choolah. Sadly, you’ve lost a loyal customer today.
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