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Royal Nepal

This unique restaurant in North Del Ray came up as one of the rare Nepalese restaurants in the DC Metro area.  The staff is gracious.  I was doing take-out but was served water and the "special bread" at the bar, along with pickles, while I waited for my order to be prepared.

There isn't a lot of veg stuff on the menu but a definite effort to cater, with a couple of dishes being noted as vegetarian options.  I ordered the Classic Royal Thali, vegetarian version.  I laughed when the waitress asked if "that was all" as it is a very large dish, a sampling of nearly all the offerings.  I got a bag with no less than seven separate containers of food.  The result was mixed.  The "special bread" was a small circle of slightly sweet bread, lightly fried with sesame seeds.  It was yummy.  The pickles were terrific -- unique veggies pickled with a spicy seasoning and sesame.  The rice tasted and smelled funky and came with avocado, which I can almost guarantee isn't a Nepalese food.  The eggplant was mushy in not a good way.  On the flip side the potato and cauliflower curry and the seasoned spinach were quite delectable and the the "16 bean curry" was truly amazing.  There was a container which I thought included salad.  It was a random collection of raw chopped vegetables -- sweet potato, daikon, red and yellow onion, cucumbers, one hot pepper and one lemon slice.  Not sure what do to with this, I ate some and saved others to use in another dish.

Bottom line:  I would return to try the veggie dumplings (not available on the menu I was given) and to check out the dessert options.  The spinach and bean curry were definite repeats, as well.  The rice, however, was just nasty, so I would be careful as to what I order there.

Nepalese Restaurant
3807 Mt. Vernon Ave.
http://www.royalnepalva.com/


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