Maharaja House of Biryani has opened at 2414 Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park, next to Rocklands. Maharaja replaced All About Burger, which closed over a year ago after opening a new location down the street in Georgetown. All About Burger was expected to re-open after applying for a license to serve alcohol, but they changed their minds. It is not clear what happens to the valuable Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) license now, as it appeared to be in 405.1 “approved but not yet operating” status. Very likely this will be an additional ABCA license canceled rather than transferred in the neighborhood.
Maharaja is owned by Jaisimha Jaithirth, a restauranteur in Herndon, Virginia. He runs the popular Indian restaurant named Chaatwala at 1050 Elden St in Herndon. Jaisimha first ran Chaatwala out of a food hall in Leesburg called Chefscape, which is a restaurant business incubator started by Rob Batchelder and Ginny Grivas in 2019. Jaisimha considers himself a “food entrepreneur” as demonstrated in taking this next step to run Maharaja in Glover Park. He has a trademark application submitted for the Chaatwala logo. Chaat is considered a general term for a category of sweet, sour, spicy and crunchy street food in India. Maharaja, though, take a detour from Indian street food with a focus on Biryani - a dish more likely to be served for special occasions. Biryani has slow-cooked long-grained rice combined with vegetables or meat (often chicken or lamb) and simmered in spices.
Maharaja’s preliminary menu includes:
Samosas – fried pastry with vegetables and spices - $4
Paneer – fried cottage cheese with chutneys - $12
Kababs - lamb or vegetable, with mint chutney - $12-14
Biryani – chicken, mutton, lamb or vegetable - $16-20
Wraps – wheat bread with chicken, lamb, vegetable - $16-18
Desserts $5.00:
Gulab Jamoon – fried dough in sugar syrup
Ras Malai – cheese balls in cream
Gajjar Halwa – carrot pudding with almonds (what, you never tried that?)
Browse the Maharaja menu here
A statement from the owner on 6/10/2024:
We, at "Maharaja - House of Biryani " believe the Glovers Park community is so ready for a mindblowing dining experience of the royal kind !
As the name suggests - Maharaja means the King Of Kings - and we bring authentic Awadhi cuisine to DC's doorstep. A dining experience that bears the flavors and fragrance of authority, distinction and eminence
While the initial roots of Biryani can be traced to Iran, India has become the quintessential home of this much celebrated, slow cooked one-dish meal. And in a major departure from the regular Indian cuisine, the Awadhi style of cooking delights culinary enthusiasts with its "high on flavor and low on spices" magic.
And the man behind this magic, here to tickle your palate is the much celebrated chef, Fareed Quereshi who comes from a much hailed family in Lucknow (A city in the Northern part of India). His distinguished family has 125 chefs working all across the globe and the family has been awarded the Padmashree (highest civilian award) , the highest civilian award in India for their culinary achievements. Armed with 4 decades of experience and having been a part of many successful ventures here in the US and the world, Fareed is ready to tickle your tastebuds.
THe man behind this vision, Jaisimha Jaithirth ( also known as Jai) is the owner of a successful Indian street food restaurant. Chaatwaala in Herndon, Virginia. Chaatwala has in a short span of existence gained tremendous popularity and now boasts of a faithful fan following in the area. And he along with his brother & Manminder Singh (also known as Mani) are here to dazzle the capital city with this aromatic and savoury royal delight !
They say the stomach is the shortest way to a person's heart and here, to prove that adage right is Jai with Maharaja - House of Briyani. Get ready, DC for a sophisticated and sensorial dining experience.
Timings:
Monday Closed
Tuesday to Sunday - 11:00 AM till 9:00 PM
Email: maharaja-dc@gmail.com
Website: www.maharaja-dc.com