Best Restaurants for Spicy Food in Essex

Excellent and varied menu. Nick was our server and did a great job. Will definitely return to the Mt. Airy Tavern.

Definitely the best Indian restaurant in Bethesda (and beyond).

The Ambassador had gorgeous Christmas decorations. They said "no problem" when I asked to add 2 people.

My wife and I ordered the veggie sampler with fish and then the lamb tibs. The food was delicious and we really enjoyed our experience!

Discover the rich flavors of India at Indian Ocean. They serve authentic Indian cuisine made with the freshest ingredients. We were meeting my sister and brother-in-law for dinner, and our table was ready and waiting when we arrived. We were warmly greeted by Suraz and Ari. The restaurant has a quiet and peaceful décor. They immediately placed on the table Papadum (light crispy Indian wafers) and two dipping sauces to get us started. BYOB with no corkage charge is always a plus for us. Ari, our server, was so friendly and attentive. A lot of people think Indian food is too spicy or loaded with curry. It is not – here you can request the spice level you want and there are a ton of dishes with no curry. My brother-in-law started off with a cup of the Mulligatawny Soup (a traditional Indian soup made with delicately spiced lentils and seasoned with mustard seed) and an order of Pakora (fritters coated with chickpea flour batter and fried to a golden perfection) and served with two dipping sauces. He also asked Ari if the chef could make him a dish that had lamb and eggplant with the Tikki Masala sauce, and they did! My husband enjoyed one of his favorites – the Tandoori Shrimp (jumbo shrimp marinated in herb mixture and delicately broiled in their tandoori clay oven). My sister and I had my favorite – the Asparagus Mushroom Korma – a lovely, savory dish of asparagus and royal trumpet mushrooms cooked in a cashew sauce. All of the dishes were served with basmati rice. The portions were generous, so we all had lunch for the next day. Everything was top notch.