Anyone who’s watched a Gordon Ramsay show has heard the celebrity chef say time and again that a large menu is a warning sign — the red flag of a restaurant overextending itself. Or is it?
Aura Indian Food Paradise in Ashburn disproves his theory with an expansive bill of fare that’s as delicious as it is ambitious.
It’s all thanks to Viswanath Vasireddy, formerly of Bawarchi Biryanis in the same shopping center, and his devotion to being all things to all people. You might also know him from a little place in Vienna called Clarity.
The bakery and café at Aura opens at 8 a.m. and continues to serve dosas and chaats late into the night. Grab a chicken curry puff for a flaky bite that sizzles with unexpected heat. It’s best enjoyed with a rose-flavored soda sealed with a marble like Japanese Ramune.
For lunch and dinner, though, you’ll want to meet the robot server in the pan-Indian main restaurant. Patrolling the handsome, chandelier-lit dining room, guests will grow familiar with its wobbly propulsion. It stops at each table in turn with a screen stating, “Food is here.” Fortunately, human servers are also present to take orders and dole out the food sped out of the kitchen by the robot.
With more than 150 options on the menu, it’s not easy to choose. However, it’s best to start with one of the chef team’s fusion creations. Desi poutine features fries doused in a creamy sauce that’s buried in melting grated cheese. Fans of Indo-Chinese food (Vasireddy also owns Inchin’s Bamboo Garden in Herndon) will find not one but three spicy 65 dishes, including one made with crispy marinated anchovies.
For dessert, head back to the bakery for the best Indian-inflected layer cakes in the business. Slices in flavors including saffron-spiced rasmalai, cardamom-dusted chocolate mousse, and Black Forest are so moist that they could almost be called refreshing.
It’s all proof that a big menu can be just that — and we hope that this gustatory wonderland is here to stay. Aura Indian Food Paradise, 44630 Waxpool Rd., Ashburn
Feature image by Mike Ramm
This story originally ran in our August issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
