Minerva Express

Reviews

• Erin F.

  star star star star star_border 11 June 2026

  4.5 stars
  
  Ambiance- this place does not have it. We were concerned when we walked in. We couldn't get into the "restaurant" side and had to walk through the grocery store late on Friday night. There was an extremely grating bollywood video from the 1950s playing in the background that made it almost difficult to enjoy our food.
  
  We ordered the palak paneer, the lamb curry and they gave us a plate of chickpeas because we weren't eating bread or rice.
  
  The amount of food they gave us for the price that we paid was more than generous. The palak paneer was incredibly good. There was lots of paneer (normally you only get like 4 pieces) and the spinach was amazing. I could have kept eating it for hours. The interesting thing was that it was even a little bit spicy.
  
  The lamb was just alright in my opinion, but my fiance loved it, and it might just be that I'm not a huge fan of lamb.
  
  The chickpeas were also good, and we had to get a to-go container for them.
  
  There's also a very reasonably priced Indian grocery in the same space that I recommend. We bought paneer and some peanut products that looked very good. It seemed very popular with the Indian community in the area.
  
  Taking off half a star for the bollywood music. It really is a great place to get food; I just wish it was a bit closer to home :)

• M G.

  star star star star_border star_border 6 June 2026

  Minerva Express is located inside a really nice Indian grocery.  Just going into the building got my taste buds excited.  There are a couple of tables for dining in but clearly most folks do what I did and order for takeout.
  
  I ordered Butter Chicken for takeout.  The food was prepared quickly and the serving size was good.  I like my food to have a fair amount of spice but because I have found that most really authentic Indian restaurants tend to add more spice than I prefer, I ordered the dish to be prepared "mild."  
  
  The Butter Chicken was very tasty except for being much too spicy hot.  I would not have been surprised at the amount of heat had I not asked for "mild" but, having asked for less than the normal amount of heat, I was disappointed.  
  
  I will try Minerva Express again but will emphasize that I want the "heat" dialed back a bit more than normal even for mild.

• Jackie K.

  star star star star_border star_border 31 May 2026

  Mixed bag:  Chicken Tiki Masala and Chicken Curry were good.  Nan was excellent.  Samosas were good, if small (at least they're cheap).  However, the WORST palak paneer I've ever had and I've eaten it many times - horrid, weird flavor and watery.  Staff is surly.  Eclectic Indian groceries in the adjacent store, which was fun.

• Megan K.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 27 May 2026

  I have been craving Indian food and decided to try Minerva Express for lunch. Definitely not someplace I will be returning. While the prices looked fine on the surface, the portions were small and some of the food was not even warm when it arrived, including cold naan and samosas. The palak paneer was edible, but lacked the flavorful spices I expect from good Indian food. Save your time and money and look elsewhere.

• Dipesh P.

  star star star star star 24 May 2026

  Great Indian food near DC.  This place is a hole in the wall but the food is outstanding.  Do NOT expect 5 star service or ambiance but you can expect amazing indian food.  We have tried biriyani from all over the world and Minerva's lamb biriyani is one of the best.
  
  They also have a nice little grocery store where you can get all your Indian groceries.