This family business pushes a modern approach to classic Indian dishes. Get playful with a child pleaser for kids an adults alike: the chicken cheese kebab. Boneless chicken breasts are marinated in cream cheese and yogurt, cooked in a clay oven, and served with fenugreek leaves. Don’t miss the gobhi pecorino kulcha, a leavened bread stuffed with cauliflower, cheese, cashew, almonds, raisins, and jalapeno.

Mumbai was still known as Bombay when restaurateur Asad Sheikh was growing up in India. At the Columbia Heights original, along with locations on Capitol Hill and National Harbor, he shares the thriving street food vendor scene from his childhood through favorites like Bombay palak chaat (a mixture of crispy fried spinach with spiced yogurt and chutney), bhel puri (puffed rice mixed with a medley of raw onion, tomato, and chutney), and vada pao (spiced potatoes with ginger, garlic, and cilantro chutney served with a roll). Follow up these snacks with the Bombay thali for two: an assorted platter that includes curries, vegetables, bread, and rice. Sheikh also runs fast-casual chain Butter Chicken Company and London Curry House on U Street NW.

A fixture in D.C. for almost two decades, Jyoti highlights a wide spectrum of Indian food. In particular, its fish section explores dishes from West Bengal and Kerala. Try one of their fish curries to get a taste of Goa — a most popular beach state full of Portuguese influences — or a spiced red snapper that’s roasted whole in a tandoori oven.

Logan Circle’s color-soaked standby draped with silk fabrics imported from New Delhi specializes in Northern Indian cuisine. Chef Sanjay Mandhaiya formerly cooked at India’s Moti Mahel, which is widely considered the birthplace of butter chicken. The menu also features lamb biryani, tandoori grilled meats, palak paneer, samosas, and more. A new daily happy hour (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) centers around naan kathi rolls, discounted cocktails like a Ginger Bliss (rum, elderflower liqueur, ginger, and lime), and $10 off bottles of wine.

This charming, family-owned corner staple in NoMa features a cute patio decked out in colorful string lights with a separate bar slinging drinks and trays of biryani and butter chicken. Customers can peruse a long list of specials and vegetarian options on the chalkboard inside.

Dante Datta and Suresh Sundas, a respective drink expert and chef who met while working together at Rasika West End, reunited under one roof last summer with an anticipated Indian restaurant and cocktail bar at a corner just south of H Street NE. Sundas likes to combine Northern and Southern Indian cooking styles with some unorthodox touches: Think za’atar olive naan, chicken tikka tacos, chimichurri chutneys, or grilled chicken reshmi kebabs with a hint of blue cheese. Datta and bar manager Tom Martinez, both alums of now-closed Columbia Room, collaborate on inventive riffs on classics.

The palace-like Penn Quarter space that formerly housed Punjab Grill reopened this spring as a luxe new Indian restaurant called Rania, which means “Queen” in Hindi and Sanskrit. Chef Chetan Shetty, who recently cooked at acclaimed New Delhi restaurant Indian Accent, guides diners through a multi-course dinner of inventive Indian cuisine that goes way beyond the expected (as in dishes like braised lamb shank accented with spinach, coconut foam, ghoda masala spice blend, and mustard frills). Prix-fixe menus of three ($75) or four courses ($90) join an a la carte menu at the restaurant’s Sundowner Bar.

James Beard award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam plays liberally with spicy chiles and sour fruits to make Rasika one of the most celebrated Indian restaurants in the country. His palak chaat, a fried baby spinach dish decorated with sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney, has inspired imitators around town. Dal makhani slowly simmered in a decadent, buttery gravy and cauliflower Bezule (with mustard seeds, green chilies, and curry leaves) are also best sellers. Both the Penn Quarter flagship and its West End sibling are ideal venues for vegetarian diners, too. Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj also runs Bombay Club, a power dining staple downtown for over three decades that unveiled a new look last summer.

Co-owners and Eater Young Guns (‘18) Sahil Rahman and Rahul Vinod started this local fast-casual brand to introduce Indian food to a broad audience. Choose from premade bowls highlighting chicken tikka, lamb kebab, shrimp, spiced beef, sweet potato tikkis (a vegetarian-style cutlet), and more. Customers can also build their own, choosing from a base of vegetables or rice and adding mains, veggies, and toppings. End the meal on a sweet note with kulfi pops made out of a dense, creamy version of ice cream found in India. The fast-growing brand maintains locations in Navy Yard, Arlington, Mt. Vernon Triangle, and Fairfax.

A mix of traditional and modern, Kohinoor Dhaba highlights the best of North Indian food right by Crystal City. Try the fragrant goat biryani or keep it simple with one of its tandoor options. There’s also an extensive vegan menu. Load up plates during its daily lunch buffet (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

The Indo-Chinese restaurant unveiled a follow-up location in June at the foot of an Old Town Hyatt. Chef Ram Thapa sends out samosas, chicken spring rolls, pork belly, orange shrimp, chicken chop suey, veggie chow mein, and shrimp fried rice to go along with butter chicken, family-style biryani, palak paneer, and other Indian staples that pay homage to Indochen’s predecessor London Curry House. A well-stocked bar with 100 types of wine makes a mean barrel-aged Manhattan. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.