Tom Sietsema wrote about Dalchinni for a January 2010 First Bite column.

The menu of the new Dalchinni in Dupont Circle advertises “Indian cuisine and specialty Himalayan java coffee.”

There’s a small problem with that promise. Even though the restaurant, which derives its name from the Indian word for cinnamon, is three months old, it has yet to receive the Italian coffee machines it needs to brew espresso and other hot drinks, says manager Gagan Pradhan.

While they’re waiting for those liquid jolts, customers can check out the other half of the promotion: gently spiced ground-lamb skewers, saag paneer that tastes of fresh spinach (and that ignites a little fire on the tongue) and almondsprinkled chicken in a creamy golden gravy sweetened with raisins and rosewater.

The kitchen also does a satisfying job with its spiky vegetable fritters and stinging chilly chicken, but its bland breads and wimpy lamb vindaloo are nothing to strike fear in the heart of, say,Masala Art or Rasika.

Dalchinni, at 1736 Connecticut Ave. NW, previously was home to the Polo Indian Club, a tired dining room that required a climb of stairs to access and, given the buzzier food choices on its block, proved easy to pass by. Its renovation, by new owner Bisheswor Tandukar, is simple but catchy. A slatted ceiling, broad wood tables and newly exposed brick walls on the first floor lend a rustic look.Metal appetizer platters decorate the wall leading to the second floor, which is used for private functions.

The problem with liquids at Dalchinni extends to alcohol. Even the simplest cocktail request is out of the staff ’s reach, and the available wines — Inglenook, Sutter Home, Sula from India — will have you reaching for water.

File Dalchinni under Good in the ’Hood (With Some Caveats).

January 5, 2010