Aditi: Where You Are Always a Distinguished Guest

“What we don’t compromise on is basically the quality of food,” Rajesh Ramakrishnan said, one of the owners of Aditi Indian Dining. “We really take good care of our customers.”

That’s exactly what you’d expect of a restaurant whose name has three meanings, one of which is “distinguished guest.”

“We opened Kingstowne two years back. We’ve done quite well,” said Ramakrishnan. “I don’t know if I play a part in that, but I think the team up front plays a part in that. They do a fantastic job.”

The quiet warmth of the staff matches Aditi’s interior, aglow with the colors of Indian fabric and contemporary American style. There are dinner and lunch hours. Lunch features a buffet, and it is easier then to catch a hint of incense mixing nicely with the scents of the tasty food.

Ramakrishnan said Aditi has been in the Kingstowne Towne Center for about two years, offering the Indian, fine dining experience he craved without travelling for several miles. He lives in the area, and still marvels at the miracle of timing that had him call their business leasing agent just as space was opening up.

“Popeye’s moved out and we were here the next day talking to [the property owners] about this place,” he said, “and I think pretty much they liked what we offered, and this worked out fine for the two of us.”

The native of India studied hotel management in Bangalore, then worked in luxury hotels there and in the Middle East. He moved to the Washington Metropolitan Area nine years ago, and worked at the first Aditi in Georgetown. The owner there, another partner, and Ramakrishnan eventually joined forces. The Georgetown location no longer exists, but there is an Aditi presence at Union Station where the partners also own the new China Kitchen.

But this is not how Ramakrishnan planned to spend his life.

“I did my schooling and I pretty much wanted to be an engineer. That was where I was supposed to go,” he said.

He was “very close to getting into one of the colleges back home, and then up comes an ad in the paper stating that they’re looking for hotel management graduates … I fell for it, for good or for bad,” he laughed.

“It’s a little tough in terms of the time and the effort that you have to put in, but I kinda like it that way,” said the father of two young children.

“I don’t think I’m one of those guys who can just sit at a desk and do things,” he said. “Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I wish I could do that!”

Since he can’t, Ramakrishnan puts his energy into the business he fell for.

“It is not an easy task in this industry to keep everybody happy,” he said, “but we try and do our best.”

*****

Aditi Indian Dining, 5926 Kingstowne Blvd., Suite 150, Alexandria, VA 22315, 703-922-6111, www.myaditi.com

 Hours: Lunch=Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Dinner= Monday-Thursday 5:30-10:00 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5:00-10:30 p.m., Sunday 5:00-10:00 p.m.