Namaste
“Best of all, the food was phenomenal, I recommend the vegetable jalfreze and the first class naan.”
“I must say, I like this place lot better than Seva (which is always so cramped and lacking in service/food quality).”
“Great news Astorians- we no longer have to go to Jackson Heights for great Indian food!”
Namaste
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I was a big fan of here- I mean I still want to like the place. I have to update my review here because I've been disappointed with this place lately. It's still a very nice restaraunt with a very pleasant staff- but the last two times I ordered from here, I wasn't crazy about the food. Granted, I usually order the same main dish- the chicken tikka masala, and it's always been absolutely delicious! But the last two times, I found the sauce to be very watery and the taste was just blah and bland. They definitely changed something here and not for the better. I don't know if they changed chef's or the recipe- but they should try and correct that. Shouldn't fix things that aren't broken in the first place LoL. The first time it happened over a month ago, I thought- "ok maybe they just had a bad night and this batch wasn't so good." But it happened again now and it's the same bland flavor on that sauce. If it matters at all- both times I got this bland taste was on a Thursday night, so maybe it's got something to do with the cooking staff that night? I don't know. Regardless, I might have to skip eating here for a bit til it becomes better again :-/
I won't give up on this place though! ::Raises fists in the air::: I want to believe it will get better again! 🙂
So to start off, I must say the food here is out of this world! I always get the chicken vindaloo when I come here and it never disappoints. The naan is soft yet crispy in the bottom and just melts in your mouth. The ambience is pretty chill and the seats are nice and comfortable.
My only complain with this place will be their poor customer service. I stopped by here with my boyfriend and we ordered chicken vindaloo, saag mushroom, shahi paneer and lamb vindaloo. He literally had one piece of the lamb vindaloo and he completely disliked it. So he called the server over to have it returned and she completely denied it. She was rude enough to argue with us about how that is exactly how lamb vindaloo is made and exactly how it should taste like. Its a common courtesy of every restaurant to take back a dish that the customer didn't like. It completely upset us.
Firstly I love the chairs because it eliminates the need for fighting over a booth seat:)
We had a Groupon so my friend and I split $50 worth of food for $25 and we bought Naan too. The portion sizes are good, so it was a Groupon well spent.
Firstly I never knew Indians made crab cakes, so that appetizer got our interest immediately. The menu said it had ginger in it, but to be honest due to a cold, I couldn't taste it. However, the crab cake size was just right for an appetizer. They were about the size of the Baltimore crab cake. Fried to perfection and generous with meat.
However, I didn't think I needed d to bring my own Siracha sauce to an Indian restaurant. We ordered panel and lamb korma. No spice at all, which my runny nose and I were disappointed with. Still good, especially the lamb korma (no bones!!). But if you like it spicy, you must specify because we assumed it would be mild like usual, which we had to get anyways because my friend doesn't have the insides of steel that I got:)
The rice pudding at the end was good, but it was the white kind not orange.
They were very nice and attentive here, so I would still like to come back. I know I'll like it with a whole lot of spice:)
Came here on a pretty quiet/empty evening. I was really craving Indian food for awhile. The hosts and waiter throughout the hour and a half meal, changed. Our first waiter went on break, but I hardly minded since the second waiter was funny. The mango margarita was delicious! How can you go wrong with sweet mango? I observed the layout of the restaurant while I waited for the food and really liked the clean, slightly elegant appeal. We ordered the okra curry and chicken makhini. I really liked the okra curry, the consistency was on point and the chicken was poached, so it felt soft, but the sauce felt lacking. I am not use to Indian dishes not having spices. I know it is tomato/marinara like, but I expected some spice/kick. The desserts were really amazing. I have discovered sweet carrots and rice pudding go together so well! I am giving this place an A-OK because though the desserts were amazing, I wasn't amazed by the main dishes. Also, at the end when the check was given to us, we weren't given happy hour prices for our drinks because of the groupon we used, I presume. It was confusing. As someone previously stated here on another review, when you inquire about your check, it gets awkward..
Firstly I can't get enough of Indian food even though I cook it twice in my own kitchen (some serious addiction here!). I was buying groceries in Jackson Heights when we decided to flea to Astoria for a quick dinner. After a quick search on Yelp we finally zeroed in on this place.
It was an easy find and conveniently located. The restaurant is beautifully done with paintings n glass work on the walls. My expectations for food were also on the same level but it kind of deflated after I took a bite of their Paneer Makhani. Made in ketchup gravy ( I hate that ketchup concept for gravies!) the Paneer lacked any good flavour. Plus the daal also wasn't that creamy. Above all, both the dishes were seriously under seasoned. The only saving grace were the breads which were surprisingly ok!
However the staff was hospitable and took our orders patiently. We even got a complimentary kheer at end of the meal! Having said that I might give it a second try on a weekend for their buffet spread..
Do not misconstrue a 4 star rated restaurant in the City versus the boroughs. Yelp purposely describes each rating:
1 star – "Eek! Methinks not."
2 star – "Meh. I've experienced better."
3 star – "A-OK."
4 star – "Yay! I'm a fan."
5 star – "Woohoo! As good as it gets!"
I have a couple of go-to Indian restaurants but I live in Astoria and they are located in Jackson Heights and Brooklyn. So on a Friday night, I decided to get a little lazy and rely on the local Yelp reviews. What I forgot to realize is often times, local reviews have a lower standard because the options are limited so a 4 star restaurant in Astoria can likely be a 3 star restaurant in the City. This is not always the case but applies often from my experience.
Anyways, with a 4 star rating, we walked into Namaste for dinner. For appetizers, we ordered the vegetable samosas. They were big in size but it really wasn't anything special about it which is nowhere a dealbreaker. For entrees, we ordered chicken vindaloo and chicken shahi korma. My wife was looking for something spicy hence the vindaloo and it was indeed hot but it was also a bit too sour than usual. She definitely regretted getting it as opposed to a safe order of tikka masala. When I don't get to eat Indian enough, my go-to is the shahi korma. It's supposed to have a nice creamy and subtly sweet flavor. IMHO, Namaste's dish was creamy but a bit on the bland side. It wasn't the worst I've ever had but far from the best. With the addition of naan, we had a pretty filling meal.
Service-wise, I thought the male server was a bit pushy, ie. we could tell he really wanted us to finish our apps before the entree came while we wanted to finish them later. It was an awkward exchange. Maybe why he stopped serving us and a female server started helping us. Right before order our desserts, she asked if we had a Groupon which I answered "yes?" I ended up finding the Groupon and purchasing it to use but when I asked for the bill and told her about the discount, we had an awkward interaction where she said I had to tell her this at the beginning. She followed by saying she would need to ask permission if she can process this only to NOT ask anyone and just tell me the discount cannot be added.
Overall, the food was average at best and the service wasn't any better, hence why I rate this place a, "Meh. I've experienced better" a.k.a. 2 stars.
I don't understand the good reviews on this place. I felt like yelp has really let me down. I bought a groupon for namaste after seeing the excellent reviews. Came here on a Thursday night and although the service was good, the food was not. We had chicken tikka marsala and let me tell you, i am not indian but have eaten at many authentic indian restaurant and i have never seen tikka marsala that bright red before. It tasted like tomato soup with chicken in it. The color was also very off putting as it was bright red. It was also very sweet with a hint of cinnamon. We also order paneer with spinach which was just okay. The naan was good, nice and fluffy and the rice was undercooked. The deal that we got was cheap but i don't think i'll be returning to this place. Our search for good indian food continues.
It's been said plenty, but the place has an AYCE lunch buffet on weekdays (can't speak for the weekend). Pretty baller stuff, and an overall great deal, especially when considering that you won't be spending over $15 after all is said and done. And the place is quite strategically located, right off the 30th Ave N/Q stop (arguably the most "happening" stretch of blocks in all of Astoria).
I've never been here outside of weekday lunch, but even at that hour, the place has dim romantic lighting. Kind of a weird choice there, they usually have some sunshine coming in by the entrance, so that's usually where I get my seat.
I'm no proclaimed expert when it comes to Indian food, but the stuff offered here is tasty enough. Goat and chicken curry, tikka masala, and other bites are available (and go up as much as you want to grab your favorites).