Namaste

I cannot rave enough about this place! I come here quiet often for Daal Makini and it is to die for! The staff is professional and on pint. Especially the hostess Senah who is so attentive, helpful, and adds to experience with her services! She is an asset to the restaurant as she seats people quickly and accommodates all customers as much as she can! Can’t beat the food! Or the Price! I travel from Manhattan just to eat here! Thank you Senah and all the other staff that he’s my experience wonderful to return !

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! :-)

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 Unilocal 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.

Chicken tikka tasted like ketchup water. Vegetable korma was not creamy at all. Cheese nan had cheap shredded cheese inside. Waste of money.

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, 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.

Do not misconstrue a 4 star rated restaurant in the City versus the boroughs. Unilocal 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 Unilocal 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 entrée 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 had high hopes because of the 4 star rating. Unfortunately, I deeply disliked the flavors of all of the dishes from the Namaste lunch speicial, from the rice and lentils to the eggplant to the Tandoori chicken — even the naan was subpar. The whole thing was an unappetizing mess. I actually hope I don’t get sick, because the chicken tasted so ‘off’. Never again. I will be sticking with Seva for my Indian food cravings from now on.

I would like to give less than a star, but Unilocal won’t let me. Lame.
«30 minute guaranteed delivery» apparently means wait 1 hour and 15 minutes, call the store, and have the owner say «It’s cold my delivery guy is very busy. Your food will come soon. Bye» *hangs up*. RUDE.
I understand that delivery orders increase when it’s cold, and that it sucks to have to do deliveries in the cold. Got it, but if you’re running a business that includes delivery, and you know it’s going to be cold, and you know that business increases in this way when it’s cold, you should maybe plan ahead and schedule extra staff… or at the very least be apologetic to your customers rather than brusquely hanging up on them.
Update:
I finally received my order nearly TWO HOURS after placing it. When I called and asked to cancel my order, the man on the phone promised me «the food will be in perfect condition, the food is made fresh when you order, do not worry about the food it will be great». When I stated that the food would likely be disgusting if it was made when my order was placed… two hours ago… he again stated «again, do not worry the food will be perfect. It might be there in ten minutes, or even now».
The food was, in fact, disgusting. I could not eat it, and went to bed starving. I ordered Vegetable Samosas and Cheese Naan.
1) Both items were COLD. Like freezing, as in zero warmth whatsoever.
2) The samosas were absolutely inedible. It was as though they had been smothered in salt, and even when I tried to ignore that and bit into it (because let’s face it, I was THAT hungry), the inside tasted like blended up rotten eggs. I tossed them immediately.
3) I then moved on to the Naan, with high hopes. Failboat. The Naan was, again, cold, but also incredibly soggy. It was also inedible.
I went to bed hungry, with $ 10 wasted on absolutely nothing. I will never order from this place again, and suggest you do the same.

Ordered takeout on New Year’s Eve to bring to my Grandma’s house.
2 Dal Makhani dishes — It was creamy and delicious. A little heavy on cumin which I don’t mind but my husband doesn’t like.
2 Mutter Paneer dishes — I’m a big fan!
The rice dish fell short. They only gave us 1 container which wasn’t enough for 4 dishes.
I’ll have to try eating there one day.

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:)

Namaste has very friendly service and nice ambiance. Good prices too. However, I’ve been multiple times and the food just cannot compare to Seva a few blocks away. Granted Seva’s kitchen is below the dining room and that means it gets really hot in the summer, so if you are looking to dine in when the temperature is reminiscent of India then Namaste is your place.

Last Monday was my first totally free day on a cat-​sitting gig in Astoria, and rather than go all the way to Lexington Avenue for my go-​to desi food fix, I decided to try local. Best. Decision. EVER.
First, I had noticed that their buffet opens at 11am. That’s the earliest of any NYC area Indian buffet I know – definitely a plus. So I went there right at 11. First of all, the service greeted me politely and so warmly that for a minute I wondered if I was back in the Southern US. Then, everything on the buffet was ready to go. NO waiting. YESSSS!!!
The food on this buffet was absolutely fantastic, with no misses. Highlights: a roasted-​garlic-​flavor laden mushroom saag; a homey vegetable curry without a bit of oiliness and with beans, peas, peppers and HUGE bits of carrot, eggplant, onion and potato; a chicken tikka masala in which the fall-​apart tender white meat chicken was really the focus, and a bone-​in goat curry that rivaled any lamb dish at Dhaba in Flatiron.
Then there was my absolute favorite dessert, Gajar ka Halwa. OMG!!! This was the closest to my homemade version I have ever had in a restaurant and my favorite by far from any place in NY/​NJ! Between the sweet-​but-​not-​too-​sweet carrot «base», largish lumps of khoya, and copious amount of cardamom, it was a 9.5 out of 10.
At $ 12 with tax, this is on par with its Manhattan cousins. But overall quality is superior. Boy, I hope I get another cat sitting gig out here soon!

My wife and I went this place on saturday night with $ 25($ 66.75 worth) groupon, which includes 1 appertizer, 1 meat entrée, 1 vegitable entrée and 2 desserts. A lot for $ 25!
First, waiter gave us some kind of crispy cracker with two sauses.(one little spicy, one bit bbq taste)
We ordered shrimp bhuba which taste like tomato and other seasoning in it. And shrimp was huge! worth trying.
For two entrees, of course we ordered chicken tikka masala which came with large portion with a lot of chicken in it. Enough butter and seasoning mixed with good taste. And for vegi entrée, we tried sagg paneer cause we love spinach dish. And for sure we enjoyed it. Both of entrée came with also large portion of complimentary rice. And extra garlic naan.
Combination of entrée was exellent.
Lastly, we tried cheese ball dessert and malfi ice cream. For every other indian places desserts are not in our taste.
Overall, everything was good. And definately coming back with my families and friends.
And thanks to great service from wonderful staff. Very kind and polite. Great dinner!!!

I love this place! It’s my 3^rd time coming here. Tonight I tried the mango martini and I recommend soooooooooooo delicious omg they should def make the mango martini and margarita its top drink. If you love nectar time of drinks I suggest you try it. Plus the fact that I don’t have to go into Manhattan to find an authentic Indian restaurant is def a super plus.

This is definitely my favorite Indian restaurant in Queens and I’ve been going here for about a year now. The staff is super friendly, and the food always exceeds my expectations. I normally get the Chicken Tikka Masala, and ask them to make it spicy. If you’re ever looking for an extra kick to your food, you should always ask them and they’ll be more than happy to add some more spice to it. The place itself is so beautiful and cozy. Definitely a nice date place. I highly recommend this place to anyone that likes Indian food, you should definitely give them a try. Everyone I’ve taken here absolutely lovesssss this place.

The best Indian food in the area!
Their chef is from India, so you’re definitely getting the real deal. The food is so much more flavorful and delicious — I ordered coconut land and it exceeded my expectations.
The staff was very attentive and polite. Highly recommend this place!

Clean, cozy ambiance, fluffy naan, reasonable prices. All reasons to give Namaste another try but I was not terribly impressed by the flavor of the entrees here.
We chose two unadventurous standards: chicken tikka masala and vegetable korma. They were a little bland and lacking in the spice and rich flavor typically associated with Indian food. I would ask for a higher level of spice next time, though perhaps they were just trying to be courteous as my boyfriend and I look/​are incredibly white.
The rice and naan (yay carbs) were tasty and in some ways more reliable than the entrees. The service was efficient and pleasant and we left feeling comfortable but not overly stuffed.

I never tried Indian food and I wanted to make sure my first experience wouldn’t turn me off to it completely. I searched high and low for a place with good food and good service. The Unilocal Universe brought me to Namaste.
I walked in and immediately felt welcomed, the décor was also very modern and elegant. This was a pleasant surprise. The owner was the one who greeted us and he was so excited that I was trying Indian food for the first time with his restaurant.
He was extra helpful by providing suggestions based on what I liked. He didn’t steer me wrong. All of the dishes that he suggested were amazing, colorful and seasoned to perfection.
We had the tandoori shrimp, fish skewers, chickpeas and basmati rice. Everything was so flavorful but more than the food what really stood out here was the level of service. The owner told us stories and made me feel like I was in his home having a private dinner.
Namaste was definitely worth the trip to Queens, I am so glad that I can say my first time having Indian food was here and the experience is one I won’t forget.

My sister was craving Indian food so we decided to come herr because they got good reviews. We decided to order for the menu rather than eating from the buffet. I wasn’t too hungry so my boyfriend and I shared an entrée, while my sister got her own dish. I had chicken Rajastani Hara Maas, which was good. It is cooked with ginger and cilantro, so the sauce is on the dark green side. My sister had the chicken saag, which was ok; it tasted like it was cooked in a wok, and my sister thought it was on the bland side. We also shared cheese Naan and chicken samosas. I wasn’t a fan of either. The cheese looked liked it was spayed on. The chicken samosas fell apart and was a mess.
Overall, I thought the food was OK, but I prefer the food at Seva (which is my favorite Indian Restaurant). The price at Seva is also better.

One of my co-​workers accepted a new position at another company and as a farewell lunch, a group of us decided to treat him to his favorite type of food which happens to be Indian!
Namaste is located in the heart of the busy area of Astoria and it’s a really modern and well decorated restaurant. The restaurant was very clean and looked like it would be very appropriate for something in Manhattan.
The lunch buffet had about 13 dishes, ranging from regular Basmati rice, salads, Pakoras, Biryani, Chicken Tikka Marsala, and Goat Vindaloo.
My favorite dishes were the Thai style chili chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Goat Vindaloo. The Thai chili chicken was bold (nice sweet and spicy contrast), still very fresh and moist, which can be a bit iffy at buffets.
The Chicken Tikka Masala and Goat Vindaloo were both very good as they happened to be the spiciest of the dishes served at the buffet.
Of note was the goat that was the best of the dishes I mentioned. It was what you would expect goat should taste like; a slightly gamier and leaner version of mutton. I love lamb, so I had a fair amount of the Goat Vindaloo ;)
Served with the meal was a basket of fresh naan bread which was also good, but I’m not sure if they give you additional naan free of charge or not, but heck the buffet is a pretty good bargain anyways.
I really have to try Namaste’s regular menu as the dishes served at the buffet really were very good; leading me to think the regular menu would be even better!