Namaste Indian Cuisine

We love the buffet at Namaste! What’s nice is that the food is reliably fresh and delicious; we frequently invite a gaggle of friends, and there are choices for everyone. The building is nothing special, but it’s always super clean and the staff are attentive and helpful. I ordered a simple vodka tonic from the bar and was pleasantly surprised at how balanced and beautifully presented it was. The Naan is grilled perfection, the Tikka Masala, amazing!

Possibly best in Portland! When you see a chef with turban coming out of an Indian kitchen the food is certainly good!

Absolutely fabulous!!!
Everything we tried was wonderful and the staff was very friendly
Make sure you try the mango and coconut ice cream
Also, the Amrut whisky was surprisingly good too.
I will be back to eat here and I will bring my friends

Good for what it was, and the dinner buffet price was not bad ($ 13).
There was a wide variety of meats (chicken, lamb, goat, fish) and vegetarian dishes. I only tried a couple vegetarian options, which were all pretty good. All the meats were delicious! If you’re not a fan of mint, don’t be turned off by the green mint sauce — it tasted more cilantro-​y and sweet, than it did minty. The yoghurt sauces were also good for offsetting some of the spice.
Service was okay. We had 6 people at our table. They only gave us 3 water glasses, even though we asked for 3 more. At least the table had 3 pitchers of water, so we just shared glasses.
There were a couple times the basmati rice pot was pretty low/​close to empty, so we had to wait for the pot to be refilled.
The mango ice cream was delicious! Get it when you can! There were a couple times when the ice cream came out watery because the machine was still working.
I give this place 4 stars because the food tasted great and was good quality. If you’re in the area and have a hankering for indian buffet, I definitely recommend checking it out.

I have to write a review update for the SERVICE! So I just had dinner here tonight. I was on my own and walked from home, which is only a few blocks away. I love the food here, which I’ve previously reviewed about and still stand by that review. So anyway, I had a nice dinner and stuffed myself silly then got up to pay… and realized that I FORGOT MY WALLET! Thought about running, hiding in the bathroom until closing time, washing dishes for the rest of the evening, but decided that I should adult and fess up. So I told the cashier about my situation and without skipping a beat she says «OK I trust you. Just come back when you have your wallet» UM AWESOME! It’s hard to have faith in people these days, so thank you Namaste cashier for trusting me when she absolutely didn’t have to.

Absolutely delicious food even if it wasn’t buffet-​style, and very reasonable prices. There’s really nothing else to be said.

Namaste… We’ve driven past this place a few times and had always wanted to try. Upon opening the front doors, the warm smell of Indian spices wafted out — a promising experience. We walked up to front counter waiting to be seated and realized the place was fairly empty. It reminded me of a sad Cafeteria type restaurant, fluorescent lighting and a long row of food being warmed by the buffet warming lights. I’m guessing maybe there was a lunch rush we just missed given that multiple tables were left dirty with stacks of plates covered in orangey brown sauces. Turns out the place just isn’t that clean. Random plates at the start of buffet line were supposed to clean but had sauce drips or who knows what on them. At this point part of me wanted to leave but my nose told me to stay — it all smelled yummy. So after picking a clean plate, I started filling it. The offering was what you might think you’d find at an Indian lunch buffet, and it ended up actually tasting good. So why three stars? The staff was nice, the food was good, and the price was pretty cheap: $ 10 a person. If the food were any less good or the staff rude I would have easily given it 2 stars. It needs a good cleaning & some louder background music so it didn’t feel so empty. Will I go back? It’s close to my place, it’s cheap, and there aren’t other Indian options as close… so maybe. Probably. Maybe.

Buffets.
We love ‘em as kids (what?! I can have as much dessert as I want?!), we grow to loathe them as we age closer and closer to the «responsible adult» stage of development (exception: ethnic lunch buffets).
I was told that some of the best Indian food in Portland was actually at a buffet.
I was very skeptical.
After having gone more than a few times: the hype is real.
One of the best Indian buffets I’ve ever been to and, indeed, some of the best Indian food in Portland (I’ve heard all the good Indian food is in the ‘burbs but I can neither confirm nor deny that this is true.)
Of course, the food isn’t going to be super-spicy…but this is the major downside of Indian buffets that all capsaicin addicts must come to grips with.
Oh, an for your inner 3^rd-​grader: they do have ice cream. MANGO ice cream, to be exact.
Protip: For a very unique experience, sit in the bar and watch folks spend an entire paycheck on the gambling machines.

My wife and I drove up from Salem for Namaste’s lunch buffet. So far, this is our favorite Indian restaurant we’ve tried in the area. The buffet offers an amazing number of items
And to do justice to trying them all it’s going to require multiple visits. Among my favorites: the creamed spinach paneer, garlic chicken and chicken makhani. The tandoori chicken was tender and flavorful. We loved the veggie pakora as well. The restaurant is clean and nice inside and the staff members were friendly and helpful. We’ll definitely be back.

This place was so good we came back for 2nds the following day. Mango ice cream is delicious. Skip the lassi and go for the ice cream instead. Chai is delicious and feels like a bottomless cup!

Good for a buffet, more lamb and goat than the usual and I really liked that. The ice cream was a nice touch. Atmosphere is a little worn but clean.

Rich, exotic flavors. Well crafted food and the buffet trays are clearly changed out often. Friendly staff, reasonable drink prices, warm atmosphere. Will return

Just finished a sumptuous meal here! My cup (of chai) was refilled by the attentive waiter 4 times! Nice place to enjoy a meal & leisurely conversation with friends!

This place was nothing fancy, but the food speaks for itself. I went for a dinner buffet on a Friday night with out-​of-​town guests who were in the mood for Indian. A friend from India suggested this place, and he knows his stuff.
Plenty of vegetarian or chicken options, unlimited delicious Indian cuisine, and mango ice cream to finish things up on a sweet note. All for a completely reasonable price.
As Arnold once said, «I’ll be back.»

A $ 50 bottle of wine is generally not 5 times as good as a $ 10 bottle. A $ 5,000 guitar is usually not 10 times as good as a $ 500 guitar, though it should be significantly better.
Thie rule doesn’t hold up with Indian lunch buffets. I’ve been eating at lunch buffets costing 6 or 7 dollars and have been disappointed to the point that I though I was losing my taste for Indian food! Until I had the $ 10 lunch buffet at Namaste in Portland. What a difference freshness makes! And the Ginger Chicken — most chicken dishes are made with thigh meat, inferior to breast meat, in my NSHO. And when breast id used it is usually low quality or over-​cooked. This chicken was A1 and cooked to perfection! This $ 10 meal was 3 times as good as the 6 and seven dollar meals.

Very good Buffet. I look forward to ordering from their menu.
Busy lunch crowd, but if you step into the lounge you will find ample seating.

Hmmmm — I have a love hate relationship with this place.
I guess you could it is an authentic Indian experience, in that it is pretty filthy and run down. I’m a little afraid I caught something using the bathroom.
The food is really good, bursting with flavor and very aromatic. They have more options than most other Indian buffets.
It IS a buffet — some of the other folks there are SUPER UBER gross, and that gives me the eebie jeebies and makes me a little scared.
The mango ice cream is AWESOME.
The location an ambiance are…70’s lounge that has lived a very hard life.
The staff are very nice and the service is great.
I’m torn. I want to give a good rating, but I keep going back to the yucko parts, darn it :(

I went there with a group of friends. The food was cold with no taste at all. The only thing that was eatable was cucumber salad. This was the worst Indian food I had in US. The tea was pathetic.
I would suggest not to eat there.

Pretty standard, really. Namaste provides typical Indian food options in buffet form. They don’t change the buffet very often, so you never have to worry about missing out on one of your favorites. Make sure to go for dinner though… there are certain dishes they don’t put out for lunch.
The chicken tikka masala is pretty delicious, but the chicken can be a bit dry from time to time. How they manage to make chicken that is fully submerged in sauce dry is a mystery to me, but I still really like the dish. The tandoori chicken is pretty much the opposite… there’s no sauce yet it is moist and tender, and the flavor of the tandoori chicken is just right.
For dessert they have homemade mango ice cream. Sometimes they also have coconut, but the mango is my jam. The consistency of the ice cream isn’t always quite right, but the flavor always is.

I had lunch and enjoyed the buffet. Great variety compared to other Indian buffets I have partaken. Some of the dishes were slightly different than what I am accustomed to having at Indian restaurants. And I felt some of the dishes were way too buttery.
I can’t say that this was the best but it sufficed for satisfying my craving for some Indian food. But I would point out the rice options. There was the standard jasmine rice but then there was one that was seasoned with chicken. THAT was delicious.
I also enjoyed the coconut and mango ice soft serve available. I’ve never been to an Indian restaurant that offered that I thought it was great. I made myself stop otherwise I easily could have eaten a lot more of it.
All in all, it was fine but I wouldn’t make it a regular spot to visit.

My wife and I had the lunch buffet. It was not the best or the worst Indian food I’ve ever had. Some of the dishes were so-​so, while others were winners. The good thing is they lay out a lot of stuff, so you’re bound to find something you like. My wife complained that some of it was too buttery. I felt the chicken vindaloo lacked the fire of others I’ve had. But the different rices were super flavorful. The curry and tandoori were spot on.
The location is a little odd and if it weren’t for the big sign out front, you’d have no idea this restaurant was here, unless you were staying at the adjacent motel. Namaste is essentially attached and looks just like the motel. The enter is in the back. Odd set up.

The Good: selection and value. You’re allowed to stuff a to-​go box rather than eat there, something a number of people do (but probably shouldn’t.ahem.)
The Bad: almost every dish is a sub par version of something you’d fine at a quality Indian restaurant. My favorite — Matar Paneer — was just awful, it was very watery rather than stew-​like hearty. Two versions of rice were very dry as they are kept in two giant warmers. The Saag Paneer was one of the better dishes. Tandoor Chicken was average, their fried stuff was above average. At dinner there was something pinkish color that looked like dessert, but was wasn’t, very yummy.
Their Gulab Jamun is flavorful, but served cold; what makes this dish is when it’s served warm. The coconut Soft Serve Ice Cream was okay, but the Mango option was gross: bright Orange food coloring and bad flavor.
Service is attentive and efficient. Parking and overall building is odd. Portland doesn’t do Indian well, I’d go back if I had an Indian food hankering. People going through the buffet line kinda resembles a hog trough.