Namaste India

Went in for dinner on a Saturday night and it was busy, but not full. The space is large — obviously this is a place that brings in the lunch crowd for the ever popular lunch buffet, but dinner service off the menu did not disappoint one bit. It smelled like Indian spices mixed with new construction — someone put a lot of time, effort (and money) into the rehab here.
I’m not sure what it is about paneer but I love it. Waaaay too much. The portion size of this app was Iowa sized. That’s to say, there was a lot. The samosas were prepared fresh that day — they weren’t sitting around waiting in the fridge for a week (like some other places do). The apps were delicious.
Entrees — we both went for the vindaloo, mine with lamb. Dining partner doesn’t do meat, and they don’t have a vegetarian vindaloo on the menu but they happily made one veg. The naan was delicious.
Be forceful with your spice request. Next time we go we’re going to make sure the waiter understands when we say spice, we really mean spicy. Indian spicy, not Iowa spicy. There’s a difference.

We ate here quite a while ago for dinner and had a good time overall. We missed their lunch buffet which we really wanted to try, I love Indian buffets! The place was very quint, a calm atmosphere for easy eating. We have eaten at ALMOST every Indian restaurant in the metro and to be honest their flavors are very very similar.
There are differences here and there between the various menu options and buffet line, but overall the tastes are pretty close. Obviously for those who are more familiar with Indian cuisine would be able to nitpick at the smaller details than I.
Parking is easy in the spacious parking lot!

Very good food. We will definitely come back. Prices are very fair. Clean. Not a dump or a dive. Good service. In an older strip mall.

They have updated the space and the food is out of this world good now! Came for dinner the other night got Samosas, 2 dishes, roti bread and it was under 25 bucks! Great place to fill up that tummy on a budget! And the Bollywood videos are super fun to watch too!

Without question the best Indian food in town! They are s good as any I have had in cities like Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, and Chicago. This place is authentic and delicious.

There aren’t a ton of Indian places around town, but this is a good one. Not only was the food great and traditional, but our server was fantastic! When prompted, he pointed out some things on the menu that we might enjoy. We asked for a mild spice level since we had never been there before, and he told us which of the entrees we might like best if we preferred peanuts, red sauce, cream sauce, etc. We got a couple of appetizers, which were delicious, and had leftovers for lunch the next day! Prices seemed reasonable for the amount and awesomeness of food (~$ 10/​entrée).

This is one of the worst restaurant. The food is very worst. I went to this restaurant with a hope that i will find some tasty indian food. That spoiled my whole day. I don’t recommend anyone to go and waste money here.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. The owner and staff are all very friendly.
This past year or so, they expanded the restaurant, so now it’s much bigger. There is a lot more space.
The buffet is half vegetarian options, half meat options. I can’t personally review the meat options, but everyone I have brought here to have lunch has loved it. The vegetarian options are always changing, never the same, and never boring.
As far as Indian food in Des Moines goes, Namaste is the winner.

I ordered a butter masala paneer with garlic naan. The naan was perfectly cooked. The paneer dish was quite good, but clearly colored with some kind of red food coloring or something. It was blood red and, after I finished eating, my fingers were red for a good couple of hours after with something that wouldn’t wash out.
And yeah, one waitperson isn’t the best way to go. Service was sssslllllooooowwwww…

Great selection of Indian cuisine! They’ve updated the dining room recently as the grocery moved farther down. I was sad when I moved from Iowa City and lost their great Indian restaurants. Now I’ve found my home in Des Moines. Great lunch buffet too! (Beer and wine is cheap too!)

Are you terrified of Indian food? I used to be. Seriously terrified. I had no idea what to order and big screen TVs with Bollywood films intimidated me.
Don’t worry. Namaste and I have you covered.
Walk into the restaurant and sit wherever you like. They don’t care; the waitors are super friendly. Get a mango lassi, even if you’re lactose intolerant, it’s totally worth it. Then order the samosas to start (there’s two — you can split them with a friend). Don’t use the green sauce if you hate cilantro like I do; whatever the brown sauce is, it is heaven. Get the chicken tikka masala or chicken curry and order them medium spicy. Ask for a side of plain naan.
When all of it comes to your table and you’re wondering what I’ve just done to you, don’t talk, just enjoy. But for god’s sake, don’t eat it all; you want enough for lunch tomorrow because they will give you enough basmati rice, naan, and entrée for an extra meal and believe me when I say leftover Indian food is even better than leftover Chinese.

Far and away my favorite Indian food. This was the place where I first tried Indian food three years ago and I have loved the food and the service ever since. I have tried Indian food from other places around Des Moines, and even in bigger cities like San Fransisco and Louisville — no place can even compare!
The only waiter who has ever been there recognizes us immediately every time, gives us a big smile and a friendly hello, and always knows what we like to order. My first love is malai kafta — a dish with cheesy vegetable balls smothered in a creamy, slightly sweet sauce. I pour a few large spoonfuls over a plate of their perfectly prepared basmati rice. So many spices and flavors play upon my palette. From the first bite, I was instantly hooked. A nice surprise in this dish is the golden raisin pieces that surprise you with a burst of sweet.
I also like their chicken tikka masala. Chunks of fresh chicken, tender and juicy are covered in a creamy, bright red masala (sauce). The turmeric flavor comes through on this dish, adding a pleasing flavor complexity. When you take a bite of rice with the flavorful chicken and sauce, it’s like a Bollywood dance break in your mouth! Add garlic naan to this and you’re in heaven.
Namaste carefully crafts their meals to create an
authentic experience for its guests. From samosas with tamarind and mint chutney to their delicious entrees, and from their variety of naan to pair with your meal to the creamy, sweet cool of their mango lassi — Namaste has got it right!
You will not be disappointed!

This was my first time having Indian food and I loved it! The service and food was excellent! The bread is especially delicious. I definitely recommend it!

I went here for dinner with my boyfriend and he INSISTED on ordering the food spicy. Do not order the food spicy. I was sweating and coughing all over. The food had great flavor but I just couldn’t stand the heat but that was my boyfriends fault not the restaurants.

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala for carry out and I was pleased. A little sweet but nothing crazy. Their «medium» hot was not hot at all, for my taste.

Excellent lunch buffet and spot for south Indian food. Service is friendly and everything is always fresh. (Which also means It isn’t super speedy, but I’m ok with that.) My 3 year old loves It here as well.

This is my go-​to indian lunch buffet. There are alot of lovely little Indian places around town, but this buffet has great variety I can’t find anywhere else. Plus, their buffet is open on the weekend which is a nice plus since I know many others only offer buffet on weekdays. I go to school in the afternoon so I was really missing out-​so happy I found this place! The owner is also extremely friendly.
Only downside is that the atmosphere isn’t really happening (though they expanded a bit). Music was on but very quiet, making it a little awkward. Booths are hard and a little uncomfortable. The food definitely makes up for it.

Over the past year I feel like the food has improved along with the restaurant interior. Food is nicely seasoned (even on the buffet, but to a lesser extent). The proprietor is very friendly and gets to know regulars well. On several occasions he’s given me an entrée to go I enjoyed off the buffet gratis. The ambiance is far different than six months ago – intimate and quiet. Looking forward to continued visits.

There have never been a lot of options for Indian food in Des Moines. I had heard of Namaste but never been. In recent months I’ve been twice for the lunch buffet and twice in the evening.
The place seems fairly recently remodeled and separated from the grocery store. The ambiance is nice. Its a fairly big space with booths and tables. Each evening we visited we had groups of 10 an they had tables to accommodate even bigger needs. Everything is a bit newer. 2 tvs on one side have the latest Bollywood on. The place is clean, nicely decorated, and with good lighting for dining. There is one server here fixed for lunch and evening. He’s very competent and keeps up pretty well but you may have to wait a bit. Don’t be in a hurry if you come here. I noticed our larger group plus another 6 booths full. There was room for more people in the dining room but they may need to add a server and kitchen help once they start filling up.
The food. We ordered appetizers for the group. There were battered and fried vegetarian plate, a tandoori oven mixed meat grill plate and vegetable samosas. All of these were spot on. For me the capstone of a good Indian meal the the spicy and hot, saucy bowls which come out. I don’t know Southern cuisine from northern but have tried the all the classics here and each of them hit the spot. There is plenty of room for new and experimental. Curry, Paneer, Tiki Masala, Vindaloo and several new favorites are all very good. Fluffy rice came in a bowl. The naan (plain, garlic, chili) are land from heaven and round out the meal perfect. The creamy vegetable and cauliflower dishes also hit the spot. One member of our party ordered a crêpe dish. It was a giant crêpe stuffed with veggies. There is much to discover but its aways hard to not just order something that was already great. They do serve beer and wine. They ere out of some domestics but the Indian beer were served in bombers.
As I said before I’ve also been for the buffet. Its solid. Buffet is not diner and ordering off the menu. You can have some good flavors and get in/​out quick.
Its great to see a new local Indian place doing it right. It will make for a lot of happy evenings on flavorful dining.

Went to the lunch buffet here on a Saturday the other day and was very impressed! I found this buffet to be a little better than most I’ve been to in Iowa.
Like other Unilocalers, I share the opinion that the décor could be spruced up a little bit. I felt like the booths seemed similar to what you would see at a fast food restaurant, which means they are hard without cushioning. The booths are set up in three aisles and when I was seated in the middle aisle, it felt kind of awkward. However, because I acknowledge hole-​in-​the-​wall places usually tend to be the best places to eat, I won’t be all hoity-​toity and detract a star because the food makes up for it.
On first impression, I noticed the buffet serves a lot of protein, at least from what I have seen of Indian buffets that try to do a balance of vegetarian and non-​vegetarian. I really like the Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Saag, Fried Eggplant, and Ragu Paneer here. Ragu Paneer is paneer lathered with a buttery creamy sauce with cashews. I thought it was the best thing here! and something a little different then what I’m used to. The Naan is yummy and slightly doughy (which is how I prefer it) Also thought it was very interesting to see some Indo-​Chinese food in the mix too.
I saw the lunch/​dinner menu online and holy mackeral… it’s large! I am going to come here again to try out that menu. I highly recommend this place.