Store
Namaste Indian (City)
225 King Street (Corner of Lonsdale St)
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9642 2264
Fax: (03) 9642 2265
Email: namaste2@aapt.net.au

I was driving in downtown a couple of weeks ago, and saw a pretty flashy restaurant almost on the corner of King and Lonsdale Street called Namaste Indian. So I gave it a try a couple of days ago.

The ambience
Cramped restaurants are not my style, as you can tell from my previous reviews here, and here. Namaste Indian is in stark contrast to most restaurant these days, where owners cramp customers into tiny corners and fit as many tables and chairs as possible. The restaurant is ultra-spacious which is excellent, and is moderately decorated. You really can go there, and have a great time. If you want a bit of privacy, ask for a table in the lower level (there have a split level set up).

What really brings them down was the location of the restaurant. There are two men’s clubs right next door, specifically Men’s Gallery and Goldfinger. If you bring your family, I wouldn’t suggest parking near these venues. There is plenty of parking on King Street itself. I imagine the awkwardness setting in walking past these clubs to get to the restaurant, and I thought it really did them a disservice. By the way, I do not intend to speak lowly of people who visit these clubs, but it’s just the setting of a family restaurant in close vicinity of men’s clubs does not go hand in hand.

The food
I thought the food was delicious. So did the people whom I went. The menu is laid out nicely, but I thought it was a bit bulky. This was largely contributed by the lunch and dinner menus they had. They had the usual variety, but what was lacking is the variety in the desert menu. The presentation was appropriate, and what I really liked was the staff actually specified which dish was which.

The price
I don’t mind paying extra for a bit of space. Compared to other Indian restaurants, Namaste Indian was a bit dearer, but I thought it was worth it. We ordered a decent entree, mains, naan breads, coffee, and 1 desert - all for $140.60.

The service
There were two staff for the whole restaurant and on a busy Saturday night, I think this is a bit stingy of the owner. The service was amateurish, but in a pleasant. For example: the waitress brought out the masala tea, and when asked what it was - she replied: “I don’t know really, sorry - let me check!”. We had a chuckle. Then, we were charged $3 extra which I explained to the waiter, and he apologised. Yet when the bill went through to my card, he had charged the extra $3. He said: “Sorry, I got confused with another table” (he did return us the extra $3). The first thing anyone ever has asked me when I sat at a restaurant was: “Any drinks to start with”, however at Namaste we were greeted with: “What sort of dishes would you like?”.

The staff at all times were courteous, but the service was amateurish. I suspect both of them were international students, working to try and make ends meet.

Inside tips
* Always check the bill at the end of a meal. You will be surprised how many times mistakes are made. Furthermore, when you pay by EFTPOS or credit card, ensure you check the final amount because these amounts are typed manually onto the system, and is error prone.

Suggestions
* Thanks for a lovely meal, and experience. Perhaps a bit more training for your staff is required, and also I would suggest getting more people on board on busy weekend nights.

Rating - 6.5 (great food, lovely place, service was a let down - but entertaining!)
I was expecting: great good - got it, nice atmosphere - got it, and great service - sometimes got it. More training is required for the staff, but I would certainly recommend it to friends and family. The location is too late to change, but stick to King Street for parking if men’s clubs easily offend you.