Namaste Baltimore

Sunday night was bustling, bursting at the seams, after an Evergreen neighborhood email circulated that Namaste was, perhaps the only restaurant open after the two-​foot snowfall. If we had to wait longer than normal for food, we didn’t notice. Neighbors were chattering in catch-​up communion and drinks came complementarily.

This is a very welcome addition to the Evergreen/​Keswick neighborhoods. For those who are not aware, this space that Namaste is in used to be an Americanized Mexican restaurant called Loco Hombre which was connected to Alonso’s next door. This goes back to the days when Eddie Dopkin and his Crazy Man restaurant group also owned Miss Shirley’s, S’ghetti Eddies (now a parking lot for Miss Shirley’s), and RP Bagel Company (now under different ownership).
Décor:
The first thing you notice when you enter is that you no longer have to go through the Alonso’s door to get to the space where Namaste is located. Instead, you enter through a small foyer (so appreciative that the outside door does not open directly into the dining area!). The space itself hasn’t been radically reorganized, though there is now a small bar at the back of the room which didn’t exist when Loco Hombre occupied the space. I’m pretty sure the light fixtures over the booths are the same, but otherwise the space is filled with earthy tones and South Indian artwork The tables are now also covered in white tablecloths, but the atmosphere remains casual. At the time we went — a weekday lunch — I also noticed that instead of playing an American, bhangra, or Bollywood soundtrack, the background music was trancelike with a distinctly Indian vibe, that would be equally welcome in a yoga studio.
Buffet:
The other important thing that Namaste has done with the space is to equip it with a lunch buffet, on the right rear of the dining room. While the menu is extensive and includes mainly North Indian and a small amount of Nepali cuisine, the lunch buffet is a good deal at $ 10 ($ 7 for kids). When we were there, the buffet included (I may miss an item or two!) lentil soup; a salad and fruit assortment; chutneys and pickles (the mixed pickles make the meal for me); appetizers that included veggie pakoras and various dry fried veggies — eggplant, peppers, cauliflowers among others; saffron rice; and main dishes of potato and cabbage, saag paneer (spinach with farmer cheese), vegetable korma, tandoor chicken, chile chicken, and chicken tikka masala. Rice pudding was offered for dessert, and naan bread was brought to our table when we had filled our plates.
All of the dishes were very good, above the quality I would normally expect for a reasonably-​priced South Asian buffet in the US, and, for the health-​conscious, the food was not greasy like you find at some lower-​quality restaurants. I can’t say that any one dish stood out to me, though, as the dishes on offer are not ones that I tend to enjoy the most (though they are represented on the menu — love me some bhindi masala, aloo gobi, baingan bharta and dal makhani!). I’ll also be interested to try their small section of Nepalese dishes — goat lovers may like to try the goat curry.
Regular menu and beverages:
Note that the regular menu includes a dozen appetizers as well as tandoori, lamb, and seafood dishes, a half dozen different biryanis and the same number of desserts, about 8 breads, and about the same number of hot and cold non-​alcoholic beverages, and a full bar. Beer lovers may want to know that you are not limited to Kingfisher and Heineken, as there are several craft beers available including — wait for it — Dogfish Head’s Namaste.
Take-​out/​delivery:
Namaste delivers (minimum $ 15) but if you pick up, you get 15% off your bill. You can also get the buffet for take out, but the discount is not supposed to apply.
Good luck to Namaste. I can’t wait to go back, and I know that many of my neighbors in Evergreen feel the same!

Very excited to say that the food here is great! Tried the momo, samosas and veggie korma on our first carry-​out order and loved it all! How awesome this wonderful restaurant has opened right in the center of Roland Park! Outstanding!
2016-​02-​02 update: have also now tried the chicken curry, which was great! It’s better than the veggie korma. Also the regular naan is excellent (garlic naan was sort of so-​so). Very friendly owners/​staff!
And, I love that they give you so many sauces to choose from on the side with the dishes they serve! It is more than I’ve seen elsewhere.