Namaste Plaza — Attraction in San Diego

I just read the previous review from Buddy and thinking "seriously?". I actually appreciate the businesses who put customers' safety ahead of their profits and enforce safe practices like wearing masks and limiting customers. If you have lost a loved one for Corona, you would understand where I am coming from or you don't have to lose anyone as it is just pure common sense. Just think of the frontline workers. I have been to this store few times in the recent weeks and have found the employees not wearing mask, even after it became a law. Customers were still shopping without mask even though the shop had a notice saying masks required to enter the facility. Some of my friends had the same feedback too. Any responsible and sensible citizen should be concerned. No one enjoys wearing masks or likes to stand in line to be let in, but we do that because we care not only about ourselves and our family members but we also care about the community. Even after feedback about employees not wearing face masks, they still still don't follow strictly. Few employees do but not all. Once in March of 2020, soon after the schools shut down and everyone was panic buying, an employee shut the door on my face at 7:30pm even though they had a notice outside saying the new hours are noon to 8pm. Many customers left disappointed. I was told that the day before they worked late so today they decided to close early! Then why do you put the notice that you open until 8pm? They let me in but many customers have already left because they were turned away. I have found them selling expired items like paneer and have given feed back. Once I bought flour which had bugs inside and when I went back to return, I was told that is not a fast moving item!! When you do business in California, you follow the rules and business practices/ethics...

If you're hankering for some Indian food (veg and non-veg), you really can't beat Namaste Plaza's pre-made food counter, nor the price. There isn't an Indian resto/ cafe around these parts that gives you as much food as they do for $4.99, $5.99 or $6.99 -- depending on how many veg or meat items you get. You also get rice, dal (lentil soup) of the day, naan bread, etc

And they have a rewards card (but they tend to forget to ask you, so remind them before they ring you up, if you've signed up). Also, go early in the day or evening. They close when the grocery store part does, but have typically run out of most items by late evening, as far as I can tell. They also run out of samosas early, but have tons of Indian fried snack items to pick from.

The menu changes mostly daily, and they are also now finally serving a selection dosa-style stuffed savory crepes (separate from the combo menu).

UPDATE: What a disappointment. I just drove over to get some samosas and a combo plate. What do I find? They've doubled the size of the store by taking up the space next door, which used to house an Indian resto (moved west). Not only do they now force you to buy samosas in twos, they jacked the price up even further to $3.99/ two (from $1.50 per). And the 2-veg-=item combo went up nearly 50%, from $4.99 to $6.99. It's still cheaper than "Indian Tandoor," except for the samosas, but the menu changes every day (which they don't post online) and they run out early in...

I do buy the Snacks that they sell on one corner of the shop. I like the annamayya laddu here the most. But buy them only when they are fresh. If it gets dried up, it is not at all good. Ask and go and try it once. You can't stop with eating one. Regarding the groceries, I buy only when my wife need something on my way to home. I did try the biryanis that they sell. The chicken biryani they sell in this shop is like white rice mixed with chicken curry. Trust me if they haven't changed the recipe recently, thats what it really is. Goat biryani is kind of OK, but they always put lot of salt in it. Some times they do this Raju gari palauv and others, I tried it once. It was good. So basically buying biryani from here is a cheaper option but there is a huge possibility of spoiling the occasion if you choose the wrong one. They will allow you taste a bit before purchasing. Ask for a sample. If it is good, go for it. Also the pastries here are worth trying. I use to like the butter scotch pastry. Try to pick the one that is on the far side of the tray. hehe..:) Indian mindset. They keep the fresh ones on the far side of the tray. They are not dry and are moist. Try those. I use to eat those a lot until they gave me couple of times the dry pastries and I lost interest...