NAMZA DINING — Restaurant in Ladakh

An overhyped place that’s definitely not worth the visit. Don’t just go by the google ratings because that’s how I ended up going there.

I understand serving the local ladakhi food is what this restaurant is known for but food is just part of the experience and everything outside of the kitchen didn’t feel ladakhi at all.

Ambience - 4/5 Staff (Non locals) - 1/5 [They do smile at you like other people at Ladakh but over a period of time you realize they are pretending to be sweet, they are nowhere close to the sweet and warm Ladakhi people. They are always breathing down your shoulder, gossiping about you right in front of you, staring at you, it was the most uncomfortable staff experience I have ever had from the moment I walked in. I observed it wasn’t just for me some other folks who were clearing the bill, they kept staring from the other side of the glass if they would be able to pay. To be honest, the entire serving staff may be able wear white shirts and speak out the memorized scripts about history and dishes but they don’t come close to how sweet the local ladakhis are] Value for money - 1/5 Taste - 2/5

Lunch times are hot and with limited fans it can get uncomfortable.

The interiors has some beauty but outside it overlooks just some buildings and a vegetable farm where they grow their own veggies if I am not wrong.

I ordered Yarkhandi Pulao which had two momos, clear soup and an extremely dry pulao which I had drink down using water. When I shared the feedback to the servers felt offended and didn’t do anything about it.

My 2 cents to the owners(who were not around) who are locals from what the server told, they should consider either train the entire non local staff better or hire more local staff and provide an end to end ladakhi experience by hiring the sweet locals.

Since this is my second Leh trip, I have had enough ladakhi food which was tasty flavorful and at the same time had history to comment and say what I said above.

Edit post owner's reply: The tone of the response below that the owners have written says it all, this tone exactly reflects the training the owners have given the staff which is why they also can't take feedback on their dishes. Sometimes people are so blinded by their own perfection that they only like to hear good feedback so much that negative feedback makes them feel like attacking others which is what you just did.

Thanks for your continuous hospitality by writing an hostile/aggressive response, expected a very different response to be honest. Maybe you did show a side of Ladakh that I would have very much liked to avoid. Appreciate you taking the time out to write such a long reply to my long review, I hope someday you get to reflect on this and I would try doing the same too.

Edit (27th July 2023): Do notice in every low rating review below how the owners are not capable of accepting or even openly listening to any kind of criticism towards them or their restaurant, seems like they feel they are the only ones who know Ladakh and it’s food and no one else does. Thanks for all the people who have upvoted my review so far, please keep showing your support so that no one else gets to experience this negative side of Ladakh during your vacation or stay here....

On the evening of 30th September 2024, I visited Namza Dining for dinner. During my meal, I ordered a dish of dried apricots soaked in warm water. To my utter shock and disgust, I discovered that the apricots were infested with worms, and I had already consumed a few pieces before noticing. I have since been experiencing stomach-related issues and have consulted a doctor in Mohali for treatment. The situation not only caused me severe distress but also raises serious concerns about food hygiene at this establishment.

Furthermore, while I was dining, I witnessed another disturbing incident. A fellow diner pointed out hair in her food to the restaurant staff. Rather than addressing the issue seriously, the servers and managers responded with an inappropriate and shameless attitude, smiling and showing no signs of replacing the contaminated dish. Such disregard for customer safety and well-being is unacceptable and alarming.

A thorough inspection of Namza Dining’s kitchen facilities, food preparation methods, and hygiene standards should be conducted at the earliest. It is essential to ensure that other customers are not subjected to such negligent food safety practices...

Discovered this place that serves authentic/ traditional leh Ladakh food and what excited me even more is the farm to table concept. The place has beautiful ambience, outdoor seating will be lovely in the evening. We started our lunch with mutton Za-thuk this is a soup that is made using nettle leaves, dried cheese and local herbs, available in veg, chicken and mutton option, we loved the flavour of nettle leaves and dried cheese with little chunks of mutton. I personally love the flavour of mountain mutton. The chicken momo also known as mok mok was average nothing to write home about. The yarkhadi pulao is a chefs special and I am glad we tried it. The meal come with pulao made of paneer, green peas, Carrots and fried onions loaded with ghee. We were warned it would be heavy, it was but we just loved the flavour, this meal comes with a clear soup and 3 momos or mok mok. Available in veg, chicken and mutton. We opted for the veg option. The most famous home grown fruit of Leh Ladakh is apricot and the season has just started. We enjoyed a tall glass of homemade apricot juice. Like us if you are keen on trying local food, this place is...