Namaste Spice | Indian & Nepali Cuisine — Restaurant in Arlington

​Our dinner here was memorable, mostly because we survived. The flavors were authentic and vibrant, but the rest of the experience was more of a tragicomedy. After we ordered our dinner, ​i needed to use a restroom, and asked the staff where I may find it. I was informed that there is no public bathroom. I informed the staff I was a paying customer, not "the public," and was taken to the restaurant's secret underbelly. My journey to the porcelain throne took me through the kitchen, down a treacherous, unfinished staircase, and into a labyrinth of hallways, a scene straight out of a horror film, with a surprise twist: the sink was in a different room entirely. My return trip was a solo adventure, where I stumbled through a laundry room and various other mysterious chambers before finally locating the staircase. ​Just when we thought the excitement was over, our main courses arrived, mysterious in appearance and questionable in identity. "Is this the lamb?" I asked, to which our waiter simply pointed. My husband’s skepticism about his "tandoori chicken" was met with "just a minute" comment. The third staff member informed us that we got a wrong order. I am guessing a take-out for someone else, as there were no other diners ordering dinner and a person who was picking up take out showed up in about 10 minutes. ​The true climax of the evening arrived with our actual tandoori chicken. It was so fresh, so aggressively sizzling, that it set off the loudest fire alarm in human history. The staff tried to silence the screaming siren, but it was a losing battle. For a full 20 minutes, our eardrums were under siege. We couldn’t eat, we could only plug our ears and hope for a hero. And a hero did arrive, not in a cape, but in a fire truck. The firemen finally restored peace and quiet. We had our meals packed up to go, concluding a dinner that, for all its chaos, was an adventure we’ll...

Nice small business with only 4 tables as they do a bustling take out business. We decided to order Nepalese and the food is very good. They are very busy with lots of takeout orders so it’s understandable that our meat samosa order was replaced by mistake with a potato samosas which tasted ok but we really wanted the meat ones since we order a potato dish already. We decided to let it go as they were so busy and kind and it was an easy mistake to make. The samosas were served hot which we appreciated as so many restaurants serve them lukewarm. Sadly, the vegetable pakoras were not hot and were barely warm with a soggy, slightly greasy texture because they must have been premade and not made fresh to order. Would not order that again unless they could make it fresh to order. The chicken chili was medium to hot as requested and dry fried with spices, onions and peppers. The aalo simi is also dry fried with potato chunks and flat green beans. Both of these dishes were served hot and cooked to order. The basmati rice is scooped out of a rice cooker and is lukewarm as it is opened every couple of minutes for both take out and dine in orders. You can tell I like my food hot especially when dining in. The service is very nice and they keep your water filled which is appreciated. We would definitely return as the food is delicious. I would ask whether something is cooked to order though before ordering an item. 4.5 stars rounded to 5 because the team...

We came in for lunch on Saturday. They have lunch specials until 4pm. We got the Nepalese "French toast," a savory battered toast with veggies served with a small ramekin of honey and masala chai; and a aloo jeera (cumin potatoes) which came with incredibly puffy puri.

We also got veggie samosas, which came with onion chutney and tamarind chutney, both daily house-made and really good.

The chai was solid but unremarkable, a traditional South Asian style chai but as much Nepalese food, lighter on spices.

Nepal mostly is lighter on spices, probably because in the mountains, not so many spices are local. Having grown up in Vermont I appreciate how hard it can be to grow tomatoes or peppers in such an environment. So expect more delicate flavors than Indian cuisines.

Everything was good. We'll be back, and ordered a chicken biryani to take out.

I'm only rating service as a four because at two months in, they're still finding their feet in coordination. They were super friendly and everything was fine.

The restaurant is centered on a take out counter and a half dozen spare looking tables backed by a pretty stenciled mural of tree, leaves, and birds.

The menu includes momos, curries, bread, and a few surprises.

Looking forward to trying out their butter chicken, which is on the lunch specials all week, and the...