Namaste India — Restaurant in Chesterton

I have had this poor experience at other places before, so I asked them to say "yes" to a dish only if its thier special. After the waiter said Tandoori Chicken Malai is also their specialty, I went along with it. He got me a malai chicken which was completely bland, the chicken was not even marinated, there was no salt in it and the most confusing part was that I have never seen a malai chicken cooked along with onions and bell peppers. The waiter confronted that they didn't have time to marinate chicken, so they quickly grabbed chicken and prepared for us. If you can't give a good food experience on any menu items, simply inform the customer. I have been to places where tandoori items take 40-50min to prepare, and the waiter will inform me rather than cooking it in 10min and serving a pathetic meal. After complaining, they just added salt and got it back, which didn't make much of a difference. Then they handed Garlic Naan, and we continued to wait for the gravy. It took 10-15min for them to bring the gravy, and by the time the naan went cold. Either serve the naan along with gravy or just after the gravy. It's common sense that gravy can remain hot longer than naan. I can understand that managing orders becomes challenging when there are multiple customers, but when I was the only customer there, what was the rush? I dont recommend anyone to eat at this place. Giving a 2 star to food category just because the gravy was good. Goat rara is another one of their specialities...

On Saturday I took my mother their for a belated Mother's Day dinner and it was so awesome! My mother lived in San Diego for years and had access to very authentic Indian food and this was just as good as any place out there. Their menu offers a wide variety of curries and dishes that can appease anyone. My 19 month old enjoyed helping me eat some delicious Chicken Tikka Masala (admittedly a very basic American favorite, however, this momma had to share with her toddler so I wanted to choose a safe choice!). Their portions are huge for the entrees, the rice comes served with some beautiful spices on top in the shape of a heart (such a cute touch.) Their veggie samosas were surprising spicy, but delicious as were the two dipping sauces that came with. The garlic naan was to die for, I was only sad it wasn't a bigger portion because I could have just ate that for my meal! Our waitress I believe to have been the owner, was so accommodating, friendly, sweet, and helpful. She was so great with my toddler and made us feel welcome. On the way out my mother and I tried their version of a breath mint which is a peculiar concoction of aromatic herbs/spices to freshen the breath after your meal. If you can look past Long John Silver's decor that still shines through, you will be happily surprised with the food this family is serving up. I hope they can market themselves well and stay around for a long time because we will definitely be...

We were told up-front that it would be about a half hour wait around 6:20 pm. Because we are traveling and trying to be time conscious, we appreciated the transparency. We did decide to stay and wait, but it was a looong wait. Unfortunately, the restaurant does not seem prepared for guests, as they are pretty understaffed and there are long gaps of time between service.

We were able to order and our food arrived just around 7:30. The rice was a little undercooked, and we felt that the chicken jalfrezi needed more vegetables. (This may just be a personal preference, since we tend to favor veg-heavy meals.) The chicken was very tender and well-cooked, and the sauce had a great flavor. We also ordered garlic naan. It was beautiful and crispy, but I did feel like it needed a little salt.

We were very surprised at the final bill, because we shared a meal and the naan. The water bottle provided at the beginning of the meal is not complimentary, and is a $2.49 charge. This was a total surprise, since we did not ask for water and just assumed that the tap water was not potable, so all guests would drink bottled instead. I am not sure if tap/filtered water is available as an alternative, but I would recommend asking.

Overall, I wouldn’t mind eating here again, but I would hesitate to come here if I was in a...