Namaste Cafe — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I brought my mother and daughter here for dinner last night, after traveling for quite some time. I hadn't been here in years, and my guests were first timers so I was excited for them to experience the cafe. Upon arriving, we were told we could sit outside as I asked about it. We found a cute little spot (table 30) and got waters served to us right away, then the gentleman briefly told us how to order food. After 25 mins of ordering our food and drinks, a gal came and dropped off our tea and cappuccino, another 20 mins went by and the same gal came by and said our food would be done in 10 mins. By then, it had been 45 mins of waiting for our food and it started to rain, while we stayed mostly dry, my daughter who is three was starting to get uncomfortable. Another 10 mins went by, before my mother went inside to inquire about our food. They lady who served us our drinks said it was taking long because of the fresh ingredients and everything being made from scratch. We finally got our food after about an hour of waiting, the place was not busy, we saw others come and go and quite frankly, it seemed like the locals were catered to, more than us. A totally different girl dropped off our food and the one and only thing she said after placing our veggie dish was, "those are vegetables". She immediately walked away, didn't ask if we need anything, no refills, no napkins, no apology for the hour wait...just nothing. At that point, I was just happy to feed my child and mother. But to my dismay, the food was bland and not good. It did not taste authentic. So, at the point we just ate what we had, sat there the entire time without one staff member checking in, after received our food. And by that time, it was pouring and we just wanted to leave. I went inside and spoke to the lady who served us our drinks, and asked for napkins, I mentioned the lack of service and she apologized and said the gal who dropped our food off was new. Despite that, I went back to our table for another 10 mins, and by that time everyone was slightly soaked from the rain so I went inside again to ask for a container for our veggies and we left. We didn't receive any thank you, an apology, they literally didn't say anything. I'm appalled and disappointed, I've never experienced service like this, let alone at this restaurant. We spent almost $70, to be completely let down, the only thing that was nice and that allowed me to give two stars was the pretty atmosphere and ambience the...

Tldr; it's really clear this place has server/staffing issues and I'm not sure they care.

I was really excited to try Namaste Cafe since I live nearby and have heard great things. My sister and I were one of three tables when we arrived for dinner and ordered via the QR code. I remarked to her that since there was already a 5% kitchen gratuity and we were ordering online without a server that I didn't feel like I needed to tip (that's rare for me) and honestly thank goodness I didn't! We received our paratha after about 20 minutes and were told the rest was on its way. Then we waited 45 minutes for our food to arrive, without anyone ever checking in on us until one server asked if we'd ordered more than the bread. Turns out, one of the servers had given our food to the table behind us (who ordered after us) because she had no idea what any of the dishes actually were. If I give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was a brand new hire that's one thing, but this really revealed the issue with ordering online and never seeing a server - they have no customer recognition to think "okay I'm brining these plates to the people who ordered over there." Plus, it shows a lack of knowledge about the food. And with three servers who we could see just standing around and occasionally handing off a delivery orders, it was disappointing to have zero waitstaff attention until there was a huge error. It was funny, the server then came and asked if she could get us some chai and when we both looked at the menu she said, "oh yeah I guess I could do both of you" as though both of our orders hadn't been wrong and we hadn't both waited all that time? It was weird. The most activity came from delivery drivers picking up orders. That must drive the business, and in that case, great, no service needed. But it was just a really sub-par experience from a place that claims to be the best in the business. The servers were also in street clothes which just made the whole thing feel a lot more casual than expected, especially for the prices. All of that said, the food was good, not outstanding, and the menu really ought to say that the dishes come with rice, otherwise they're making an extra $3.50 on a side of rice that you think you need to order because, once again, there's no server...

I have been to Namaste Cafe twice in the last few days. It has been a longtime favorite that I love returning to and introducing people to their delicious food and great chai. So many restaurants have come and gone in that area over the last 12 years, but there's a reason Namaste Cafe has staying power.

On Saturday, a friend treated me to lunch there - we had a wonderful time hanging out and talking for a couple hours over chai tea and some appetizers. We ordered multiple cups of chai, which was fun to try a couple different flavors. (As a side note, I'd love to see a chai flight available where you could pick like 4 or 5 sample sizes to taste test). Our server read us well and could tell we just wanted to hang out and chat - I really appreciated that she didn't bother us. I could see her checking our water levels in our glasses and if we'd finished our plates as she was at nearby tables, but she was nice to mostly just let us be.

Tonight, I had dinner with my sisters there and had another wonderful experience! I haven't had the chance to have dinner with my sisters for a couple years, as one of them has been living outside the country. And it was one of our birthdays today too. The server we had tonight was excellent and read our mood quite well. We enjoyed drinks and appetizers and got a lot of food for a very good price. The $2 off appetizers and cocktails during happy hour (3pm - 6pm) is a great deal! We had two cocktails, 3 chai teas, 3 appetizers, 2 kinds of bread for about $50 and were quite full at the end! Our server was attentive without constantly asking us how we liked the food - he could tell by the way we polished off everything that we were enjoying the food!

I never feel rushed when I eat there, and love how cozy and relaxed the environment is. I like that you can just chill and hang out. The staff is attentive and knowledgeable and always give good recommendations. I tried a couple new appetizers tonight on our server's recommendation and they were both winners! Definitely recommend Namaste Cafe - you will not be...