Namaste Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Scottsdale

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER...! NEVER EVER GONNA GO THERE AGAIN.

Food was good, but had THE WORST experience ever. It was a miss from me that I didn't give a tip. It was not intentional, and I gave the tip later. But, the kid (who mentioned that he owns the restaurant) misunderstood it, as if I intentionally missed it and was not paying attention at all to what I was saying. Pathetic thing was, asking for an explanation on why I didn't give the tip initially, as if it was a compulsory thing, and he didn't just stop there, he also mentioned that Indians usually don't give tip, and there's a stereotype getting created because of this. I wouldn't have bothered much, but his attitude was sound demanding just for the tip, as if I didn't pay for the food, and generalizing Indians by giving false tag was utter shameful.

First of all, I don't think any customer owes any explanation to any restaurant for not giving the tip, it's purely optional and as per the wish of the customer; as long as they pay the bill as per your charges on the menu, the customers should be good, and restaurants should be satisfied. Secondly, stop generalizing Indians for not paying the tip. Being an Indian and running an Indian restaurant, at least show the courtesy to NOT call out that Indians don't give tip. I, and many of my Indian friends give tip whenever we go to any restaurant, let it be an Indian or non-indian. There might be few, but again, it's their wish. Irrespective of the customer's country of origin, there might be cases where many non-Indian customers might not have tipped you, it doesn't mean that you will simply attach a tag to all of them. And, stereotype is not getting created because Indians are not giving tip, it's getting created because of people like you. Keep your stereotype lecture to yourself.

Giving tip is customer's wish, NOT YOUR AUTHORITY. STOP QUESTIONING CUSTOMERS FOR THE TIP, AS IF THEY DIDN'T PAY THE WHOLE CHECK.

And I am 100% sure that the question on the tip would've needed lot of guts, had it been a NON-INDIAN customer.

If I am not questioning the +$2s, +$3s which are put simply using a marker on almost all of the menu sections, which honestly seem overpriced, STOP questioning me for the tip.

Customer experience supersedes everything, not your food, not your menu items price, and certainly not if you are an Indian...

We can’t rate the food as we were never served our entrees. (See below) We would rate service a zero if that was an option. This was our third visit to Namaste. The first time about a year ago, service was a little slow but the food was excellent. It looked like the kitchen was prioritizing take out orders over those dining in resulting in the slow service. Our 2nd time at Namaste was about 6 months ago. We were only one of 2 tables dining in. Both tables had a long wait for food. It took about an hour & 15 minutes to get our entrees. Their kitchen was non-stop churning out the take-out orders which again seemed to be taking priority over those dining in. On our 3rd (and final) trip today, we arrive early (4:45) to try and avoid potential wait times. There was only one other table with 2 guests seated when we arrived. There was a lot of activity with takeout orders. To attempt to avoid a wait, we ordered drinks, an appetizer and our entrees right away to get them in the works. It took about 15 minutes for the appetizer to arrive. We then waited and watched as other guest arrived and were seated, some waited, others were never seated and left. After another 20 minutes we were surprised when 2 tables near us that arrived and were seated after we ordered our food, were being served their entrees! When we could finally get the waiters attention, he said our food would come soon, and others were served first because we ordered an appetizer!?!? Really? Apparently ordering an app puts an entree order to the bottom of the queue. At this point it was an hour since we were seated with no food in sight, so we told the waiter we were leaving. We asked for the check to cover our drinks & appetizer. He offered to check with the kitchen on our entrees. We said not to bother and commented that their services were unacceptable and we were not waiting any longer for the food. He commented that our wait time and serving others that arrived after us was completely reasonable. If that is their opinion, we now realize that their service clearly does reflects this opinion. We will not return. We will spend our $$ at restaurants that seem to value their customers. A 35 mile round trip for Indian food, and this failed attempt to have dinner was not how we planned to spend our...

I'm a former restaurant owner and as such I think I have a better-than-average understanding of restaurants, especially small local ones.

I am super happy with Namaste. They have everything that I'm looking for in a good Indian restaurant.

What I look for begins with the rice. It needs to be a good quality, flaky, Basmati rice. Namaste's rice is always so good you can eat it plain.

Next I want good Nan. It needs to be golden brown & fresh, with the smokiness of the Tandoor oven. Namaste's Nan is perfect. I usually get the Garlic Nan.

Finally I want to see a Curry that has a lot of flavor, perhaps some fresh ginger, not only powdered spices. It needs to be thickened by slow-cooking, not by the addition of corn starch. And yes, Namaste's curries are always excellent, thick but in a natural way, and bursting with flavor. I usually get the Lamb Korma, but have also tried the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Saag. All were excellent and memorable, with little bursts of fresh herbs & ginger, etc. You can tell this is hand-made and fresh.

I also look for home-made Samosas, and Namaste has that as well. I like the Vegetable Samosas. I like their Pakora as well.

It is true that sometimes there is a long wait. Sometimes they are so busy they can't answer the phone. People in Scottsdale should be aware that at 6pm on a Friday or Saturday night every GOOD restaurant will be busy and have a wait. I usually resolve this by avoiding those busy times (I don't like noise or crowds) also I use Uber Eats occasionally and it has always worked out fine.

Namaste is a small place but it is authentic and family-owned. I'm happy to see that even in the summer they are so busy that they can barely answer the phone. My advice to Namaste is to begin to look at expanding. Perhaps move to a bigger space or look to take over the space next to you. It might be time to have 2 kitchens- one for dine-in and one for take-out and/or catering. It is probably time to hire a Hostess / Phone person. These are all "good problems" as it means the food is excellent and they are being pushed to the limits of what the...