Namaste Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Saugerties

During the Plague of 2020, hungry for take-out Indian food, my partner and I walked in and out of Namaste. Big mistake. Sitting down at this same restaurant off a nondescript stretch of 9W a week ago, I knew—with its no-nonsense server, and its walls painted deep papaya orange, that the meal was going to be great. Even now my mouth waters in memory of this taste experience.

Within minutes of placing our order, the dining area’s air was filled with smells from the kitchen. Something real was happening. The sensual complexity of Indian food, whose multitudinous scents I’ll awkwardly describe as bristling, sweet, unguenty, thorny, puckery, and the like, were upon us. And once the dishes came, unlike the smell, say of peanut butter being superior to its actual taste, the flavors of our dishes were dazzling. Rich and creamy, the Shahi Lamb Korma was tender and plentiful. The Aloo Gobhi Mas, a gustatory complement. I more than once asked my partner not to talk and closed my eyes while feeling the food. The Palak Paneer, decent. The Garlic naan, perfectly chewy and sprinkled with coriander, the latter being a real sign of a caring chef. It's also worth mentioning that the server gave us options over how spicy we wanted our food prepared. We were so happy with our meal that we overate, the way sometimes at an amusement park I have—out of delight—ridden one topsy-turvy ride too many, and made myself, as a consequence, a bit sick.

Mind you, there is little that is showy about this joint. It’s not for the bougie folk who fancy themselves upper class but derive their sense of this from their phones. The bathroom could use refreshing and a carpenter’s touch. The large flat screen, which I requested be turned off, is a nuisance. But the overall experience of this establishment is non pareil. When I attempted to express my dining pleasure to a man who had emerged from the kitchen, my English was not understood. But I persisted and after passing my wish to another quite affable server to extend my compliments to the unseen chef, she was thanked with an on the house mango lassie. A bustling take-out business seems to be central to the restaurant’s success. Should we beset by another plague, I know exactly where to go.

Total...

Extremely irritated... (That I just finished my leftovers from last night’s delivery). This may have been the BEST Indian food I have ever had (and, this includes Manhattan’s Little India)! With the exception of a frustrating glitch during our delivery arrangements through GrubHub, all other aspects were way beyond par. While certainly not inexpensive (Korma costing $13.00), and missing some extras that in my experience are often included (Papadum), we were still abundantly satisfied. Delivery was faster than estimated (we use GrubHub as we are out of their usual delivery area). Most importantly to me, I’ve found that when ordering meat dishes in the same order as vegetarian dishes, the non-meat eaters fairly often find a meaty surprise (and seemingly always at the end of their dish). This is a very unfortunate event. My Malie Kofta was spot on, completely meat-free. My partner’s Korma was perfect, and the garlic Naan was delicious. More rice being included for two large entrees would have been appreciated. And, the Pakora, while delightfully crispy and the outside and full of flavor on the inside, was a tad greasier than I prefer. Additionally, we could not find any beverages on the menu which would have been nice. Lastly, we find our entrees to be a bit spicier than we’ve received at other restaurants. This was fine with us because we like foods on the spicier side, but be sure to mention when ordering if you require it bland. However, overall you should do yourself a favor and eat in or order out at your earliest convenience. This isn’t just a matter of it being difficult to find Indian food in our area, but that the one we finally do have certainly nails it in our opinion. *Four out of five stars from me mainly because of the frustration in arranging...

I am all for supporting local businesses, especially now. The food here is simple but tasty. That said, I have ordered through their website twice and both times when I arrived at the restaurant, they didn't know my order. This happened twice in a one month period and I even heard the woman on the phone with someone else telling him they didn't know what he ordered. Also, maybe they're short staffed, but, the people who work here are not even nice. The woman behind the counter talked on the phone to several customers before even talking to me. When I told her that I'd ordered online, she and the cook both told me that it was the company's fault that they didn't know my order. They were like, "It's not MY fault," and the guy got loud with me. They'd even already charged me. They asked me what I'd ordered. When they brought my food out fifteen minutes later, the woman just tossed me the bag and said, "This is yours," and got back to her phone calls. No apologies or anything. I'd like to support local restaurants, but this kind of service is rude to say the least. The food is overpriced for the simple menu. Yes, I know times are tough. I will not be coming here again until they can improve their organization and...