Namaste India 1 — Restaurant in Whitehall

An impressive experience in Indian-Iranian cuisine, and one I feel I will be coming back to again in the future.

A bit of a disclaimer. Things are very mom-and-pop here. If you order online, or through an app, have your order receipt accessible in some way if you go to pick it up. I had my email confirmation, so I was fine. If I didn't, I might have been in a bit of trouble. The most convenient method may be through their Grubhub/UberEats partner of choice.

The only other bit of adjustment is the menu. It's Anglicized well, but some googling is required if you're not completely accustomed to the menu. Also if you're looking for what are the most authentic meat choices.

Getting around all of that though? The food is excellent, and the portions are huge.

I ended up making myself a platter of foods to try. Rogan josh, chicken dopiaza, chana bhatura, and daal makhani. None of which I had tried before, but I came away from absolutely loving all of them. I also had some tandoori from one of them, which I was able to dip in each, and that was a huge gamechanger. I recommend their breads to go with any option.

The spice level was impressive. I think the Chana Bhatura came away the spiciest somehow; but it was a tolerable heat. I enjoyed what I had. It also reheated very well, which was awesome. I had enough food to eat for about two days.

Fresh meats well cooked, every stew distinct, yet carrying that intrinsic charm. I was pretty blown away. The options here that other places don't cover should invite you to try them out! Make it a regular addition to the stops you make to any of our local...

It's at the Days Inn on Banksville Rd. Some directions will lead you to their former location about 3 miles up the road, so just look up the Days Inn.

Hands down the best Indian restaurant in the south hills, possibly all of pittsburgh. Service is attentive; food is amazing, prices are good. The Aloo Gobi, Bhindi Masala, and Chilli Mushroom standout as especially good, but everything I've had has been absolutely delicious. Our family is vegetarian so our experience has only been with the veg portion of the menu, but we've visited several times with meat eaters who praise their non-vegetarian dishes as well. Get the Aloo Gobi at a low spiciness level so the heat doesn't mask the delicate flavors of the cauliflower - you'll wonder how you lived without it. Seriously, it's that good.

Not much English is spoken, but this has never been a problem for us - a bit of pointing and nodding can usually sort things out. However, I wouldn't recommend the place to anyone who minds a language barrier. For us it's all part of the charm of the place.

A word of caution: their heat scale of 0 - 10 is based on Indian palates, not American ones. A 6 is usually enough to make my brow sweat, and I regularly order 8 - 10 elsewhere. I am afraid of what their idea of a 10...

BEWARE!!!!!

PER WPXI:

“The Allegheny County Health Department has issued a consumer alert for a Baldwin restaurant after a recent inspection found roaches throughout the eatery.

The Tuesday inspection at Namaste India II restaurant on Radford Road deemed the restaurant “high risk” for consumers after an “active infestation of German roaches at varying stages of development” were observed in several places.

A roach nest was found in a dough sheeter and in a compartment near the cookline, according to the health department inspection.

Numerous live roaches were also found in the kitchen, including in the sink, drain boards, and also in the ice machine room, front dining room, food prep coolers and most floor-wall junctures, the report states.

Mouse droppings were also found.”

The restaurant will have to be re-inspected but a date has not...