namaste lounge

we visitednamastelounge for shisha and tea on a quiet monday evening - shisha was disappointing and the tea was poor (tough to get wrong), and the service was, for want of a better word, grumpy.

having visitednamastepreviously, where the food was great, and the service fantastic, i was surprised at my recent experience, maybe the shisha side is managed separately.

went early to avoid the crowd and get parking so arrived around 5pm. i don't think you will ever get parking inside as it looks like the staff and management use this space for themselves.namastelounge is a great place to eat and even the outdoor space is great when the weather is nice as it's been designed well. really enjoyed the food and price in line with other similar indian establishments. think we went a little too early as staff where still just arriving so drinks did take some time but soon into our meal staff started coming in and very attentive. had a range of starters from chilli paneer to kebabs etc and all the food was well presented and tastes very fresh and would highly recommend. the three sauces where also great. i will be going again. the only thing that's missing is authentic indian desserts other than kulfi but they still have a good range of western desserts.

this was my first time back tonamastelounge since its renovation. as soon as you enter, it's clear that the management team have put a lot of effort into making the place look fantastic.

we sat outside on the decking area on a warm summer's day. it was a weekend and the place was very busy, but staff were quick to get our table ready and were always hovering nearby to take orders for drinks and food.

for starters i had aloo papdi chat and chilli panner - both well presented and very tasty, although the panner perhaps a little sweet and lacking a sufficient kick for my liking (although that may be more personal preference). for mains i had the bhindi do pyaza - not as good as the starters being a little dry, but still enjoyable with a "fluffy" and well cooked plain naan.

what impressed me the most however was the service. the staff were clearly run off their feet but we were never left waiting when wanting to make orders and served with a smile. when the mains were going to take slightly longer than expected (and if i'm honest, i hadn't noticed) our waitress came and apologised and gave us some complementary papads. a nice touch at little cost for the restaurant. i'll definitely be back.