Namaste India

Reviews

• Ansley C.

  star star star star star 10 June 2026

  Wonderful authentic fresh Indian food.
  We love this place.  Every time  we've been here it's been different delicious and fresh!
  Highly recommended

• Leoangelo R.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 4 June 2026

  Hmm where to begin I went here months back and felt compelled to share my experience.  First off I am surprised that they have such a high review.  When my girlfriend and I first came to this place there was no one else so I thought cool an intimate hole in the wall perhaps?  
  
  I ordered a tikka and it was super spicy (I love spicy, but it was the kind of spicy that they throw in like crazy to hide the flavor because of bad cooking skills).  My girlfriend ordered a sambar and she thought it tasted funny and smelled strange too (she's Indian).  I tasted it too and that shit tasted spoiled!  We asked the waiter who was a stocky short gentleman what was up and he said that no one complained earlier when it was in the buffet.  It must have been a slip of the tongue or they really didn't know that that is something you shouldn't do.  They served us food from the fucking buffet hours back where they leave a lamp on it and it just sits there.  Why am I paying for a meal that is ordered to be fresh when they have a whole slop of it to serve you from before?  
  
  We just paid and I definitely didn't tip.   I forgot to mention the slow service and the flies.  Now you see my problem and I wouldn't eat at that gross ass place if you care about what you eat.  There are a lot of better Indian restaurants that don't serve old spoiled food in Des Moines.
  
  Disclaimer: it seems that there is a new owner and that this review is for the former owner of Namaste India.  I don't know if it's the same people working.

• Twee D.

  star star star star star 4 June 2026

  We got the vegetable samosa, butter chicken, tikki masala and garlic naan, and lamb curry. All of the food was absolutely delicious. I got the vegetable samosa every time even though we are not vegetarians this dish appeals to everyone. I can't get enough of the butter chicken but only on days to splurge!

• Shar S.

  star star star star star 30 May 2026

  We had a late lunch at this cute little Indian restaurant in west Des Moines last Saturday. The restaurant did not seem very busy which made me a little suspicious about whether it would be a good place. But it was quite late which may be why it wasn't as busy as it ought to have been given the great food. I have to admit the buffet did not look very appealing so we ordered off the regular menu. We were disappointed to find out they could not serve dosas which is a delicious South Indian crepe and very difficult to find. The owner told us he has a  chef only to make dosas and he was on vacation. I appreciated his honesty. Anyway, we went with North Indian food. We ordered the chilli chicken which is an appetizer but he said the portion size was good enough for it to be an entree. My husband ordered the vegetarian navratan korma. We also orders a garlic naan. The food came out piping hot and oh-so delicious. I'm from India, I'm critical of Indian food if it does not taste authentic, and I was really impressed. More people should give this place a try. We will definitely be back the next time we are in Des Moines.

• Michael M.

  star star star star star_border 18 May 2026

  So I was trying to remember the first time I ever had Indian food.  It must've been the early 80s because I don't remember much of the early, middle or even late 80s.  I remember my sweet 1971 Cutluss Supreme, mix tapes, hours spent at the lake drinking crappy beer and the drive in theatre. I remember concerts at Kemper Arena and the Starlight Ampitheatre. The Eagles, Black Sabbath & Blue Oyster Cult Shooting Star, Journey and Rush. God Rush. Those guys blew my mind the first time I ever saw them.
  
  I remember quaaludes, thai stick and hashish.  And I remember the girls. Oh man, the girls.  Every single one them. Have mercy.  
  
  Indian food though, I just can't put my finger on it. Let me tell you something about Indian food.  It's like life.  It's colorful. It's full of flavor. It's spicy and you'll want more then you could possibly ever handle. You will either love it or you will hate it. There is no in-between.
  
  Food is an experience.  It's a reminder, a flashback to the past or a crystal ball to the future. Just the smell of Chicken Vindaloo, Lamb Curry or freshly baked naan takes me back to all  those days of excess I experienced back in the 80's. Not all good memories but a time I made it out alive.  Isn't that what a good meal is all about anyway?  Reliving old memories and making new ones.  The experience of a good meal is so much more then the food. It's so much more then what you put in your mouth. Food is where you are, who your with and what you had to do to get there.  This is why my reviews or whatever you choose to call them have very little to do with the actually place and more about the experience.
  
  I don't claim that Namaste India is the tastiest, most authentic Indian food around. I've never been to India so my points of reference are confined to the restaurants I have eaten at but Namaste is my favorite for a variety of reasons.
  
  Number One. It's buffet style which means I find it very difficult to not eat my weight in naan. Sure you can order speciality dishes off the menu if you lack the nads to go face first with what's under the lights. Come on man. Where is your sense of adventure.
  
  Number Two. It's damn delicious and isn't that the bottom line.
  
  I eat here often and they've had the under new management and new chef sign up long enough. They also have a sign that says "we only serve halal food" which roughly translated means the pinnacle of deliciousness. Ok so I have no idea what it actually means nor do I care.  All I know is this place makes me happy.
  
  Check out the photo and tell me that doesn't look amazing.
  
  Namaste