Set in a quaint little cottage on the outskirts of the city, Namaste provides authentic Nepalese food which is influenced by the neighbouring countries in the region. There are a few traditional items that adorn the modern yellow and purple walls, while the white table cloths give this place an elegant touch.

As a complimentary starter, we were given a serve of Pappadums. They were the basic variety which were nice and crunchy.

Next up were the entrees which consisted of Momo, Tempura Prawns and Phulaura. The Momo was a steamed chicken dumpling that contained ginger, garlic, spring onion and coriander. The filling was well flavoured, however, I thought the dumpling skin could have been a bit warmer. The Tempura Prawns were marinated in lemon juice, garlic paste and sesame seeds before being deep fried. The prawns were soft and delicate, and you could taste the tartness in the dish. I thought the batter was a bit soggy and lacked that firm and crunchy exterior you would get from traditional tempura. The Phulaura are patties made from black lentils, chickpea flour, spring onion, spinach and coriander blended in Nepalese herbs. The menu suggests these patties are supposed to be crispy, but my experience suggested otherwise. I suspect the entree dishes were not freshly prepared when served to us.

The Naan Bread was freshly prepared and had a nice firm exterior. It was cooked to a nice golden brown and pulled apart quite easily when hot.

The Butter Chicken contained boneless chicken thigh fillets that are cooked in a charcoal fired clay oven and then pan simmered in their curry sauce. The meat was tender and well cooked, and you could taste the charcoal flavours in the chicken. The sauce was smooth and creamy, however, I thought it was a bit sweet.

The Nepalese Lamb Curry contained fenugreek, cinnamon, tomatoes, coriander, bay leaves and mustard oil. The lamb was lean and tender, and the meat was full of flavour. The curry sauce had good depth and a nice thick consistency. This dish was the highlight of the night.

The Curried Pumpkin was simply mashed pumpkin flavoured with mustard seeds, fenugreek and ginger. The accompaniment was quite nice although I could only taste the pumpkin and nothing else.

The Spinach was simply stir fried with chilli and cumin. This reminded me of a typical Chinese vegetable stir fry. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, but because it was something I have quite often, it was my least favourite dish.

The dessert for the night was the Rice Pudding. The pudding was very watery and sweet. It was nice, but not great.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating, and the service was excellent. The drinks arrived promptly, the dishes were explained to us and plates were cleared as we finished. The waiter actually looked like he enjoyed working here. The atmosphere was relaxed with plenty of natural light coming in from it dual frontage. The pricing is average, although I thought some of the serving sizes were conservative. We had the $39.50 per person banquet for two which turned out to be satisfying, however, I probably wouldn’t have been saying that had I just ordered a main.

They do most things right here, although I wasn’t impressed with the entrees, one of the mains and one of the accompaniments. This was basically most of the banquet. My reviews are weighted heavily on the food which is the main reason we go to a restaurant. This place was OK in my books.

WHERE: 41 George St, Parkside