Review: Namaste Indian Restaurant - Chania

Namaste Indian Restaurant - 186 Kissamou, Chania, Crete

The Chania region of Crete has been crying out for a good Indian restaurant that is open all year round and finally it has one. Namaste, found on Kissamou Street as you enter the city from the west (Nea Chora), has only been open since May 2017 but it is already building a solid reputation and client base and after tasting the food there we can see why.

It has a tastefully decorated interior, which if you are used to some of the more gaudy Indian restaurants in the UK may come as a pleasant surprise, and a light and airy outside terrace facing onto the street. The layout is adaptable and can seat large groups or individuals as required, as an example, we had a table for 12 people and we also saw singles and couples eating at Namaste on the same evening. THE FOOD

With a large group we managed to taste quite a lot of the menu and apart from one or two people hoping for a bit more fire in the spices it all went down very well.

Regarding the spiciness I feel it is all down to personal taste and we were asked if we would like our main dishes, not hot, medium or hot so perhaps next time those wanting more heat will know to 'up the ante' on ordering. It is no reflection on the taste of any of the dishes which were all, to be frank, superb.

Onion bhajees from Namaste

STARTERS

We had a mix of onion bhajees, chicken pakora, paneer pakora and mixed samosas with a mix of raitas to accompany them as well as the ubiquitous poppadoms. The onion bhajees were not as expected in shape; in the UK we are used to large balls of onion which are then fried, at Namaste they were more of a flattened disk, but the tastes more than satisfied. Perhaps this way of presenting them is particular to the chef's home region. The pakoras were lightly coated in a beautiful crispy batter that complimented both the paneer cheese and the chicken and the portion sizes are enough to share a single starter between two people. Portion size is again a big plus point for the samosas, which were HUGE, and receiving two of them is a bonus for the hungry eater or those who wish to share.

Chicken pakora from Namaste

MAIN COURSES

Again we managed to try a fair amount of differently spiced dishes; korma, madras, tikka massala, vindaloo and biryani. Apart from the aforementioned issue over choosing the right spice level for our tastebuds, each was full of flavour without being overpowering. On a personal level the vindaloo managed to build on the heat so by the end of the dish you could really feel you had eaten this classic spicy Indian dish. SIDES & ACCOMPANIMENTS

Garlic naan, plain naan, three different rice plates...all cooked perfectly and plenty of them.

PRICES As expected for a restaurant just outside Chania, for a starter, naan, rice and main course with wine you are looking around 30-40 euros per couple...but that was without sharing any dishes apart from rice. This was mainly due to the fact we were unsure of portion sizes PLUS we all wanted to try as much of the food as we could to really test out the taste buds! So, sharing a starter, naan or rice and main with 1/2 litre of wine would be 20-25 euros per couple on average.

OVERALL THOUGHTS As long as you ensure you ask for the right spice level you will be very happy with the food from Namaste. If, like most of us, you miss the flavours of a good Indian curry night then you will not go far wrong with making a visit and even if you can't manage a sit-down meal, you can always order a takeaway in advance and pick it up as you're passing through.

Click HERE to visit their Facebook page for more information.

So that's a big 'THUMBS UP' for Namaste Indian Restaurant in Chania.

#Indian #food #Review #Chania