Indian cuisine in Hoofddorp!
On my recent trip to Amsterdam & Hoofddorp, I dined recently here at Namaste Indian restaurant. I chose this restaurant because it was close to my hotel (Hotel de Beurs) and wanted to have Indian cuisine during my stay. I arrived here around 5:30pm on a Friday evening, but didn't leave till 7:15pm. The restaurant that evening wasn't busy at all, but ended up waiting more than 30 minutes for my food order. I found that it was unacceptable. More than 30 minutes was disappointing to say the least, especially when the dining room was 1/4 full, if that. The experience here was less than stellar, although the service was decent - despite the long wait between the ordering and arrival of my food to table. The staff here was nice and the ambiance was nice. And a bit of mood lighting to set the mood too! Still, it was an A-okay experience overall.
The Namaste Indian restaurant is located at Kruisweig 185 in Hoofddorp. Like anywhere, Hoofddorp is your quintessential residential suburb of Amsterdam west of the Schiphol airport. Not sure about private parking here, but there can be street parking nearby wherever possible. No wifi connection to speak of, but at least the ambiance was good and quiet. That was its saving grace, although having a family with an active 2 year old running around being loud while the family eats isn't what I thought was okay, but it was entertaining. Namaste Indian restaurant serves up traditional Indian cuisine, at least that's what the menu says. They accept credit cards, which is always a plus. I used my international visa credit card, but somehow it got rejected. So, needless to say, cash is always king. The prices here were in line with what I thought was for Indian cuisine, but higher due to the foreign currency exchange. I always try to convert it back to US dollar to get the real value and felt that reference is basically overpriced. Maybe maybe not, but still it was up there to be sure.
For this short and sweet visit to Namaste Indian restaurant, I ultimately ordered the lamb curry with cheese naan. The server asked me if I wanted rice with my curry, and I said yes. That actually was extra and didn't mind paying for it. As mentioned before, the wait for my food seemed excessively long and did not appreciate waiting that long for the order to arrive. 20 minutes max is the going rate, but 30 minutes and beyond was just unnecessary and frustrating to say. Hopefully they were just short staffed that day, but still, that was just clearly a long wait for Indian food. The portions were adequate, although small. The lamb curry was delightful as well as the cheese naan. The rice was good too. I also had a large pint of beer as well. Needless to say that this meal costed about €25, which wasn't too bad.
For what it was worth, it was a pleasant experience here, but could have been better. At least the ambiance was nice - minus the kid running like she was a flying princess around the restaurant. The food was good, although pricey, but you get what you pay for and I certainly got it. Be aware of the wait for food. I might have gotten in on an off day, but there's always next time - if I ever come back to Amsterdam. I would recommend Namaste Indian cuisine though. Something worthwhile to check out and discover - or rediscover Indian cuisine at your leisure.
Support local!
C read more