Namaste Spice Arlington

Namaste Spice in Arlington opened recently. In the beginning, they offered only takeout. Then, outdoor seating was added, and indoor tables with full table service were added.

Outdoor seating. Free on-street parking.

The restaurant's seating arrangements are designed for your comfort, with two four-tops and two two-tops that can be easily converted into three-tops. Does this sound like AI? It was AI-enhanced.

Today's lunch dish was the Jeera Aalo (9.99), and it comes with either Naan or Basmati rice. "Diced boiled potatoes, pan roasted tempered with cumin seeds and light spices". Last time when I ordered medium, it was medium, this time, it was not. However it was nicely seasoned and the potatoes were cooked perfectly. The rice had improved since my visit. Still a weak link.

On my previous visit, sorry, there were no pictures, and it was all in takeout containers, even if I dined in. I still got a plate and water, nice! I had ordered takeout of Aalo Mattar ($9.99) "Green peas & potatoes cooked with Indian Spices", hold the peas, with garlic Naan. It was medium and really well-seasoned. The naan was good. The other dish was Butter Chicken ($10.99) "Creamy tomato & fenugreek sauce with chicken garnished with nuts". The nuts didn't make it, but it was well seasoned and medium. With rice, so I could try both the rice and the Naan. The rice needs improvement.

Chicken Vindaloo ($13.99). "Spicy chicken and potato curry with a hint of vinegar. Served with rice". Ordered it hot, and it was barely medium. No hint of vinegar at all. The chicken was dry. The vindaloo had split. The rice was much improved this time. The owner is very pleasant.

Chicken Momo (8) ($11.99). "Steamed dumplings with juicy chicken filling. Served with homemade chutney". The dumpling was excellent, with very tender skin and a juicy filling. The chutney was new to me, but it was very tasty with a hint of tartness. The momos were also good-sized.

Jhaneko Dal ($11.99) from the Nepali section. How do you make a picture of this exciting? I have no clue. At least the serving dishes are nice. The dal was creamy and really well seasoned, and she made it mild/medium, and it was leaning towards medium. The rice is now a properly cooked basmati rice, with every kernel separated. Did I say that the dal was seasoned excellently?

Aalo Bodi Tama (Veg) ($12.75). "Diced potatoes, black-eyed beans, and bamboo shoots in a Nepali Style". I ordered it medium since that was nice on my last visit. Again, when ordering it medium, it had absolutely no heat at all. It also lacked seasoning and was bland. I'm still on the fence about this place. I might go back in 6 months.

All dish names and descriptions are cut and pasted from their website.

Address: 159 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474 Phone: (781) 777-2033