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Namaste

Advertised as both Indian and Nepalese, I stopped in for a weekday lunch buffet.  Finding little different from a standard Indian menu the one selection which seemed to hail from Nepal were these little lentil balls.  Surprising on several levels (they were served cold and were a bit more zippy than expected), they didn't rise to awesome.  Unfortunately, nothing here did.  Everything about the place is pretty average, from a 1950s restaurant design to the food, which was "okay".  Given that it was a buffet I was able to sample a good number of dishes.  Everything seemed fresh but nothing stood out and a few offerings were downright bland.  I had the roasted cauliflower curry, which was watery, and the yellow dal and spinach/corn curry which were adequate but forgettable.  The rice had a teeny bit of anise added but disappeared under the dal.  The bread was good but as unremarkable as everything else.  I could have added a number of sauces to zip things up.  They had the standard cilantro chutney, tamarind sauce, yogurt raita and a red pepper sauce.  There was a very vigorous "pickle" and a nice yet undefinable brown sauce.  I put the brown sauce on the mostly-iceberg lettuce salad which was otherwise sad.  The best two dishes were the Mattar Paneer and the dessert, a Carrot Halwa.  Mattar Paneer is not my favorite dish but often appears in these buffets.  This was one of the better versions.  The cheese was dense and nicely chewy, the sauce both sweet and spicy.  The Carrot Halwa was a smooth dish which was gently seasoned and not over-sweet.  It does make for a nicely affordable lunch.  With tax and tip I came in just over $15 but I don't know that I would go back.  It took two tries to get the check and it wasn't like they were busy.  There were two businessmen in the cavernous establishment other than me, but that was it.  A larger group came in as I left.  They seemed to be related to the owners.  If it is this empty at lunch each day I don't know how they will be able to make it. 

Casual Indian and Nepalese
1504 King St. and 6138 Rose Hill Drive
http://www.namasteva.com/

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