Run by husband-and-wife team Hemant and Pooja, Namaste’s authentic Indian menu features freshly-made, excellent value vegan options. Located in the Victorian Market Food Hall, don’t miss them tucked behind the Bad Girls Bakery.
Hemant is a skilled chef, making dishes from scratch and offering options I’ve not seen in local restaurants. We tried puffed crispy bitesize pani puri filled with a potato, chickpea mix, followed by tangy tomato-based pav bhaji vegetable curry (which comes with butter, simply ask for vegan butter), as well as amritsari chole bhature, which is a delicious spiced-chickpea dish served with fabulous puffed bhature fermented breads. On a return visit we also sampled idli sambhar – a flavoursome lentil stew with fluffy rice idlis, and hearty bread pakora (slices of bread with a spiced potato filling, deep-fried) which should be popular in the country that is home to all manner of deep-fried indulgence! And I’m always happy to find a new vegan sweet treat, so enjoyed finishing with their crunchy jalebi (which is now vegan).
I especially appreciate how friendly, enthusiastic and accommodating Hemant and Pooja are. Vegan options are mostly marked on the menu, but Hemant did make a couple of items vegan after this was printed. If you are not sure of anything they are so helpful at answering queries. As Hemant is cooking everything, he knows exactly what the ingredients are and what can be adapted.
You can order and sit in the Victorian Market food hall, but I recommend grabbing a perch at Namaste’s small bar seating area. You can watch your food being prepared and chat to Hemant while you wait.
Writing this up is making me hungry for a return visit!
Contact
thevictorianmarket.co.uk/businesses/namaste
chawla0605@yahoo.co.in
Victorian Market Food Court (Church St entrance), Inverness IV1 1AN
07774 871677
Sun-Mon 10:00-17:00
Tue-Sat 10:00-20:00
