Namaste Lumbini Restaurant and Bar

 

Located at 727 West Main Street in Jamestown, Namaste Lumbini serves Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan cuisine. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 11-9:30 Fridays and Saturdays, and closed Tuesday. Online ordering is available.

 

The latest eatery to occupy the former Penny’s and El Agavero location, Namaste Lumbini brings something different to the Jamestown area. Time will tell if it has staying power, but service and food quality are strong right out of the gate.

 

My wife and I arrived before 6 p.m. on a Saturday to find Namaste Lumbini mostly empty, not a good sign. By the time we left, however, business had picked up considerably. The restaurant has the space to accommodate groups should anyone need a place for a get-together. While the building is old, the interior has been touched up nicely.

 

Namaste Lumbini’s menu is impressively deep. It boasts many familiar Indian dishes – tandooris and tikkas masalas and biryanis – but it also offers Indo-Chinese selections as well as momo (Nepalese dumplings). There are plenty of vegetarian options, and there are also thalis for the indecisive/those who want to try a little bit of everything.

 

My wife and I opted to split a vegetable samosa, a chicken 65, and a vegetarian thali. Our food came out promptly, and it was preceded by a complementary papadam with tamarind and mint chutneys. I will offer a caveat in that if you want your food spicy, you will have to request it as such. Only the billed-as-spicy chicken 65 brought any heat, and it was about medium. That said, while spiciness may have been subdued, flavors were not. The chicken 65 was nice and tangy, and the thali’s saag paneer, aloo gobi, and dal were tasty and comforting. Naan was included, and it performed sauce mop-up commendably.

 

Namaste Lumbini’s service is attentive and polite. We were greeted upon entry and checked on throughout the meal. Prices here are moderate with entrees in the teens.

 

Given the food and service quality and the vast swaths of menu left to explore, we will almost certainly be back. If its execution remains consistent, Namaste Lumbini could easily become the go-to for Indian eats in the Jamestown/east High Point area.