Namaste Grill & Bar, 7355 N Beach St, FW.
682-385-9091. 11am-10pm Sun-Mon, Wed-Sat.
PHOTO BY MADISON SIMMONS
What if I told you delicious, authentic Nepalese and Indian food was waiting for you right here in Fort Worth?
This spring, the owners of Namaste Grill & Bar in Irving opened a Fort Worth location at 7355 N. Beach St. The restaurant occupies a corner of a shopping center and has a bright and elegant vibe thanks to its high ceilings and a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.
The extensive menu features both Nepalese and Indian dishes. Offerings include an assortment of fried snacks, biryani, dumplings, tandoori, Indian curries, and traditional Nepali dishes. I have had Nepalese food only on a couple of happy occasions. Eager to try more, my friend and I stuck to that side of the menu.
Upon recommendation, we started with an order of chili momo. Momo are Nepalese dumplings and came in steamed and fried varieties. Our chili momo were fried and slathered in a sweet, smoky, spicy chili paste that left such an impression on me I can almost taste it as I type. We opted for the veggie filling, a rich and savory mixture of greens and onions and maybe chickpeas. The dumplings dazzled on their own, but combined with a topping of jammy onions and crunchy green peppers? This was the standout of the meal.
PHOTO BY MADISON SIMMONS
Next, we had thukpa, a soup originating from the Himalayas. A redolent smell of spices wafted up from the steam. Chewy noodles floated in a thick clear broth with a pleasantly sour aftertaste that I could not quite place. The soup was studded with tender strips of mutton (the menu offers a choice of proteins) and crunchy fresh green onions. This soup is the stuff for cozy rainy days or to pick you up when you have a cold.
We finished with a Nepali Thali Set. A set comes with small servings of a few different dishes, rice, and pickled and fresh veggies. It’s a good choice if you want to try a few different items and want to combine different flavors. This iteration had a light simple lentil soup, curried cauliflower, a chicken curry, and a potato dish, each in their own little chalice, arranged around steamed rice and mustard greens. The presentation was stunning. The cauliflower, rich and spiced, and chicken curry were scrumptious. Upon request, the waitress brought out a dish of spicy sweet hot sauce that rounded out the flavors perfectly. The set also came with the best naan I’ve had in years, rich and yeasty and fresh.
The set also came with dessert, gulab jamun. The dairy-rich fried dough sat in a bath of sweet, fragrant syrup and made for the perfect end to the meal.
Everything we tried at Namaste tasted fresh and broadcasted an unfamiliar-to-me combination of spices that left me wanting more. I already have a running list of what I want to try next time: more momo, some of the Indian curries, a variety of barbecued meats, and a mango lassi, to name a few. I’m planning my next trip back now.
PHOTO BY MADISON SIMMONS
Namaste Grill & Bar
Chili momo $12.99
Thukpa w/mutton $14.99
Nepali Thali Set $16.99
