| If Moti Mahal and Rajdoot are the jewels of East Indian fine dining in downtown Calgary, then Namskar is the family equivalent on the city’s north side. While it may not be as ornate as its downtown cousins, Namskar (202 - 16 Ave. N.E., phone 230-4447) serves delicious northern Indian and Mughlai cuisine in a warm, friendly environment.
Amid the barrage of advertising along 16th Avenue, Namskar’s sign – a woman touching her palms together in the customary Indian greeting – welcomes you into what looks like a suburban brick home. When my friend and I arrived there for dinner one recent Saturday evening, the host had already filled one of the two dining rooms. The guests kept on coming, and halfway through our meal the entire restaurant was packed.
Impressive, especially considering that the jovial owner, Trilochan Sekhon, only opened the restaurant in mid-September. He moved to Calgary last summer from Finland, where he’d owned another Indian restaurant, a couple of pubs and bars, and even cooked in the Finnish army during his service.
My friend and I started with the vegetarian appetizer platter ($9.95), which features vegetable pakoras, cheese pakoras and vegetable samosas. It was an ample amount of food for two to four people, and the dainty, light-as-air cheese pakoras were what we both wanted the last bite of – we cut the remaining one in half.
Our main course comprised several tasty dishes that were presented in beautiful dishware, like the yellow lentil dal masoor ($7.95) in a little brass pail, and the plain fried rice with saffron ($3.25) in a decorative platter. We also shared an order of raita with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions ($3.95), aloo gobhi ($8.95) – fresh cauliflower and potatoes cooked in spices with tomatoes and fresh coriander leaves – and both plain and garlic naan. I always fear that I’m going to run out of naan in the middle of soaking up a lovely curry dish, but one naan per person will do.
We were debating between two chicken dishes, so the friendly young waitress recommended Namskar’s "specialty of specialties," the butter chicken ($13.95). She was right. The tender boneless chicken cooked in a light, tomato-based sauce with a medley of spices and reduced in butter and cream was scrape-the-bottom-of-the-dish delicious. In fact, it’s like the Indian equivalent of Chinese ginger beef – you just can’t get enough of it.
Although Indian music and the conversation of other happy customers created a pleasant ambience, I was a little disappointed with the décor. The foyer gave an imperial welcome with its stately pillars, but, with the exception of an elephant statue, tablas and the odd picture of Indian dancers, it was a beige, nondescript interior.
I didn’t have any room for dessert, but the ras malai ($4.25) – chilled homemade cheese patties in a sweet creamy sauce – is their specialty. And I now know how good their specialties are.
Namskar offers a daily lunch buffet for $10.95, featuring vegetarian dishes, butter and tandoori chicken, goat or beef curry, pakoras, papadums, rice, naan and dessert.
After enjoying a delightful cup of masala chai, we left Namskar feeling happy and comfortably full – always a good sign of a lovely meal. |
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