On a bleak and freezing Friday night in the middle of January, you need a bit of light and love in your life.
Which is where Namaste Delhi comes into its own – a bright, colourful place to eat food that is crafted by people who have a genuine love for what they are doing in the kitchen.
And it doesn’t hurt at all that this hugely-popular place on Bridge Street is one of the stars of Aberdeen Restaurant Week that is now in full swing. Two courses for £20? That’ll do nicely thanks.
So my other half and I decided to brave the skating rinks that were masquerading as the streets of Aberdeen and picked our way carefully to Namaste Delhi on Bridge Street to get some instant sunshine in our lives.
Namaste Delhi
That happens as soon as you go through the door into the warm interior and are treated by the beaming smile of a waiter, ready to sweep you to your table and hit you up with some poppadoms and chutney to get your culinary experience going.
Darn tasty they were, too, with a trio of dips that offered a bit of a warm-up for your taste buds. The green one was “mmmmm” and hot.
We weren’t there to snack though, not with a smorgasbord of delights to choose from off the special restaurant week menu.
The food
Sitting right at the top was a choice of starters including a mixed vegetarian option and a mixed non-vegetarian option. So why not have both, we thought.
Turned out to be a grand choice, too, with a range of tasty morsels, a variety of crunchy pakora – both veg and chicken – a delightfully crisp samosa filled with melting veg and spicy chicken tikka to go with a chicken lollipop.
True to the spirit of restaurant week being a voyage of discovery, I also discovered I really like paneer tikka, not something I would normally choose. It was like a spicy, deep-fried halloumi and just bursting with flavour.
Mains dealt with, we sipped away at our pints of Kingfisher and had a bit of a yack, as you do when you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself. And Namaste Delhi is a fine place to relax, with a chilled vibe, lifted by the colourful flags and funky paintings – and a roof bedecked with bright upside down brollies.
Our mains arrived in short order, with both of us plumping for different choices to those we would normally make. We agreed on “sharesies” so went with a veggie and non-veg option.
We were guided by the simple restaurant week menu – but how can you decline one offering described as the “heartthrob dish of India” and another billed as A MUST TRY DISH with block caps and everything?
The maa ki dall lived up to its heartthrob billing. It was a brimming bowl of black lentils in a rich creamy and buttery sauce. Apparently, this is crafted overnight on a slow fire. Well, the end result is worth all that time and effort. It was just sublime, the perfect balance between the earthy flavour of the lentils and the bright flashes of a spectrum of spices.
I could have just eaten the lot with a spoon, but it did go rather well with the soft-as-a-pillow garlic naan we ordered and the fluffy jeera rice, shot through with cumin seeds.
Meanwhile, the Delhi murg makhanani turned out to be very much a “must try”.
This was a vibrant reddy-orange colour and had a heady aroma that was a tango between sweet and spicy. A wee dip of the naan into the sauce confirmed that it was a zesty affair indeed – with bursts of orange citrus in there.
A few forkfuls in – especially with pieces of chicken that were cooked to perfection – and suddenly the chilli in the dish introduced itself with a “ta-da!”.
The verdict
It was all heady stuff and for £20 a skull, it has to count as one of the big attractions of Aberdeen Restaurant Week.
Don’t take my word for it, though, go and check it out for yourself – along with the many other restaurants joining this jamboree of excellent cuisine.
Information
A: Namaste Delhi, 64 Bridge Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6JN
T: 01224 379920
Price: £20 per person for two courses
Aberdeen Restaurant Week promotion: Two courses for £20.
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