Namaste Indian Cuisine | Our Story
Rooted in Tradition Since 2011
Namaste Indian Cuisine started in Santa Cruz with a simple conviction: food rooted in centuries of tradition deserves to be cooked that way.
The Tandoor
The clay tandoor is a 5,000-year-old technology that still shapes everything out of our kitchens — that smoky char on the lamb chops, the naan arriving still radiating heat.
Chef Dilip Gurung
Executive Chef Dilip Gurung guides all five locations with one philosophy: every recipe is a living story, not a formula to be scaled. He treats butter chicken, dal makhani, and garlic naan as a responsibility — not a nostalgia act.
From Santa Cruz to San Francisco
We opened on Mission Street in 2011 and earned our way across the Bay Area — Los Gatos, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and back to the waterfront with Namaste Grill. Each location reflects its community while holding the same line on authenticity.
The Vegetarian Table
Our vegetarian menu is a point of pride — kadai bhindi, baigan ka salan, and paneer tikka built with the same care and depth of spice as anything else on the menu.
Namaste — a Greeting and a Promise
The word means more than hello — it's an acknowledgment of the person in front of you. Whether it's a Tuesday dinner or a celebration for twenty, your table is ready.
