Family of three Indian curry meal in Dongmyo for 55,000 won: Namaste

Where is Namaste Dongmyo Branch, and where do you park?

Namaste Dongmyo Branch is an Indian restaurant on the 2nd floor at 18 Jibong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Sungin-dong 136-2), right as you exit Exit 5 of Dongmyo Station (Lines 1 & 6). Open daily 11:00–22:00. The location is honestly super convenient.

My kid asked to go to the Stationery and Toy Alley near Dongmyo Station, so we headed out for a weekend outing, and even though it was a bit early for dinner, we swung by Namaste, which had good reviews as an Indian restaurant right nearby.

Parking in the building itself is tough, so I'd recommend using the Changsin 1-dong Community Center parking lot about 110m away.

Inside the second-floor dining room and the decor our child loved

The building looked kind of old, so I was like, is this really it? haha, as we headed up to the 2nd floor. But unlike the outside, the inside has a distinctly exotic yet traditional atmosphere.

And on top of that, Namaste Dongmyo Branch has been a Blue Ribbon restaurant for 9 consecutive years since 2018!

The spacious hall, the tables that feel like you've stepped into India, and all the little touches including the lighting — it was all charming enough that my daughter especially seemed to have a blast.

First visit? The 50,000 won couple set at Namaste

Namaste Dongmyo Branch has a huge number of basic curry menu items alone. And you can't talk curry without naan, but the names were unfamiliar enough that I was agonizing over what to order, when the staff recommended the set menu haha. If it's your first visit like it was mine, going with a set menu seems like a good call.

The couple set (₩50,000) includes samosa, chicken tikka, shrimp chili, chicken makhani, vegetable curry, plain rice, garlic naan, and 1 lassi — the portions were bigger than expected, plenty even for the three of us.

Chicken makhani and vegetable curry at Namaste Dongmyo Branch

From left to right, chicken makhani and vegetable curry. The chicken makhani has a slightly spicy kick with about 5 pieces of boneless chicken. The vegetable curry is barely spicy but loaded with a wide variety of vegetables, so mixing it into rice still gave you something to chew on, which I liked.

Korean-style curry is delicious too, but authentic Indian curry, with its distinct spices, has a much deeper flavor and aroma that's even more addictive.

This here is the shrimp chili and chicken tikka — heads up, the shrimp chili is pretty spicy haha. Personally I loved it, but my kid couldn't handle it.

Samosa — an unfamiliar name, but it's an Indian-style fried dumpling filled with potatoes and peas seasoned with spices.

The basic side dishes of pickled onions and pickles, haha.

Garlic naan — baked to order right on the tandoor wall, so it comes out piping hot with a wonderfully chewy texture!

The lassi our child drank to the last drop

Lassi as dessert — lassi really varies from one Indian restaurant to another, and some places make it so sour it's a dealbreaker. Namaste Dongmyo Branch's lassi is more sweet-and-tangy like Korean yogurt rather than sour, so my kid absolutely loved it, haha.

Chicken makhani is Namaste's signature bestseller curry, with a spicy flavor built on fresh tomato, butter, and cream. Maybe because of the spiciness, I personally loved it, and it's delicious even just tearing off bits of garlic naan with your hands and dipping it in.

It's hard to tell from photos, but the samosa, an Indian-style dumpling, is thicker and bigger than expected — a total recommend for anyone who likes vegetables. The outside is crispy while the inside is packed full, so even one piece felt filling. It's even better dipped in ketchup.

Chicken tikka and shrimp chili

Chicken tikka, chicken grilled after marinating in spices. The chicken itself is light and moist with just a hint of spice. It's marinated in yogurt so it's slightly tangy and tender, and grilled in the tandoor so it has that smoky char too — the kind of dish that makes anyone say, wow, this is good.

Chili shrimp — as mentioned, it's pretty spicy, spicy haha. But the shrimp has a plump, springy texture, and even though the sauce is spicy it's addictive, so I kept reaching for more!

You can't have curry without rice, right, haha.

Cheese naan, 5,000 won extra

After finishing the garlic naan, we added on a cheese naan (₩5,000). It's a bit pricier than the other naans, but it's stuffed with a ton of mozzarella cheese inside.

It kind of feels like eating pizza?? haha. Natural mozzarella cheese stretching out like taffy, paired with naan baked in the tandoor — add curry to that and it's basically game over, haha.

55,000 won for three: would we go back to Namaste Dongmyo Branch?

₩55,000 got our family of three a totally stuffed meal :) As a 9-year-running Blue Ribbon restaurant in Dongmyo, the sheer variety of curries and the depth of flavor and aroma really stand out, so if we come back to Dongmyo, I think we'd revisit Namaste Dongmyo Branch. My daughter, who had only ever eaten Korean-style curry, tried Indian curry for the first time here and really enjoyed it. If you're planning a trip to Dongdaemun or Dongmyo, I'd definitely recommend stopping by Namaste Dongmyo Branch.