Corkage-free curry restaurant near Dongmyo Station: Namaste Dongmyo

Nothing beats dipping hot naan into thick, rich Indian curry~ I went back for Indian curry and naan dipping after way too long. It was my friend's first time with Indian curry so we ordered the couple set, which came with tandoori chicken and even blazing hot 🔥 chili shrimp, so it was really satisfying. After finishing all the naan, I mopped up the rest of the curry with the fluffy plain rice.

Where is Namaste Dongmyo Branch, and what is the restaurant like?

Namaste Dongmyo Branch (나마스테 동묘점) is a Blue Ribbon-listed favorite on the 2nd floor right in front of Exit 5 of Dongmyo Station. I dropped by after wandering around Dongmyo Market and taking a walk by Cheonggyecheon Stream.

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, so we climbed the stairs. Up we go~

They've neatly stuck up their Blue Ribbon award, which they get every year. Oh, and Namaste is corkage-free!

The interior feels totally like you've traveled somewhere else. The AC was blasting too, so it was nice and cool. It was so muggy that day I couldn't believe it was supposed to be fall — I'd been sweating under my parasol, but the heat completely melted away inside.

The interior decor is really great. So Indian, so refreshing~

This is the main hall, and we sat by the window on this side! The natural light coming in put me in a good mood.

Namaste Dongmyo Branch curry menu: meat, spice and set options

Let me show you the curry menu first. The left side is curries with meat — chicken by default, but customizable to lamb or shrimp. The right side is curries with beans or vegetables as the main ingredient! The vegetable curry is really tasty too, you should try it. Chickpeas are delicious, aren't they. Spinach and cheese are good too, right.

Couple set appetizers: tandoori chicken, chili shrimp and momo dumplings

First they brought out the momo dumplings, chili shrimp, and chicken together.

I liked that the chicken was boneless...! A mix of breast and thigh meat. Slightly spicy with a dry, spiced aroma.

The chili shrimp is seriously spicy!! Spice wimps can't handle it. It's the kind of spicy that makes your head go numb and your mouth water at the same time. There were carrots and peppers mixed in too, and it was piping hot — I jumped from how spicy it was. Looking back now, the shrimp were beautifully prepped, and the spiciness was on a totally different level from buldak (fire chicken) spicy.

The momo dumplings are filled with potato and vegetables tossed in spices, meant to be eaten dipped in ketchup. Crispy, and a bit like a potato curry croquette.

The couple set lets you choose between tea and lassi, and lassi is the tastier pick...! It comes plain, sweet and thick. If you go to this Dongmyo-area curry spot, definitely try the lassi.

Chicken makhani and vegetable curry with naan and Indian plain rice

The curries in the couple set were chicken makhani and vegetable curry.

The vegetable curry has a mix of various veggies — potato, corn, zucchini, peas, and green beans. There's more in there, but I'm just naming what's visible in the photo.

Chicken makhani is a chicken butter curry! The chicken inside is delicious, and it's packed with butter and cream so it's smooth and rich.

This is the Indian rice — it's got that fluffy, loose texture, and I bet it would make amazing fried rice or a simple egg rice.

It's honestly no exaggeration to say you eat curry just to tear off pieces of this naan — warm, chewy yet crispy, with a subtle garlic aroma that's a total crowd-pleaser for Korean tastes.

For side dishes we got onion kimchi and pickles. There were serving spoons too, which made sharing the curry so much easier~

The curry was completely thick with big chunky toppings, so we also piled it right onto the naan like a topping, like meat.

The warm, fresh naan was so good. It was interesting how, aside from the lassi, Indian food didn't really have that sweet edge — unlike a lot of Korean food these days, which is loaded with sugar. And on the way out, we got to try a kind of sugar crystal(?) dessert. So fun and curious. The curry and naan were so good that I want to go curry-hopping to other spots around Dongmyo next time~!