Namaste Grill & Bar

Name: Namaste Grill & Bar
Address: 303 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, US
Telephone: 831-713-5430

Indian

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Mon-Thu 12pm-10pm; Fri-Sun 12pm-10:30pm

303 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-713-5430
Last verified: August 2026
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Biryani: Long-grain basmati layered with marinated meat, fried onions, saffron and whole spices and cooked "dum", sealed under a lid so the rice steams in the meat's juices. Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata (with a potato and egg), Malabar and Sindh each have their own. Served with raita and often a thin gravy (salan). Pulao is the simpler, single-pot cousin. On this menu as: Biryani · Chicken Biryani.
Butter chicken (murgh makhani): Tandoori chicken finished in a silky sauce of puréed tomato, butter, cream and a little fenugreek, sweeter and gentler than tikka masala. Invented at Moti Mahal in Delhi in the 1950s as a way to use leftover tandoori chicken. "Makhani" (buttery) on any dish, including dal makhani, promises the same rich treatment. On this menu as: Butter Chicken · Butter Chicken Pizza (14").
Tikka masala: Chunks of tandoor-grilled marinated chicken (tikka) simmered in a creamy, mildly spiced tomato gravy. Almost certainly invented in Britain's Punjabi restaurants rather than in India, and now the most-ordered dish on Indian menus in the English-speaking world. On this menu as: Chicken Tikka Masala.
Saag & palak: Saag means cooked greens: spinach, mustard, fenugreek or a mix. palak is specifically spinach. Puréed and simmered with ginger, garlic and cream, then paired with paneer, chicken or lamb. Sarson ka saag (mustard greens) with corn flatbread (makki di roti) is the Punjabi winter classic. On this menu as: Saag Paneer.
Dal: Lentils, and the soupy stew made from them. Dal tadka is yellow lentils finished with a tempering (tadka) of spices sizzled in ghee; dal makhani is black lentils and kidney beans simmered overnight with butter and cream; sambar is the sour, tamarind-and-vegetable lentil stew of the south, served with dosa and idli. On this menu as: Tadka Dal.
Tandoori: Cooked in a tandoor, a deep, charcoal- or gas-fired clay oven that reaches very high heat. Tandoori chicken is bone-in pieces marinated in yogurt, lemon, ginger-garlic and spices (the red color is mostly Kashmiri chili or food coloring), skewered and roasted until charred. Naan is slapped onto the same oven's walls. On this menu as: Tandoori Chicken.

How these dishes compare

Tikkatypically $15 across 366 menus
Biryanitypically $16 across 345 menus
Daltypically $11.99 across 344 menus
Butter chicken (murgh makhani)typically $16 across 318 menus
Tandooritypically $11.97 across 316 menus
Saag & palaktypically $15.95 across 309 menus
Tikka masalatypically $16.99 across 303 menus

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How these dishes compare

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