I haven’t visited Namaste Village since it opened last year (click here for my full review). I was delighted to return as I thoroughly enjoyed my last visit but more importantly they were throwing a CARNIVAL! 🥳

Located on Castle Street, Namaste Village offers authentic vegetarian and vegan Indian food. It is located where the old Cambridge Curry Centre (Cafe Naz) used to be, opposite Castle Hill. Its hard to miss and one of the only restaurants in the city big enough to host such an event.

The event itself consists of half a dozen food stalls, a dance floor, live music, a bar, a market, henna tattoos, and games. There’s a lot going on and something for everyone. I knew I’d regret it if I missed it, so made an extra effort to make sure I could attend!

🅿️ The event started at 11am and ran until about 4-5pm. This makes parking hard, as the only real option is behind the Sir Isaac Newton pub. On Sundays the car park forces you to purchase an entire day at £4.50. If you live in the city or within a short bus ride then this won’t be an issue. There are also a few cycle racks outside the restaurant.

Upon arrival you must pay for entry but the tickets are only a couple of quid. You are required to purchase tokens to use within the restaurant instead of using cash. This keeps things moving quickly inside, though it did get confusing remembering the value of each colour. Luckily, there were keys printed on the wall to help with this.

The stalls came from all over East Anglia. I noticed one run by the Marlborough Hotel in Norwich and another from Namaste Village Southend-On-Sea. In the photo above was the team from Namaste Village Norwich.

Expect all the classic traditional Indian dishes and popular Indian street food. Notable highlights included masala dosas, tandoori wraps, pav bhajis, chaat, and pan puri’s.

I was surprised how cheap the food was on the day. Individually, it came to a fairly standard price but all stalls offered a two for £8 deal which made things very easy on the wallet. I think this is important, as it helps get you into the carnival spirit and sampling lots of different things without having to worry about your budget. If you are new to traditional Indian cuisine or Indian street food then this is an absolute must.

As expected, all the food was vegan. As a hardened meat lover, I had absolutely no trouble here. Everything was delicious. One stall even had a chicken substitute that was fantastic. My 13 year old son couldn’t tell the difference and was blissfully unaware he hadn’t consumed a single piece of meat the entire time. 😂

There is a lovely big bar at the back with a selection of beers on draft. In fact, I was rather impressed with the selection. Cobra and Kingfisher made an appearance but more importantly, a tap was dedicated to a local Harston based brewery, Brewboard (my favourite brewery!). Top marks!

Desi drinks were also available courtesy of Namaste Palace Hotel. This included one of my personal favourites, the mango lassi and the masala chai. You could also get both cocktails and mocktails.

I enjoyed the little market in the corner upstairs. There was a wide variety of spices and chutney, as well as books and dried food. I couldn’t help but notice some lime pickle in a jar for £1.50 which I ended up purchasing. I had the pleasure of having some with a sausage roll for lunch the day after and let’s just say that it was a million miles apart from the dribble you find in the supermarket. 

There was so much great food and everyone on the day was friendly and chatty. It was a vibrant and fun atmosphere with a laid back attitude. A few of the queues got a bit long at times but things moved quickly. Overall, the event went smoothly with no problems. This is likely credited to the good staff ratio, so there was always someone close by to help out.

Both my son and I had a fantastic time and we are already talking about visiting again next year. The carnival truly is a unique experience in Cambridge and the team at Namaste Village deserve credit for being so bold with their ideas. Not only is there a wide variety of dishes to enjoy but it is a great value day out. There really isn’t a reason not to visit next year, I’ll see you there!

Thanks for reading!