Watford has a new number one restaurant on Tripadvisor — and the owners are “thrilled”.

Many people in an unfamiliar town for an evening will search up what the best place to eat locally is online so they know they are getting quality food.

Earlier this month the answer changed and Tripadvisor now displays Namaste Watford, in St Albans Road, at the top of the 243-eatery pile in a major boost for the business.

Namaste Watford owners Dharmesh Rajput and Manish Jaiswal.Namaste Watford owners Dharmesh Rajput and Manish Jaiswal. (Image: Namaste Watford.)

The Indian restaurant holds a perfect 5/5 from 143 customer reviews since launching in January 2020. Customers have commented on the “really good food”, “great service”, and “nice ambiance” with many saying they highly recommend it.

The success story had a rocky beginning, however, as the pandemic hit so soon after opening that had not had the food hygiene inspection needed to offer takeaway, forcing it to completely shut down for a time.

(Image: Namaste Watford.)

“The first six months is the launchpad for a business but for us the first six months was a real rollercoaster,” co-owner Manish Jaiswal said.

Mr Jaiswal founded the business as a passion project with fellow IT worker and Watford resident Dharmesh Rajput but they had to pay some staff that could not be furloughed out of pocket and rely on government loans initially to see the business through.

Namaste then started to find its footing and made a steady climb from number 16 to number one over the last six months as it started directing customers looking to leave a review to Tripadvisor rather than Google to make the final push.

(Image: Namaste Watford.)

Mr Jaiswal, 48, added that he was “thrilled” when his restaurant reached the top spot, describing it as a reflection of “our team's hard work but also the incredible support we've received from the people of Watford”.

He added that Namaste sets itself apart by offering an authentic taste, with all the chefs being Indian, offering a “tight” menu so that it can make sure everything is always fresh, allowing customers to fine-tune dishes to their ideal level of spice, and offering more vegan and vegetarian option than many Indian restaurants.