Showing 1-21 of 21 results
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Casino Anna
Casino Anna at the Hotel de l'Annapurna, attracts a mainly Indian crowd. Kathmandu's casino's are all attached to upmarket hotels and open 24 hours. You can play in either Indian rupees or US dollars, and winnings (in the same currency) can be taken out of the country when you leave. The main games offered are roulette and blackjack, and the main clients are Indians. Nepalis are officially forbidden from entering.
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Casino Royale
Make a beeline for the Casino Royale, set in a former Rana palace at the Yak & Yeti Hotel. Hang around the tables long enough and staff will ply you with free drinks and a dinner buffet (with Russian dancing girls!). You can play in either Indian rupees or US dollars, and winnings (in the same currency) can be taken out of the country when you leave. The main games offered are roulette and blackjack, and the main clients are Indians. Nepalis are officially forbidden from entering
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Full Moon
A tiny chill-out bar and den of iniquity, with a mixed Nepali-foreign clientele.
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Gandharba Association
This is an organisation for the city's musician caste. There are informal music jams between and at their offices on the third floor above Equator Expeditions (tourists are welcome) but they play in local restaurants such as the Northfield Café. Individual musicians offer music lessons and they also sell their own CDs.
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Himalayan Java
Above the Bakery Café, on the eastern edge of Thamel, this modern and buzzing coffeehouse serves good teas, blended and iced coffees and snacks. There's a sunny balcony, lots of mellow sofas, a nonsmoking section, and big-screen TV for the football, but from certain angles it feels a bit like a hotel foyer. It's popular with cool middle-class Nepalis.
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J-Bar
At the back of Himalayan Java, the J-Bar kicks in around when the Thamel bars shut and keeps going to on Fridays and Saturdays. It's more like New York than Nepal, with cream leather interiors and pricey drinks, but it's a place to meet Nepal's beautiful set. After access is via the side alley.
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Jai Nepal Cinema
On the south side of the new Royal Palace this cinema shows some foreign films and is the best in town.
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Jatra
An intimate and pretty cool venue for a beer or dinner, with indoor and outdoor seating. Friday nights bring live music jams; on Wednesdays ladies get a free cocktail.
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Just Juice 'n' Shakes
Little more than a hole in the wall, hidden down a side alley, with just four cramped seats, but the juices, espresso and fruit/yogurt smoothies are just great. Try a carrot juice with lemon and ginger.
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Kalamandapa Institute of Classical Nepalese Performing Arts
Nepali dances (and occasional theatre) are performed here at the Hotel Vajra most Tuesdays at . Phone ahead to check schedules. There are sometimes Newari music concerts on Fridays or Sunday evenings.
Read more about Kalamandapa Institute of Classical Nepalese Performing Arts
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Kathmandu Guest House Minitheatre
The Kathmandu Guest House shows nightly films in its 25-seater theatre. This may be a preferable alternative to the dwindling number of Thamel restaurants that show Western movies almost as soon as they hit the cinemas in the West where the sound quality is often atrocious and the films pirate copies.
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Kumari Cinema
This cinema has the same owners and prices as the Jai Nepal and shows more foreign films in English, while elsewhere Bollywood-style Hindi an Nepali films are the usual cinematic fare.
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Latin Quarter
This place has hot and sweaty salsa dance nights on Friday and Wednesday and you can even arrange salsa dance tuition here. It's owned by a famous Nepali singer/actor and is in the Babar Mahal Revisited complex.
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Maya Cocktail Bar
Maya Cocktail Bar is a long-running favourite that remains popular. The two-for-one cocktails between and (with free popcorn) are a guaranteed jump-start to a good evening.
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New Himalchuli Cultural Group
The New Himalchuli Cultural Group is a dance troupe that performs nightly at a crummy restaurant in Lazimpat. The hour-long show costs Rs 350 and starts at in summer (October to April) and in winter (May to September). Ring in advance to check that a performance is planned.
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Pub Maya
This place is associated to the Maya Cocktail Bar, but it's noisier.
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Rum Doodle Restaurant & Bar
Named after the world's highest mountain, the 40,000½ft Mt Rum Doodle, this famous bar is still milking a dusty (1983!) Time magazine accolade as 'one of the world's best bars'. It's long been a favourite meeting place for mountaineering expeditions - Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Ang Rita Sherpa and Rob Hall have left their mark on the walls - and trekking groups have added hundreds of giant yeti trek report footprints. The restaurant serves up steaks, pasta and pizza and there's often live music.
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Tom & Jerry Pub
Close to Nargila Restaurant, this is a long-running, rowdy upstairs place with pool tables and a dance floor. Thursday is ladies' night.
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Upstairs Jazz Bar
This place in Lazimpat has live jazz in its tiny bar every Wednesday and Saturday that is patronised by an interesting mix of locals and expats.
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Via Via Café
This café has a small but sociable bar, with a happy hour from to , and Friday and Saturday night club music in the downstairs lounge.
Showing 1-21 of 21 results
