Restaurants in Kathmandu
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A
Nepali Chulo
Closer to Thamel is this 157-year-old former Rana palace, the Phora Durbar. Most people choose the fixed menu of 11 dishes.
reviewed
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B
Old Tashi Delek Rest
This place, a long-time favourite, feels like a trekking lodge that’s been transplanted from Everest into a Thamel time warp. Prices are decent, the Tibetan momos (especially the richosse momo soup) are authentic, and the spinach mushroom enchilada (Rs 140) is surprisingly good for Tibetan-Mexican food (Tib-Mex?). It’s down a corridor, slap bang in the centre of the Thamel action.
reviewed
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C
BK’s Place
This place has a well-deserved reputation for good old-fashioned chips (French fries), with a variety of sauces, as well as good momos. It’s a tiny place, west of the Rum Doodle.
reviewed
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D
Helena’s
Helena’s is deservedly popular for its set breakfasts, one of the highest rooftops in Thamel, cosy interior and super-friendly service, with a wide range of coffee, good cakes, tandoori dishes and steaks. It’s warm and cosy in winter. If you are heading off trekking, consider breakfast on the 8th floor a form of high-altitude training.
reviewed
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E
Yak Café
Another unpretentious and reliable Tibetan-run place at the other end of Thamel. The booths give it a 'Tibetan diner' vibe and the clientele is a mix of trekkers with their Sherpa guides and local Tibetans who come to shoot the breeze over a cigarette and a tube of tongba (hot millet beer). The menu includes Tibetan dishes, with good kothey (fried momos), and South Indian food, at unbeatable prices.
It feels just like a trekking lodge, down to that familiar electronic sound of a chicken being strangled every time a dish is ready.
reviewed
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F
Or2k
This popular Israeli-run vegetarian restaurant is our current favourite for fresh and light Middle Eastern dishes. The menu spreads to crêpes, soups, zucchini pie, coconut tofu and ziva (pastry fingers filled with cheese). The mood is bright and buzzy. All seating is on cushions on the floor; you have to take your shoes off so make sure you’re wearing your clean pair of socks. A small stand at street level serves takeaway felafel wraps (Rs 110).
reviewed
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G
Third Eye Restaurant
Next door to Yin Yang, and run by the same people, this is a long-running favourite that retains something of the old Kathmandu atmosphere. There’s a sit-down section at the front, and a more informal section with low tables and cushions at the back and a rooftop terrace. Indian food is the speciality and the tandoori dishes are especially good.
reviewed
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H
New Orleans Cafe
Hidden down an alley near the Brezel Bakery, New Orleans boasts a relaxed and intimate candlelit vibe and a great selection of music, often live. It’s a popular spot for a drink but the menu also ranges far and wide, from Thai curries and good burgers to Creole jambalaya and oven-roasted vegies, plus good breakfasts.
reviewed
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I
Dolma Momo Center
This is typical of the Tibetan eateries dotted around town - it's just a hole in the wall, and momos and a few stains are the only things on the menu. But the momos are excellent, and they're top value.
reviewed
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J
Bhojan Griha
In the same vein as Bhanchha Ghar, but perhaps more ambitious, Bhojan Griha is located in a recently restored 150-year-old mansion in Dilli Bazaar, just east of the city centre. It’s worth eating here just to see the imaginative renovation of this beautiful old building, once the residence of the caste of royal priests. Most of the seating is traditional (ie on cushions on the floor), although these are actually legless chairs, which saves your back and knees. In an effort to reduce waste, plastic is not used in the restaurant and mineral water is bought in bulk and sold by the glass.
reviewed
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K
Yak Restaurant
An unpretentious and reliable Tibetan-run place at the end of Thamel. The booths give it a ‘Tibetan diner’ vibe and the clientele is a mix of trekkers, Sherpa guides and local Tibetans who come to shoot the breeze over a cigarette and a tube of tongba (hot millet beer). The menu includes Tibetan dishes, with good kothey (fried momos), and some Indian dishes, at unbeatable prices. It feels just like a trekking lodge, down to that familiar electronic sound of a chicken being strangled every time a dish leaves the kitchen.
reviewed
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L
La Dolce Vita
Life is indeed sweet at Thamel’s best Italian bistro, offering up delights such as parmesan gnocchi; excellent antipasti; goat’s cheese, spinach and walnut ravioli; sinfully rich chocolate torte and wines by the glass. Choose between the rustic red-and-white tablecloths and terracotta tiles of the main restaurant, a rooftop garden, the yummy-smelling espresso bar (real Lavazza coffee) or sunny lounge space; either way the atmosphere and food are excellent. It’s right on the corner opposite Kathmandu Guest House.
reviewed
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M
Via Via Cafe
This century-old red house at the end of ‘Seven Bends’ is part of a Belgian-run chain of travellers’ cafes that is part restaurant, part lounge bar, and part hostel. The food is mostly European, with some specifically Belgian touches, and the excellent brunch menu stretches to French toast, crêpes and Greek omelettes. If you like the Nepali dishes, sign up for the weekly cookery course (€5). The sociable lounge converts to a small Latin club on the weekends and a movie hall on Thursdays.
reviewed
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N
Dechenling
Quality Tibetan and Indian food is served up in this attractive beer garden, and it’s one of the few places in town to offer interesting Bhutanese dishes such as kewa dhatsi (potatoes and cheese curry). The thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup; Rs 150) is the best in Thamel. If you can’t decide, opt for a Tibetan or Bhutanese set meal washed down with a draught Everest Beer. No wonder the Tibetan name means Place of Joy.
reviewed
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O
Royal Hana Garden
This place is a bit of a secret – there are two outdoor hot-spring baths (admission Rs 340, includes towel and shampoo, Thursday to Saturday from 3pm only) where you can luxuriate for as long as you like before heading inside for a very reasonably priced Japanese meal. It’s perfect for small groups and it’s worth ringing ahead to book a soak. The restaurant is in Lazimpat, just north of the Hotel Ambassador.
reviewed
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P
Yin Yang Restaurant
This is one of Thamel’s most highly regarded restaurants. It serves authentic Thai food cooked by a Thai chef with either garden or floor seating. It’s not cheap but the food is a definite cut above the imitation Thai food found elsewhere. The green curry is authentically spicy – the massaman curry (with onion, peanut and potato) is sweeter. There’s a good range of vegetable choices.
reviewed
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Q
Himalayan Java
Above the Bakery Cafe, this modern and buzzing coffeehouse serves good espresso and fine paninis and cakes, in addition to decent breakfasts. There’s a sunny balcony, lots of sofas and big-screen TV for the football, but from certain angles it feels a bit like a hotel foyer. It’s popular with hip middle-class Nepalis and there’s wi-fi.
reviewed
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Kumari Restaurant
Next to the Century Lodge, this friendly hang-out attracts the densest collection of dreadlocked travellers in Kathmandu and is one of few places that seems to have hung onto some of the mellowness of times past. All the travellers’ favourites are here.
reviewed
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S
Fire & Ice Restaurant
Rumour has it that this was a favourite of Prince Dipendra and his girlfriend, before he massacred his entire family in 2001 (don’t worry, no one’s blaming the pizza). Regardless, it’s an excellent and informal Italian place, serving some of the best pizzas in Kathmandu, imported Italian soft-serve ice cream, seriously good Illy espresso and rousing opera – Italian, of course. It’s very popular and you’ll need a reservation in the high season.
reviewed
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T
Rum Doodle Restaurant & Bar
Named after the world’s highest mountain, the 40,000½ft Mt Rum Doodle (according to WE Bowman, author of The Ascent of Rum Doodle, a spoof of serious mountaineering books), 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 a visit here feels like a bit of a pilgrimage for mountain lovers. Trekking groups can add their own yeti footprint trek report to the dozens plastered on the walls. The restaurant serves up decent steaks, pasta and pizz…
reviewed
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Mike’s Breakfast
As the name suggests, this place specialises in big American-style breakfasts (Mike was a former Peace Corps worker), served up to a mix of expats and well-heeled locals. It’s a bit out of the way but it’s certainly a laid-back way to start (and occupy most of) the day, in the attractive, leafy garden of an old Rana house. The breakfast menu includes excellent waffles, fresh juices and great eggs Florentine (Rs 345); all prices include organic Nepali coffee from Palpa. Lunch extends to Mexican quesadillas and daily salad/soup combos; the barbecue fires up on Sunday evenings (Rs 550). While you’re here take a wander through the excellent Indigo Gallery. The restaurant is i…
reviewed
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V
Baithak
At Babar Mahal Revisited, southeast of the centre, this restaurant has a dramatic and regal, almost Victorian, setting, with crystal and linens, and where diners are attended by waiters dressed in royal costume and watched over by looming portraits of various disapproving Ranas. The menu features ‘Rana cuisine’, a courtly cuisine created by Nepali Brahmin chefs and heavily influenced by north Indian Mughal cuisine. The setting is probably the most memorable part of the restaurant. Vegetarians will find plenty to eat here. The attached K2 Bar has a delightful terrace for a pre-dinner drink. A baithak is a royal suite or state room.
reviewed
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1905
You can dine with ambassadors and ministers in this classy top-end restaurant set in a charming former Rana summer palace. The tables on a bridge over a wonderful lily pond add a definite colonial Burmese feel, so it’s fitting that there are several Southeast Asian dishes on offer. Lunch is light and casual, with sandwiches and salads. Dinner is a more serious affair, so dress up for dishes such as beef Wellington or salmon mousse layered in rainbow trout ratatouille and tomato hollandaise sauce. If nothing else, it’s a very romantic place for drinks.
reviewed
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Hankook Sarang
Currently our favourite Asian food fix, the Hankook is that rare combination of authentic taste and good value. Korean staples like bibambap and bulgogi (barbecued beef cooked at your table and eaten with lettuce) come with crunchy kimchi, salad, soup, dried fish, sweet beans and green tea. Bibambap is rice and vegetables in a stone pot, to which you add the egg and sweet chilli sauce and mix it all together. The service is excellent and there’s a pleasant alfresco garden. It’s down a courtyard near Tamas Lounge.
reviewed
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Y
Himalatte Café
A North-American coffeehouse feel here, right down to the comfy sofas and Friday night music jams (courtesy of the owner's band). The impressive array of coffees are some of the best in Thamel, as are the cheeseburgers. The menu ranges from Caesar wraps to fruit crêpes and the Tuesday and Thursday set meal specials are good value. We recommend the excellent chicken saltimbocca - cheese, sage and bacon inside a chicken breast.
If you are feeling a little fragile, try the hangover helper - carrot juice with ginger and parsley.
reviewed
