Showing 1-21 of 21 results
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1905
You can dine with ambassadors and government ministers in Thomas Kilroy's latest venture, set in a lovely old house. The tables on a bridge over a wonderful lily pond adds a definite colonial Burmese feel, so it's fitting that there are several southeast Asian dishes on offer. You'll need some time to wade through the seven different menus, including one just for teas!.
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Baithak Restaurant
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.
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Bhanchha Ghar
This restaurant resides in a traditional three-storey Newari house in Kamaladi, next to a Ganesh Temple. There is an upstairs loft bar where you can stretch out on handmade carpets and cushions for a drink, snacks and the obligatory cultural show (try to arrive before ). You can then move downstairs to take advantage of an excellent set menu of traditional Nepali dishes and delicacies.
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Bhojan Griha
In the same vein as Newari restaurant Bhanchha Ghar, but perhaps more ambitious, is Bhojan Griha in a recently restored 150-year-old mansion in Dilli Bazar, 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. Again, dancers and musicians stroll through the various rooms throughout the evening, representing Nepal's major ethnic groups.
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Dahua Restaurant
In contrast to restaurants like Change Cheng, this definitely isn't 'real' China - sticky sweet-and-sours and egg foo yong are the rule here - but it's cosy and tasty and the price is right.
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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.
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Dwarika's Hotel
Dwarika's Hotel has a candlelit Friday night poolside barbecue and dance show that makes for a great splurge; it also houses the upmarket Nepali Krishnarpan Restaurant.
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Festive Fare Restaurant
Overlooking Basantapur Sq, this restaurant has unsurpassed views from its top-floor terrace and attracts more of a tour-group crowd. Prices are about double those of the Freak St cheapies.
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Koto Restaurant
Some say Koto prepares the best Japanese food in town. If not the best, then it's close, with a wide range of dishes from cold soba noodles to sukiyaki and even fresh mackerel, plus several set menus. It's up a dingy little stairwell but the décor is cosy and intimate. There's a less expensive branch in Thamel.
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Koto Restaurant
When you need a break from endless 'same same but different' backpacker food, head for this budget branch of the acclaimed Durbar Marg restaurant. The Japanese flavours are subtle and complex and the bamboo décor is bright, elegant and clean. The sukiyaki 'young person' set meal is a great deal, with all kinds of salad trimmings, miso soup, green tea and unlimited rice.
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Krishnarpan Restaurant
One of the best places for Nepali food is the Krishnarpan Restaurant at Dwarika's Hotel, east of the centre near the Ring Rd. The atmosphere is superb and the food gets consistent praise from diners. Bookings are advisable. If you are coming on Friday, arrive in time for the dance show in the hotel courtyard.
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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 very few places that seems to have hung onto some of the mellowness of times past. All the travellers' favourites are here and the prices are some of the best in town.
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Nepali Chulo
Closer to Thamel is this new restaurant in the wing of a 157-year-old Rana palace, the Phora Durbar. Most people choose the fixed menu of 11 dishes but ordering à la carte is possible. Choose between floor or table seating but get here before to catch the live music and dance. A chulo is a Nepali-style stove.
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Northfield Café
Next door to Pilgrims Feed 'N Read, this open-air spot is the place for serious breakfast devotees (huevos rancheros included), with fresh juice and smoothies, and bottomless filter coffee. The Mexican and Indian tandoori dinner dishes are excellent and the sunny garden is a real plus in winter.
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Old Tashi Delek Rest
This place, a long-time favourite, feels like a trekking lodge that's been transplanted from the Everest trek into a Thamel time warp. Prices are cheap, the Tibetan momos (and especially the richosse momo soup) are authentic and the spinach mushroom enchilada is surprisingly good for Tibetan-Mexican food (Tib-Mex?). It's down a corridor, slap bang in the centre of the Thamel action.
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Royal Hana Garden
This place is a bit of a find - there are two outdoor hot-spring baths 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.
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Seoul Arirang
This excellent Korean place has a pleasant rooftop area and serves dishes barbecued at your table, as well as Korean classics such as bulgogi (beef and ginger) and bibimbap (rice with beef, vegetables and hot sauce). The owner is Korean but the chefs are Nepali. The picture menu guarantees no nasty surprises.
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Thakali Kitchen
If, after having travelled all this way to Nepal, you actually fancy some Nepali food(!), this upstairs restaurant is a modern place popular with local people working in Thamel. Most opt for the daal bhaat but there's also a range of Newari food such as aa lang kho, a dried meat, cheese and radish soup.
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Thamel House Restaurant
In Paknajol, this place is set in a traditional old Newari building and has bags of atmosphere. The food is traditional Nepali and Newari. Ask for the à la carte menu and choose individual dishes or go for the blowout set meal. It's also open for lunch.
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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.
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Utse Restaurant
In the hotel of the same name, this is one of the longest-running restaurants in Thamel and it turns out excellent Tibetan dishes, such as momos (meat/veg-filled ravioli), kothey (fried momos) and talumein (egg noodle soup). For a group blowout, g acok (also spelt gyakok ) is a form of hotpot named after the brass tureen that is heated at the table and from which various meats and vegetables are served.
Showing 1-21 of 21 results
