Manali
The relaxed yet stylish garden-fronted restaurant at Johnson's Hotel frames a mountain view through foldaway windows, and its wood-fired pizza oven is…
Must-see restaurants in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Easily missed opposite the petrol station, around 2km south of central Kullu, Maitre is the most appealing Western-centric restaurant for miles around,…
Parvati Valley
Low-lit and atmospheric, this perennial favourite is reliable for a whole range of traveller munchies, and often serenaded by a Santana soundtrack.
Dharamsala
For beautifully blended flavours, this all-vegan delight is hard to beat with its imaginative range of stews, delicious 'Buddha-bowls', soups and curries…
Spiti
The Deyzor hotel's restaurant is decked with artistic local photos and offers plenty to read, and there's an eclectic range of dishes, from Thai to thukpa…
Mcleod Ganj
As well as McLeod's best barista coffee, this excellent gallery-cafe serves some very imaginative cuisine including brown-bread open sandwiches (try the…
Shimla
It's just four heavy wooden tables crammed into a bazaar-box shop-unit but the metalcraft lamps add character and the deliciously flavoured thalis …
Manali
This mood-lit bar-restaurant with a willow-shaded riverside terrace is popular for smoking shisha pipes (₹460) to an insistently upbeat soundtrack. It…
Himachal Pradesh
Gaur Niwas is a classical if mostly ungentrified heritage house where you can savour meals from tandoori trout to fair-value thalis to penne alla zingara…
Manali
Trancey vibes and dangling prayer-catchers set the tone, and there are plenty of chess sets on the wide sunny terrace, but what really makes the climb…
Shimla
Fronted by an old Fiat 1100, the enticing Simla Times combines a wonderfully panoramic open terrace area with a casually cosmopolitan indoor section of…
Shimla
In a distinctive all-window circular building, Ashiana is an almost-elegant restaurant for snacks, Indian and (some) Chinese food plus a few Himachali…
Himachal Pradesh
This timelessly refined restaurant offers indoor, conservatory and terrace dining, the latter with superlative views towards the distant Himalayan…
Manali
Upstairs, 250m south of the bus station, Vibes is a great place to try authentic, beautifully presented Himachali food that's rarely available outside…
Manali
Just across the river from Old Manali, climb a short stairway to enjoy Bella Vista's high-quality vegetarian Spanish and Italian food served in a…
Manali
This slick restaurant-bar produces flavoursome international food – from roast-pumpkin soup to peri-peri chicken, quinoa salad to semi-deconstructed pad…
Dharamsala
The Norbulinka's magical Hummingbird Cafe has a certain Tibetan elegance and outdoor tables that spill into the idyllic, tree-shaded rock garden.
Manali
This loungey restaurant-cafe with a mellow, jazzy soundtrack is good for hearty breakfasts, strong coffee and international dishes, from eggs Florentine…
Mcleod Ganj
One of McLeod's undisputed traveller hubs, with its shelves of books and very extensive rear terrace, well-run Nick’s goes well beyond Italian (though the…
Parvati Valley
'Celebrate, Meditate, Liberate' entreats this unexpectedly sophisticated cafe occupying a hard-to-beat panoramic viewpoint on a central knoll in Old Tosh.
Spiti
This cool little multicoloured cafe, operated by Ecosphere volunteers, offers superstrong coffee, herbal and other teas, and light dishes such as French…
Manali
Tibetan lutes and ornate Chinese lanterns give panel-walled Chopsticks an attractively distinctive if slightly dated feel. It's handily located just…
Mcleod Ganj
This popular, vegetarian Japanese restaurant is renowned for its daily changing set menus, but also worth visiting for its fairly authentic miso soup (₹50…
Spiti
The warm-weather terrace of the Himalayan buzzes with wise-cracking staff, youthful music and a happy graffiti-mural chic that becomes all the more…
Spiti
Shaded by a parachute canopy held high on a prayer pole, Kunzum Top sits amid flowers in the walled yard of the Sonam Homestay, which is also a good…
Lahaul & Spiti
It's worth strolling up to the Nordaling's small, mood-lit little garden restaurant, not just for the cosy if simple shaded seating between apple trees…
Himachal Pradesh
Above a clothes shop on the motorbike path that links the town and New Bus Stand, this delightful place is cheaper than most dhabas yet has almost the…
Manali
This decadent summer-only outpost of a chic Goan eatery serves French standards, like onion soup or mushroom quiche. You can also try specialities like…
Manali
Twinkling fairy lights and strings of plastic flowers give a sweetly naïve charm to this cosy cafe-restaurant. Its Mexican meals are worth trying, while…
Parvati Valley
This very special place occupies a tiny, antique hay barn with splendid views from its equally tiny front terrace at the top of the Kalga to Pulga…
Himachal Pradesh
This small, refreshingly air-conditioned hotel restaurant provides Rampur's best dining experience serving a rasoi-e-khaas (house kitchen) selection of…
Mcleod Ganj
Spacious and inviting on two levels, with options to sit at gazeworthy-window bar stools, Jimmy’s offers a choice of 18 sauces for its pastas including a…
Himachal Pradesh
Enjoy Naldehra's finest dining to the strains of classical music or pay 25% extra to be served on the lovely lawn-terrace. The menu ranges from moussaka…
Mcleod Ganj
Upstairs at the start of TIPA Rd, the adobe-and-hardwood interior is made all the more attractive with globe lanterns and flower baskets hanging over the…
Himachal Pradesh
For al dente pesto-pastas, a range of Mexican options and Kullu's best coffee (robust single/double espressos ₹60/80), head 2km south of the centre and…
Shimla
On two upper floors via an almost invisibly narrow stairway, this loveably cosy coffee shop serves espressos made from organic South Indian beans, but…
Spiti
Tabo's most quintessential traveller cafe provides pitas, pizzas, lemon chicken and superb hummus along with Indian and Tibetan fare and so much more. It…
Himachal Pradesh
Just before the main road curves around to the paragliding landing point, June16 is the cutest of several loveable Bir cafes. Romantically named for the…
Manali
Corner House is a convivially stylish yet laid-back place for a whole gamut of cuisines: the menu includes Burmese, Thai and German options as well as…
Himachal Pradesh
Upmarket dining in a revolving restaurant which takes two hours to make a full turn. At weekends there's an impressive buffet.
