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21 Best Restaurants and Cafes in Kathmandu

In Kathmandu there are dozens of excellent restaurants and cafes, and not so excellent. You will find your favourites very quickly but in the meantime, some of our favourites are here for you to try.

Café Mitra, Thamel $ to $$

cafe mitra

Hidden away, this beautiful little restaurant serves fresh, handmade food. It’s a little tricky to find and we highly recommend that you call them in advance as pre-booking. There is a supply of vegetarian food.

Places Restaurant, Thamel $

This is probably the best vegetarian and vegan restaurant in town, and this author knows the only place to get a latte soy! This unassuming casual restaurant on Seven Corners serves great, well-presented food. A few times a month, it has live music and often hosts live art on its rooftop space as well.

OR2K, Thamel $

or2k restaurent kathmandu

Located on Mandala Street, it is an excellent location to either lunch or dinner and appreciates the refreshing atmosphere if you dine. This funky restaurant offers vegetarian Middle Eastern food.

Fire and Ice, Thamel $ to $$

Fire and Ice Restaurant
This 2018 image shows the Fire and Ice restaurant in Thamel, Kathmandu. Photo: Photo courtesy: Stephen Simon

This pizzeria is reported to be the best pizza in the town for nearly twenty years. The owner is an Italian woman who looks very carefully at the service and value for money. Pizza, pasta, and a selection of desserts and salads are available. They are also available for Italian breakfasts.

Mezze, Durbar Marg $ to $$

mezze restaurent

That’s Roadhouse Pizza’s upscale sister. It also provides pizzas such as plates from the Middle East, steaks and poultry. Located on the rooftop, the ancient palace and refreshing summer breeze are fantastically viewed. If you’d like to ensure you get a table (or couch) on the patio, telephone forward.

The Chimney, Yak and Yeti Hotel, Durbar Marg $$ to $$$

Chimney restaurent

Boris Lisbonnevich, a legend in Nepal’s tourism tale, created Yak and Yeti.   He was a well-known Russian ballet dancer and businessman who left the Chimney Restaurant behind this heritage. The Alaska is cooked and fondue on the menu in summer, serving initial ingredients such as borsch and chicken a kiev. In winter the copper shaft chimney provides the restaurant its name, a traditional lighting event.

Grill Me $$

Grill me

Tiny patio space and indoor seating, this restaurant offers pork chops, steaks and normal products.

Sing-Ma $

singma

Kathmandu’s Singaporean cuisine! With Singaporean and Malay meals, Singma recreates meals in Singapore at a discounted cost. The environment is quite basic, but it is made possible by the quality of meals. It closes at very early hour and is shut on Saturdays.

El Mediterraneo $

The Nepalese proprietor who has resided in Spain for some moment has developed Spanish cuisine particularly for you. Tapas are a great item in the menu and on quiet nights you can ask the owner / chef for special requests.

Summit Hotel $$

Summit hotel restaurent

This hotel has been famous for centuries with expatriates and has a nice bar, a genuine fire and a cafeteria in summer. The exterior parking places and the swimming pool (with affiliation) are abundant. Food is quite ordinary, but it is worth visiting again and again because of the environment. On weekends they have a periodic BBQ night and in December they organize a Christmas Fair.

Mike’s Breakfast $$

mike's breakfast

Mikes Breakfast in Baluawatar, which began a few decades ago in Durbar Marg, was decided by Mike that he was going to live in Nepal. Unwilling to work all his time, he opened a restaurant which operated during the breakfast period–which is why the name is called. Mike sadly died a few years ago but his legacy continues with American and Mexican food served all day long, in an outdoor setting. The specialty is still breakfasts!

Chez Caroline, Babar Mahal Revisited $$ to $$$

Chez Caroline Restaurent

This is Paris’s best French restaurant! Now, anyway, at Kathmandu! The proprietor is a French lady who has been living here for many years. An environment in the courtyard is the ideal place for expaters and residents who come for brunch, lunch and dinner. Although the prices are fairly high, the cost is good because every main course is provided with side salad and a big breadbasket. You can find here all the usual French delights. Next door is a unique shop owned by the same French woman, where you can find gifts from India and Nepal.

Dwarika Hotel, Battisputali $$ to $$$

dwrika hotel restaurent kathmandu

In this red brick boutique hotel in the Newari style, close Pashupatinath, there are several shops. However, the Friday evening dinner barbeque (value for cash and romantic swimming pool) and Krishnarpan are our favorites. Krishnarpan provides speciality meals from 6 to 22 Newari classes provided by employees in racial suits from all over Nepal. Your menu is displayed with your title, so it’s important to make a pre-booking. This is an all-embracing cultural experience! There is also a mainland restaurant and a tiny Japanese restaurant next to the swimming pool. Also worth a drink after job is the bar overlooking the swimming pool, where you can relax (the bar not the pool!).

Rox Restaurant, Hyatt Hotel, Bouddha $$$

hyatt restaurent

The signature hotel restaurant, located at the Hyatt Hotel Restaurant, offers traditional Southern European food on three floors.

Garden Kitchen, Boudha $

There is a beautiful place serving traditional Tibetan cuisine behind the primary kora round Bouddhanath stupa. It’s always full of monks, Buddhist teachers and local people. Go upstairs to a cozier sitting region and see some handicraft items for sale.

Alice Restaurant, Gairi Dhara $

Alice Resturant
Alice Resturant

This restaurant, which serves a great family restaurant mainly for the middle class people, offers a variety of food from Nepali, Indian and Japanese. In fact, the owners in Japan used to work and came back with a restaurant inspired by Japan. In the restaurant itself there is a playground for kids, yet lots of nooks and crannies for business or chats. Extremely busy on the weekends with the playground families. Book for the better.

Himalayan Java

This is the first café to offer “real” coffee in Kathmandu and reputable for excellent coffee. It is conveniently situated across the street from Fire and Ice / Mandala street and is great for personal gatherings or informal gatherings.

Imago Dei

Imago dei Restaurant

Nag Pokhari is the ideal location to enjoy a coffee and this café provides stronger meals than coffee but is also an excellent gathering place.

Tings Tea Lounge

This café is actually a tea lounge and a boutique hotel as the name suggests. This is the place to be if you like different teas served properly, located off Lazimpat. Beer and wine are served as well as a limited menu of Middle Eastern, Asian and European cuisine. Saturday’s Burgers! Monday closed.

Café Soma

cafe soma

This café serves delicious cakes prepared by its sister business, Lakuri, located in Baluawatar’s Café Soma branch (the Russian Embassy opposite). Café Soma in Jamsikhel, unlike its other part, has no garden but is never the least famous.

Higher Ground

higher ground cafe

Not far from Café Soma is an expats-friendly café named Higher Bound.

21 Best Restaurants and Cafes in Kathmandu.

Chhiring Sherpa

Chhiring Sherpa

I started Himalaya Discovery because I was ready to see a new kind of travel brand, one built on the simple idea of feeling good and doing good. Since its start, Himalaya Discovery has been super-powered by you, our community; when you "travel" it, we create it. We're on a mission to make travel better with clean, award-winning adventures that are sustainable and conscious of the planet we share. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!

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travel designer

chhiring sherpa

Your Dream Itinerary, Crafted With You

I was born and raised in Nepal, nearby the Everest region. I am proud to be a native Sherpa, and I have been a Mountain guide over a decade now.

Following my passion, I decided to start helping travelers with their travel plans! I think life is a journey, a trip where you collect experiences when you share with other people and with nature.

I started Himalaya Discovery because I was ready to see a new kind of travel brand, one built on the simple idea of feeling good and doing good.

Since its start, Himalaya Discovery has been super-powered by you, our community; when you “travel” it, we create it. We’re on a mission to make travel better with clean, award-winning adventures that are sustainable and conscious of the planet we share.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!