Nepali Food Guide

Nepalis traditionally eat two main meals, a rice meal around 10am and dinner around 7pm, with tea and snacks between. Both are usually dal bhat tarkari: a mound of rice (bhat), a thin lentil soup (dal) poured over it, a vegetable curry (tarkari) such as potato and cauliflower, a spoon of sauteed greens (saag), a sharp pickle (achar) and sometimes a chicken, mutton or fish curry. In local eateries (bhojanalaya) and on trekking routes the rice, dal and curry are refilled free until you put your hand over the plate, which makes it the best value meal in the country at NPR 250 to 500 in towns.

Variations to look for: dhido, a stiff porridge of buckwheat or millet flour eaten in the hills in place of rice; gundruk, fermented dried greens served as a sour soup or side; and aloo tama, a sour curry of potato, bamboo shoot and black-eyed beans. Locals eat dal bhat with the right hand, mixing a little rice and dal into each mouthful; spoons are always available.

Momos arrived from Tibet with traders and are now sold from every corner shop with a steamer in Kathmandu. The standard filling is buff (buffalo meat), because cows are sacred and beef is not sold, followed by chicken and vegetable; paneer, cheese and chocolate momos turn up in tourist areas. Order them steamed, fried, kothey (pan-fried on one side), chilli momo tossed in a hot sauce, or jhol momo in a soup. The dipping sauce, a ground tomato, sesame and timur pepper achar, matters as much as the dumpling and is the best test of a momo shop.

The busiest momo joints are the small local places with steamers stacked at the door and a crowd at lunchtime; a plate of ten costs NPR 150 to 300 there, double in a Thamel restaurant. In Boudha, the Tibetan cafes around the stupa serve larger momos alongside laphing, a cold, chilli-dressed mung-bean noodle that is a street snack in its own right.

Newari cuisine belongs to the Newar people of the valley and is the most complex in Nepal, built around feasts (bhoj) and festivals. The base is baji, beaten rice flakes, eaten with spiced buffalo in many forms: choila (grilled and marinated), sukuti (dried), sapu mhicha (bone marrow wrapped in tripe) and takha (jellied meat), alongside bara lentil patties, chatamari crepes, black soybeans, ginger and aila, a strong rice spirit. Samay baji, a set platter of these, is the easiest introduction.

The best places to eat it are the old towns. In Bhaktapur, buy juju dhau, a thick, sweet buffalo-milk yoghurt set in clay pots, from the shops around Taumadhi and Durbar Square, and eat it fresh. In Patan, the lanes around Patan Durbar Square have small Newari eateries with low tables. Kirtipur has community-run Newari restaurants on its hilltop, and in central Kathmandu the lanes of Asan and Indra Chowk sell bara, chatamari and sweets from stalls. Yomari, the sweet steamed dumpling, is made for Yomari Punhi, the December full moon, and sold year-round in Bhaktapur.

The Thakali people of the Kali Gandaki valley, between Jomsom and Tatopani on the Annapurna Circuit, ran the trade-route inns for centuries, and Thakali dal bhat is a set of small dishes: black lentil dal with jimbu (a Himalayan herb), ghee, buckwheat dhido, mustard greens and several pickles. Thakali restaurants are now everywhere in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Marpha, a village near Jomsom, is known for its apples, dried apple, apple brandy and apple pie.

Higher up, the food is Tibetan and Sherpa: thukpa and thenthuk noodle soups, tingmo steamed buns, Sherpa stew (shakpa), Tibetan bread, potatoes in every form, yak cheese, and salty butter tea. Teahouse menus are nearly identical on every trail and prices rise with altitude, because everything is carried up; dal bhat costs roughly NPR 500 to 700 in the lower villages and NPR 1,000 to 1,500 at the highest lodges. Lodges expect you to eat where you sleep. Many trekkers go vegetarian above Namche Bazaar or Manang, because meat is carried in unrefrigerated. See our Nepal trekking guide for full trail costs.

Chiya, milky sweet tea boiled with spices, costs NPR 30 to 60 a glass at a roadside stall and is drunk all day. Eastern Nepal grows good orthodox tea in Ilam, and Nepali coffee from the hills of Gulmi and Palpa is served in Kathmandu’s cafes. Lassi, both sweet and salted, is common in the Terai and tourist areas. Never drink tap water; refill stations in Thamel and on the main trekking trails sell treated water for a fraction of bottled.

Local lagers, sold in 650 ml bottles, cost roughly NPR 400 to 600 in a shop and NPR 700 to 1,000 in a tourist restaurant. Raksi is a clear, home-distilled millet or rice spirit, served warm at festivals. In the east and among the Limbu and Rai, tongba is fermented millet in a wooden or metal pot, topped up with hot water and sipped through a bamboo straw; chhyang is a milky rice or barley beer of the hills. Alcohol sales stop on dry days around elections.

• Thamel, Kathmandu: the tourist quarter, with every cuisine from Thakali and Newari to Korean, Israeli and wood-fired pizza, plus bakeries and rooftop bars. Prices are two to three times local rates.
• Asan and Indra Chowk: the old bazaars just south of Thamel for chatamari, bara, sweets and street snacks.
• Jhamsikhel and Patan: Patan’s cafe and restaurant district, quieter and more local than Thamel, with good Newari places near the Durbar Square.
• Boudha: Tibetan momos, thukpa and laphing, and rooftop cafes facing the stupa.
• Bhaktapur: juju dhau, Newari snack sets and rooftop meals over the squares.
• Lakeside, Pokhara: a long strip of restaurants and bakeries on Phewa Lake, with Thakali sets and Western food after a trek.
• Chitwan and the Terai: Tharu food near Chitwan National Park, such as snail curry and dhikri steamed rice cakes, and Maithili sweets in Janakpur.

• Eat with the right hand: the left hand is for washing. Pass food and money with the right hand too.
• Jutho (ritual pollution): food that has touched your plate or lips is considered impure, so do not offer food from your plate, and drink from shared bottles without touching your lips to them.
• Beef: cows are sacred and slaughter is illegal, so buff stands in for beef. Pork is eaten by some groups but not widely served.
• Vegetarians: easy everywhere, because many Hindus are vegetarian and dal bhat is meat-free by default. Vegan diners should ask about ghee and dairy.
• Tipping: if no service charge is added, rounding up or 5 to 10% is generous; small change on the table is fine in local places.
• Food safety: eat at busy places, choose freshly cooked hot food, peel fruit, and avoid salads and ice outside good restaurants. Kathmandu is notorious for stomach bugs, and giardia is common, so carry rehydration salts.

For wider customs at meals and in homes, see our Nepal culture guide. Cooking classes in Thamel and Pokhara teach dal bhat, momos and achar in a three to four hour session, usually with a market visit, for roughly USD 25 to 50 a person.