What is the food like in Nepal?

Palak Panner in Nepal
Close up of Dal Baht in Nepal
Dal Baht in Nepal – my favorite “local food”

Traditional Nepali food & tourist Nepali food

I really enjoy eating in Nepal. I write that as if Nepal is a local restaurant I’m reviewing rather than a country with a national cuisine for good reason. Nepal is a country that struggles economically in the world. And like many countries suffering from economic problems the real traditional local food is very basic.

Yet the irony is that due to Nepal’s premier industries, tourism, there is a huge and diverse range of international food on offer in every restaurant that caters to tourists.

One look at average restaurants in Kathmandu will show you just how much international cuisine is listed on menus.

Welcome to a new series of Food in Nepal

Typical menu in Nepal
Typical mid-scale tourist menu in Nepal – note the spellings!

Like many things on this website I will not be bringing you the glossy shiny make-believe world of brochure tourism. I’m going to show you the real world of what food is like in Nepal from many perspectives.

I’ll be covering Traditional Nepali food, Tibetan-Nepali food, Indian style Nepalese food, and typical food that tourists are likely to get in Nepal.

Understanding food in Nepal

Nepal is quite culturally diverse for a nation of its size.

Aside from the huge North Indian influence and Tibetan influence there are also variations on Nepalese cuisine within the various indigenous populations within Nepal itself. Add in international tourist food and what you once thought was a hash brown, pizza or naan bread is not quite what you might be used to back home or in other countries.

During my time in Nepal I’ve been served the same meal in different locations and each meal has ranged from mildly different to a completely different dish altogether. So expect the unexpected with this series about what the food is really like in Nepal!

What’s breakfast like in Nepal?

Banana Pancake in Nepal
Banana Pancake’s very much a tourist breakfast!

For the average Nepali breakfast is Chai, a hot milky tea, that’s also common place in India. Rice or a rice porridge is also quite common place among many who have a physically active job as the working day starts early.

For the average tourist breakfast can range from banana pancakes to slap up plates of bacon, eggs, baked beans, hash browns, toast, butter, juice and filtered coffee. Muesli and curd. Fresh fruit salad. Or a mix of all these things.

What do I eat for breakfast in Nepal? I usually have a bowl of muesli curd as it’s filling an nutrious. Though, I am quite partical to a bacon breakfast too!

Do check out my list of the best breakfast restaurants in Kathmandu.

What’s lunch like in Nepal

For the average Nepalese person lunch is Dal bhat. Dal is a lentil soup and bhat is rice. Generally speaking this is not the Dal bhat most tourists see or eat. This is a really simple version.

The average tourist lunch in Nepal can be anything from toasted sandwiches to hamburgers or various curries to tandoori with naan bread.

I expect some fallout and the odd jibe from many food purists during this series. Bring it on. The reality of food in Nepal is it’s now more widely diverse than many other developing countries in the world. Again, from a tourists perspective. Or, wealthy Nepalese person.

What do I eat for lunch in Nepal? I usually go for either Dal bhat or chicken momo’s steamed. The Dal bhat I eat is slightly more touristy than the local kind in that I get papad, fresh vegetables and or meat if I want it.

Chicken Momo's from Nepal
Fried chicken momos … the steamed version is probably one of the best tasting lunches in Nepal if you know where to find them! Hint, lunch restaurants are the best place.

The momos I eat are from a local restaurant that serves Nepalese people and the odd stray hippie that finds their way in. They taste like tourist momo’s but are not as heavy as real local momos. And in case you haven’t guessed I’m a huge fan of momos.

Here’s a list of the best lunch restaurants in Kathmandu.

What’s Dinner like in Nepal?

For the average Nepaliperson dinner is … Dal Bhat. Yes, welcome to the stable diet of the average Nepalese person. Dal Bhat is eaten for the two main meals a day by most Nepali people. However it must be said big city people are now diversifying their diet. But Dal Bhat still reigns supreme.

What do I eat for dinner in Nepal?

I try to eat lighter at night in Nepal as the food here can be quite heavy. Curries or paneer’s with naan are a stable. Though for a treat I do like the odd mushroom steak in Kathmandu. It’s laden with cheese, mushrooms and comes with fries or boiled potatoes accompanied by a Nepali version of chili sauce with vegetables.

To help you, here is a list of the best dinner restaurants in Kathmandu.

What is there to drink in Nepal?

Bottled water is abundant and safe. Soft drinks are everywhere. Lassi’s (yogurt shakes) are very popular and exceptionally good. Fruit juices are easy to come by too however I’m not a huge fan of Nepali fruit juices as they are very watery. Personally I enjoy the soda water with fresh lemon here.

Coffee has become very popular in Nepal. Over the past 10 years high-altitude coffee has been grown and it’s a booming industry. Here are the best coffee shops in Nepal.

Tea is also very popular in Nepal. However it’s yet to take off in restaurants or cafes like coffee has. That said, you can buy tea leaves in Kathmandu as a souvenir.

Is the food safe to eat in Nepal?

Photograph of fresh samosas from Nepal
Fresh local samosas from Nepal … not for weak stomachs!

This one always makes me laugh. I’ve met expats here who shudder at the mere thought of eating Nepali food. They go berserk with the hygiene levels and have copious toilet tales. I’ve also seen bloggers try to promote local food that is far from local and seen them visit a doctors office the next day.

Having said that I’ve also met some locals who refuse to eat at certain popular local establishments.

Are they all paranoid?

Not really. The truth is hygiene is not good in Nepal when it comes to some restaurants and in particular street food. Very few people escape Nepal without having at least one or two days of dodgy stomach.

Refrigeration and a lack of disinfectant are the main culprits to look out for.

So yes those samosas sitting on the side of the road in glass boxes really should be avoided by all but the most sadistic of individuals. Whilst generally speaking unless you have a very vulnerable digestive system you should be okay so long as you take basic precautions and eat in popular places.

Be very wary of bloggers promoting street food or home cooking classes. They are sponsored and paid to do this by tour companies so naturally everything will have a “positive vibe”.

In all cases, Make sure your food is piping hot when you get it. Eat in restaurants that have lot of people there. And, at all costs avoid the street food. It’s not like the street food in Thailand by a long stretch.

I did write this up which might help a few people What happens when you get food poisoning in Asia?

What’s the food like in Nepal?

Curious about some of the food I mentioned above? You can go through all the food in Nepal here.

Nepal is one of my favorite places in the world to eat. Nepali chefs are extremely talented and can cook some incredible dishes. I’ve met with many of them and quite honestly all you have to do is hand them a photo of a dish and they can make it. The more experienced will want to know the ingredients. But yes, many are that good and I expect the issue of not all food being the same is down to literacy and not capability.

Nepali food is generally heavy food that’s extremely fresh. Go into the villages and the food you will be eating wasn’t just picked that morning but rather less than an hour ago.

In all my guidebooks and right here every meal was 100% paid for by me without the restaurant knowing. With no sponsored meals, tours or the like.

This was, you get the most honest and genuine review possible. Here’s a sample of where to eat in Kathmandu, while in my guidebooks below are sections with larger extensive and genuine restaurant reviews for all of Nepal.

Find out the best places to eat in Kathmandu:

Looking for restaurants and places to eat great food in the rest of Nepal? Check out my guidebook below!


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Looking for more insider tips and information like this? Get the most up-to-date, popular and dedicated guidebook to Nepal in the world. Over 617 pages & 984+ photographs of every temple listed, daily guides on all the treks listed and so much more.

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22 Replies to “What is the food like in Nepal?”

  1. I think Samosas in glass boxes should be given the award “food most likely to give you food poisoning, no matter what country you are in” ;)

    Interesting article, to me, Nepalese food sounds fantastic.

  2. Lovely article! I loved the food in Nepal. The dahl bat tasted different every time we had it, and it felt never like ‘oohhh dahl bat again..?’. I loved the momos and samosas as well. Great afternoon snacks ;-)

  3. People who say they want to experience “local cuisine” of the places they visit should really do as you do, Dave: Look at the total picture and not just what tourist brochures and fancy food blogs say about the “local cuisine” of a destination.

    1. I can’t argue with you on that one Michael. I’ve met quite a few tourists who never eat out of their hotel and then think what’s being served to them is what everyone else in eating. In Nepal, that might mean pizza made from ketchup and pita bread!!!

  4. Hi, i truly enjoyed your blog and i can literally ‘see’ how much u love Nepal – a place i considered my 2nd home (although i only visit her once every 3 years).

    I totally enjoyed dal bhat, momos and masala tea. A must-eat! A trip to my friend’s (used to be my trekking guide) house for home-cook local Nepali food is also something i looked forward to in every visit. Looking forward to my visit in oct this year.

    Keep up the posts and keep on loving Nepal!

    1. Hi Janice,

      Thanks for stopping by. Dal bhat and momos are the staples here as you know. The good news is that they haven’t changed a all since you’ve been gone. So when you come back they’ll be just as good as before!!

      Hopefully the up coming food series here will keep your appetite going!

  5. Love it when you talk food Dave…. Looking forward to more of your Nepalese installment!

    I am very interested in International Cuisine. If you can manage some recipes of the more interesting ones that would be wonderful!

    1. Glad you are looking forward to seeing some more Nepalese food Audrey!

      Did you ask for recipes before? I know someone has in the past here. I don’t often get to cook a lot of what I write about here. But in the case of Nepalese food I will try my best at getting some recipes!

      Only thing is I’m not sure he ingredients will be universally available.

      1. Hi Dave

        You know, I may have can’t remember now. But we are very lucky here in Melbourne. We are such a diverse culture you can pretty much find anything you want if you know where to go and who to ask. :)

        Looking forward to your next post. Opening up an email from The Longest way home is like opening up a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get except to know that what every it is, it will be a very good read. Thank you.

  6. Love it when you talk food Dave…. Looking forward to more of your Nepalese instalment!

    I am very interested in International Cuisine. If you can manage some recipes of the more interesting ones that would be wonderful!

  7. The Dal Baht looks lovely! And a US$2 steak?? Amazing :) Great post, Dave. Looking forward to more food pix :)

  8. Ok, steamed veggie momos are my #1 and dhaal bhat was my #2. My #3 was a simple bowl of tomato soup that my guesthouse in Chobhar Village made. Loved the food so much, when I got home, I learned how to make them! That’s saying a lot bc I don’t like to cook.

  9. I am a Nepali here living in England now, one thing i always miss here is Nepali food, not just for the taste but also for nutritional value. Back home(until i left Nepal in 2009), in our daily meal (two meals a day), it consisted of Daal – is lentil or pulses or beans(protein), Bhaat – is Rice(carbohydrate), vegetables (vitamins), raw carrot/raddish, tomatoes n lemon as salad (minerals), pickles(appetiser) and so on. This nutritional food is what i miss here! Its not that you cant find the ingredients here but its expensive to buy fresh vegetables here(in a telly programme, this woman said it was aFASHIONABLE thing to eat vegetable in England cos of its cost), also it is time consuming to make all these varities here in this busy lifestyle of England and no MOTHER to cook and make those ready for me!
    Good thing is going home this May for three weeks! Whoooppp whooop gangnam style

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