Planning a trip to Kathmandu but don’t want to blow your budget on food? Look no further than this ultimate guide to cheap eats in Kathmandu, crafted by the experts – Peace Corps volunteers. After living in Nepal for 2 years, Peace Corps volunteers know how to find the city’s best local spots that go easy on your wallet. Get ready to discover hidden gems and authentic flavors off the beaten path with this crowdsourced list of the best cheap eats in Kathmandu.
NOTE: The list below was ‘crowdsourced’ by many volunteers pre-pandemic. So some information might not be current. Most of the recommendations are in the Thamel district of Kathmandu. For those not in Thamel, locations are given.
For corrections, drop me a note!
Good Cheap Eats in Kathmandu:
- Forest and Plate: amazing salads and pasta, fried cheese balls with ranch
- Western Tandoori: fast tasty Indian, all kinds of naan
- Chinese Mee: unlimited noodles, tasty as f***, lots of great meat lover options, also one veg option that’s very good too
- Donner Kebab: big kebabs for cheap enough said
- Korean Kitchen Picnic: bombast Korean food, all hail the kimbap
- Merhaba: delicious Turkish restaurant with ballin’ Turkish set breakfast for 280 rupees. Also has good dinners
- There’s a new Neapolitan pizza place across from OR2K that has some solid pies for a solid price but I forgot the name
- Chikusa Cafe in Thamel. This place has good coffee and it’s cheap too. USA diner vibes
Good Moderately priced Eats in Kathmandu:
- Organic Garden Cafe: has good veg vegan options, kombucha, and amazing cocktails haha
- Furusato: a great Japanese restaurant. It’s moderately priced – you can get a lot of good fresh food for less than 500 rupees
Good slightly more expensive eats in Kathmandu:
- OR2K: amazing veg options. Everything tastes good here – great hummus. Very chill bohemian candlelight vibe. And a PCV discount!
- Roadhouse: surprisingly good nachos. 5pm-6pm happy hour 2 for 1 drinks every day. Good for pizza and pasta too. And a PC discount!
- Fire and Ice: on par with Roadhouse for its pizza and pasta. Very strong but expensive margaritas. Has soft-serve ice cream too
Ice Cream and Sweets in Kathmandu:
- Baskin Robins: that’s really it for ice cream and there are plenty around
- Hot Breads: come after 9pm and all the pastries are 50% off
- Keventers: great for milkshakes!
Coffee and/or Breakfast in Kathmandu:
- Pumpernickel: for breakfast/lunch/coffee/pastries. All housemade breads – very, very, very good. Cute as f*** owners. Amazing sandwiches. Apple tart. Avocado BLT.
- Himalayan Java: you get a 10% PC discount but sometimes they forget so remind them!
- Karma Coffee @ Hub: you can pay what you want for the coffee plus they have delicious fresh food.
- Rosemary Kitchen: they got your bomb breakfasts. I like the farmer’s breakfast best. They also have eggs benedict, breakfast smoothie bowls, and pancakes. And the people are really nice
- Cafe Lava: if you’re walking to the Farmers Market it’s a good place to stop for a cappuccino. The fries are pretty solid here too. Lots of natural lighting. Not anything special but it’s a nice place if you end up passing by it.
Bars in Kathmandu:
- Sam’s Bar: ex-pat central, very chill vibes, on the cheaper side for drinks
- Buddha Bar: good for hookahs, kinda the bar version vibe of OR2K, plays lots of throwback jams, has a dance floor
- Small Star: super cheap and known for their tougba, not well known among non-Nepalis, closes early at 9:30pm! Try to get there around 7 or 8.
Night clubs in Kathmandu:
- Senate: another place to go if you’re looking to dance like an idiot and possibly find a dance floor lover
- LOD: Lord Of Drinks, cover for guys (1000 rupees). One PCV successfully cross-dressed and got in without having to pay cover. Nada for females! If you want to makeout with a rando on the dance floor this is the place
- Ibyza: no cover, big dance floor. A shitty band plays until midnight then a DJ goes on and it gets better. To be honest, we aren’t the biggest fans of the joint. It’s pretty dead until pretty late but it deserves an honorable mention
Other Things to do in Kathmandu
- Farmers Market: it’s incredible, and highly recommended by PCVs and PC staff alike. Only open on Saturday mornings and goes till 12:30. The food is great and there are a ton of samples. GPS coordinates: 27.731321,85.328453
- Astrek Rock Climbing Wall/Park: 350 rupees for bouldering if you have your own shoes. Cheaper in the morning. Very close to Hotel Encounter. medium-priced food, awesome vegan pizza, great atmosphere
- Pilgrims Books: they’ve got a pretty good selection of kids’ books and postcards. And they’ll ship overseas to the USA no problem!
- Bhatbhateni’s. aka Bhatbhat’s is the place to go for those niche grocery cravings your French presses and coffee. Close to the Peace Corps office
- Richmond Cafe also has good reasonably priced food right near the PC office
- Gym Khana: for workouts and Muay Thai training. Ask if they have a PC discount, but pretty expensive. Has full gym equipment, nice showers, and a hot sauna.
Outside of Thamel Recommendations:
- Bouddha Stupa (also known as Boudhanath): good place for rooftop lovers. Lots of nice rooftop restaurants/coffee shops. Takes about 20 min by taxi from Thamel, or 45 min taking the bus, but the bus is significantly cheaper
- La Casita: my fav rooftop restaurant with the best view, food’s pretty good but a tad pricey. If you want to treat yourself go here order a glass of wine with appetizers and watch the sunset
- The Roadhouse (at Bouddha): is Daaami. rooftop with beautiful stupa views, twinkly lights, and heaters too
- Nawa Lahana in Kritipur. Amazing Nawari Food. It has everything you would want ripped out of a buffalo. The tongue chili and marrow wrapped in tripe are good. Ek paani will get you f***ed up.
- The Chaang is amazing. Number one spot for adventurous eaters and getting blacked out. Also, you sit on the roof and overlook the valley
Slightly more expensive (outside Thamel) in Kathmandu:
- Casa Mexicana in Naxal. The best Mexican food with ingredients sourced from Mexico and Mexican owners. So it’s not a Nepali take on Mexican. It’s as real as they can afford to make it. No alcohol but amazing horchata you can order to go and mix with rum in the comfort of your hotel room 😏
- The Workshop Eatery in Patan. F***ing amazing donuts, coffee, burritos, chicken burgers with bacon and ranch, and salads
- Dhokaima Cafe. Quaint atmosphere surrounded by Patans historic buildings and culture. The most amazing lasagna I’ve ever tasted in this country and lots of other yummy dinner dishes
- Saigon Pho in Lalitpur so within walking distance of Thamel – great pho very yum
Conclusion
So there you have it! Kathmandu is an amazing place to explore on a budget, especially if you’re a foodie. And thanks to the Peace Corps volunteers, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to experience the best local eats. These guys and gals know what’s up when it comes to finding amazing cheap eats in the city. So grab your fork and get ready to dig into this crowdsourced list of must-try places in Kathmandu. It’s gonna take a while to eat your way through, but it’s totally worth it!
Photo Credits: Feature Photo by Photo by Laurentiu Morariu on Unsplash
