Indian Restaurants in Thamel: What You Pay for the Location

Indian food is on almost every menu in Thamel, and it is priced for Thamel. Chana masala is Rs 440 there and Rs 180 in Maharajgunj. Chicken tikka is Rs 780 against Rs 350. Across the nine dishes that appear on both menus compared below, Thamel runs close to double. This guide sets out the gap dish by dish, using prices the restaurants publish on KTMenu, so you can decide whether the location is worth it.

The Same Nine Dishes, Inside and Outside Thamel

Third Eye Restaurant sits in the middle of Thamel. King Cafe & Banquet is a neighbourhood kitchen in Maharajgunj, about four kilometres north. Both run a full Indian section, and nine dishes appear on both menus under the same name, which makes the comparison unusually clean.

Two things stand out. The gap is widest on vegetarian curries, where chana masala and palak paneer are both about two and a half times dearer in Thamel. It is narrowest on tandoori chicken, at Rs 850 against Rs 700, because a whole bird costs what it costs wherever you buy it. Garlic naan is Rs 120 in both kitchens, which is the exception that makes the rest of the table credible.

What a Meal Actually Comes To

A standard order of one curry, one bread and one rice dish gives the practical figure. Palak paneer, butter naan and vegetable biryani is Rs 1,140 at Third Eye and Rs 570 at King Cafe. Service charge and VAT are added on top at most Thamel restaurants, so the real Thamel bill lands nearer Rs 1,400.

Eating Indian in Thamel Anyway

The premium buys a location you can walk back from, an English menu, and a dining room set up for visitors. If you are staying in Thamel, walking forty minutes each way to save Rs 500 is not obviously the better trade. What the table is useful for is knowing when a menu is priced above even the Thamel norm.

Third Eye's Indian menu runs Rs 100 to Rs 850. Curries sit between Rs 440 and Rs 680, with chana masala cheapest and gosht shahi korma at the top. Breads are Rs 100 to Rs 120. Tandoori runs Rs 650 to Rs 850. Anything quoted far above those figures in Thamel is expensive for Thamel, not just expensive for Kathmandu.

Where to Eat

Two kitchens is a price reference, not a survey of Indian food in Kathmandu. Third Eye is currently the Indian menu listed in Thamel on KTMenu, so treat the Thamel column as one well-known restaurant rather than a Thamel average.

What to Check Before You Order

• Whether service charge and VAT are included. In Thamel they usually are not, and together they add around 23 percent.
• Whether a curry is quoted as a half or full portion. The cheaper Indian menus often quote a half.
• Whether rice is included with a curry or billed separately. It is nearly always separate.
• Whether tandoori chicken is quoted per piece, half or full. The per piece price looks like a bargain next to a full bird.

Prices come from each restaurant's own menu as listed on KTMenu and change without notice. Check the restaurant page for the current figure before you go.