Vegetarian Food in Kathmandu: Where to Eat Meat-Free

Kathmandu is easy to eat in without meat, and one kitchen in Thamel serves nothing else. The restaurants below have their full menus on KTMenu.

Everyday Vegetarian Meals

Outside these, a vegetable dal bhat at a local kitchen comes with refills of rice and dal, and a South Indian breakfast plate with sambar and chutney is an easy start to the day. At OR2K everything on the menu qualifies, pizza included.

Cuisines That Are Vegetarian by Default

Newari Food

Newari cooking has a full vegetarian strand. Aloo achar, wo and bara made from lentils, yomari, and kwati, the sprouted bean soup, are all meat-free and among the most distinctive things to eat in the city. A vegetarian samay baji swaps the meat items for extra vegetable preparations and still works as a complete meal.

South Indian

Kathmandu has a solid number of South Indian kitchens, mostly serving the South Indian community working here. Dosa, idli, sambar and rasam are standard, and this is the cheapest reliable vegetarian meal in the city.

Tibetan

Tibetan restaurants, concentrated around Boudha and the northern end of Thamel, do vegetable momos, thukpa and tsampa dishes. Most label their vegetarian options clearly and are used to being asked.

Finding a Pure Vegetarian Kitchen

Pure vegetarian means no meat anywhere, including stock and sauces. Look for green pure veg or shuddha shakahari signage outside. These cluster in Asan, Indrachowk and around the old city temples, and Indian-owned restaurants in those streets are frequently pure veg. In Thamel, OR2K is the one that needs no checking.

What to Order

• Vegetable dal bhat, at places that serve it as a set with unlimited refills.
• Vegetable momos, though quality varies. Paneer and spinach fillings beat plain cabbage.
• Aloo tarkari, the spiced potato curry that almost every kitchen does well.
• Gundruk soup, fermented greens in a sour broth. Strong and warming.
• Chatamari, the Newari rice crepe, orderable with egg and vegetables only.
• Sel roti, the fried rice-flour ring. Street food, naturally vegetarian, cheap.

Asking in a Kitchen That Is Not Vegetarian

1. Ask whether the dal is made with meat stock. It often is, and it is the easiest thing to miss.
2. Ask about the momo steamer. Veg and buff momos are usually steamed in the same one.
3. Say no egg explicitly if you need to. Egg is widely treated as vegetarian here.
4. Check the achar. Some versions are made with dried fish.