Newar cooking is the original food of the Kathmandu Valley, built on rice, lentils, buffalo meat and plenty of spice. Our walk starts at about 4 pm at Asan Tole, when the evening snack trade picks up. First comes bara, a savoury black-lentil patty fried on a flat iron pan and topped with egg or minced buffalo if you like. Next is chatamari, a thin rice-flour crêpe that guides like to call Newari pizza, cooked with egg and keema. Between stops the guide explains which family shops have been frying the same dish on the same corner for generations.
Further south, in the courtyards around Indra Chowk and Jhochhen, we stop for choila, buffalo meat grilled over straw and tossed with mustard oil, chilli and fenugreek, and for a small samay baji plate of beaten rice, black soybeans, ginger and boiled egg, the set Newars eat at festivals. Vegetarians get aloo tama, a sour stew of potato and bamboo shoots, and spiced potato sadeko instead of the meat. In winter we look for yomari, a pointed steamed rice dumpling filled with molasses and sesame, eaten for the Yomari Punhi festival in December.
The walk ends with a clay bowl of juju dhau, the sweet set curd from Bhaktapur, and a small taste of aila, the Newar rice spirit, for those who want it. Expect six to eight stops and enough food to replace dinner. We use small, busy local kitchens where turnover is high and food is cooked in front of you, and we avoid raw salads and unfiltered water. Tell us about allergies, Jain or no-onion-garlic diets and halal preferences when you book, since several stops can adapt and we can swap others.
Good for
- Couples
- Solo
- Groups
- First-timers
Questions travellers ask
Is the Kathmandu food walk suitable for vegetarians?
Yes. We swap the meat dishes for bara without egg, aloo tama, potato sadeko, vegetable chatamari, paneer momo and juju dhau, so vegetarians never go hungry. Jain and no-onion-garlic diets are harder in local kitchens, but with a day's notice we plan a route around stops that can cook to order.
Is street food in Kathmandu safe to eat?
Mostly yes, if you choose busy places where food is cooked hot in front of you, which is how we plan the walk. Avoid raw salads, cut fruit left uncovered and tap water. Carry oral rehydration salts anyway, because many visitors get a mild stomach upset in their first days wherever they eat.
How much food is included and what does the walk cost?
Expect six to eight tasting stops, enough to replace dinner, for about ₹3,000 (US$ 35) per person including all food, a soft drink and the guide. Local spirits are optional and paid on the spot. Prices are indicative and depend on group size, so check current rates when you book.
