The Best Cheap Eats in Pokhara

The majestic tourist town of Pokhara in Nepal is surrounded by a huge lake, epic mountains, and is filled with over 300 restaurants!

The sheer number of restaurants in such a small town surprised me, and I took it as a challenge to find the best restaurants in Pokhara for you.

As always, I’ll focus on homely places with great food. At the end of the post, you’ll also find all the over-rated places I ate at, as some may interest you.

My favourite places to eat in Pokhara

Vegan Way

Vegan Way’s food is a work of art. The only (not really) negative thing I can say about it is the portion sizes are way too big. So go with an empty stomach. This should be the first place you eat in Pokhara!

Dosa Camp

If you’re missing South Indian food, then your pickings are slim in Pokhara. But luckily, one night, my wife and I stumbled upon Dosa Camp.

Dosa Camp serves good-enough Masala Dosas with mint and tomato chutneys – but strangely no sambar.

New Turkish & Nepali Kitchen Kebap House

Before I arrived in Pokhara, my American friend Steve had already been there for 2 weeks, and this was his top pick near our hostel.

The New Turkish & Nepali Kitchen Kebap House serves fresh, made-to-order Doner Kebabs, Hummus, and Nepali food like Chowmein and Momos.

The restaurant is run by a cheerful husband and wife duo. It’s an excellent affordable go-to lunch spot.

The Juicery Lake Centre

I love the healthy and naturally sweetened drinks at the Juicery’s Lake Centre. Their drinks are much better than their main restaurant’s food.

Try the Mortal Sin (banana, peanut butter, cacao powder, vanilla, mint, raw honey, buffalo milk) रु260.

I went multiple times and each time the guy that works there really made me happy.

Where to find Bhang Lassi in Pokhara

Bhang Lassi is a drink popular in Nepal & India made of yogurt, nuts, spices, rose water, and cannabis leaves. It’s available at Old Star Restaurant located at the very end of Pokhara lake.

Hot Sandwich Corner & Cheese Shop

The Hot Sandwich Corner serves delicious sub-style sandwiches. The bread is fresh and not too thick. You can order a large and it’ll feed two people.

Their chai was a little watered down, so skip that.

Phewa Marga Seafood Street

If you want to try some Nepali style prawns and fish, then go to Phewa Marga. It’s a food street that leads down to the lake.

There are many restaurants all serving the same fried fish dishes and Nepali food. Beware, it’s not the cleanest place, but the food looks great!

Lake Side ‘Chaat’ Street Food

All along the lake sidewalk, you’ll find women preparing Pani Puri and Bhel for रु70 a plate.

Beware though: It’s not hygienically prepared. For example, you use paper cut from cardboard boxes to eat the Bhel rice puffs.

But if your stomach can handle it, like my wife’s can, then it’s the cheapest and most filling meal available in Pokhara.

Once Upon a Time Restaurant

Once Upon a Time Restaurant serves good Nepali Thakli and good Nepali takes on Indian food like Butter Chicken. Their Butter Chicken Masala was a standout, as was their Daal Fry.

The Thakali are people who originated from the Thak Khola region of the Mustang District in Nepal. While in Nepal you must try their Thakali Khana (a plate of various dishes, called a thali in India).

Frituur No. 1

Frituur No. 1 serves the best burgers and Belgian fries that I found in Nepal! Enough said.

Lazeez Halal Food

Beware of fake biryanis across Nepal! It’s usually just rice fried in curry. It takes a lot of work every day to prepare authentic dum-style biryani.

Lazeez Halal Food is the only place that I found preparing authentic biryani and it tastes as good as it looks!

Don’t miss the best places to eat in Kathmandu too.

Not-so-good places to eat in Pokhara

None of the below restaurants are horrible, they’re just overhyped, and I found the food average. But take a look, as some of them may appeal to you.

Krazy Gecko

Krazy Gecko is probably the most overhyped place is in Pokhara. It has a fantastic atmosphere and location, but the food is unfortunately average.

As you can see, the location and setup are stunning. You’re transported into another world there.

The Juicery Cafe

The Juicery Cafe is another much-hyped restaurant. They’ve got the juices nailed; they’re perfect and they don’t add extra sugar. But my food left more to be desired. That said, it’s wasn’t too bad, and their lake-side setup is pretty.

Samrat Tandoori Restaurant

I decided to eat at Samrat Tandoori Restaurant because I could see the naan being freshly made from the street. That’s a good sign for me; I can see if they’re preparing the bread well or not. So, the naan was great, but the rest was just average.

Kebab King

Kebab King was highly recommended to us by a local. Maybe pre-COVID it was good. But it was one of the worst meals the group of us had.

The Old Lan Hua Chinese Restaurant & Bar

We had a craving for Chinese food and according to locals and Google Maps, The Old Lan Hua Chinese Restaurant is the best Chinese in town.

My foreign friends really enjoyed the meal, but if you’re used to authentic Chinese food or Indian Chinese food, then you’ll be let down by the lack of flavour in all their dishes.

If this post helped you, please leave a comment.