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I’ve been seeing Nepali waiters in local Indian and Southeast Asian restaurants for several years, so it was only a matter of time before there was a Nepali restaurant. (A second will open soon in Arlington.) The food at Himalayan Bistro is only part Nepali; there is also a full Indian menu, with some very good versions of Indian-restaurant food. That said, Chef Dumbar Thapa is clearly a master of the spice palate and tandoor oven.
The space is a converted ice-cream parlor, but it looks like it was designed to be a trendy bistro, with high ceilings, well-spaced tables on a polished-wood floor, splendid Buddhist art on the walls, and beams painted pale orange against a yellow ceiling and walls. Sitar music and exotic aromas make it clear that we aren’t in Kansas or West Roxbury anymore. But good food makes this restaurant welcome anywhere.
One of the only Nepali appetizers is Himalayan chicken fingers ($5.95), which is rather like the Chinese kind, except that the batter is green with chopped spinach. There are also a “momo platters” ($8.98–$10.95): eight Peking ravioli stuffed with vegetable, chicken, or lamb. They’re intended to be a Nepali dinner, but they make for an excellent appetizer, judging by our chicken version ($9.95), with its meaty-gingery filling and thin pasta skins.
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