8 Best Places to Eat in Darjeeling

Apart from the scenic landscapes and the mesmerising view of Mt. Kanchenjunga, there are three things that I liked most about Darjeeling – the Joy Ride, the Observatory Road and the foods. Darjeeling has some of the best bakeries and cosy cafes in India. A visit to Darjeeling will be incomplete if you do not eat at least in a few of them. Here is a list of the eight best places to eat in Darjeeling. Make sure you cover as many as possible on your next visit.

Read more: 6 Pubs You Can Visit in Darjeeling Before Calling It A Night

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Glenary’s

Glenary’s cafe and restaurant are located on Nehru Road on a stone-throwing distance from the Chowrasta (famous Darjeeling Mall). There is another small shop near Chowk Bazar which sells cakes and pastries. Once you start descending from Mall, after crossing Das Studio on your right, the next large colonial building is Glenary’s. You have to go downstairs from Nehru Road to enter the bakery. There is a stairway to the upper floor and the basement outside the main door.

Once you enter through the large glass door, you will see the snacks and cakes corner, which is always occupied with customers. You will find a wide range of pastries kept inside the showcases and the cookies kept in the baskets over the counter.

A red telephone booth beside the main counter that the visitors once used now adds to the place’s charmingness. The red-carpeted wide stairway beside this telephone booth goes to the restaurant above. Once you cross the counter, you will stand in a wide breakfast area full of wooden tables and chairs, where you can check your email with the help of free wi-fi provided by the cafe.

If you push the glass door on the other side, you will go to the balcony with seating arrangements, recently covered above by a glass panel, from where you can enjoy the view of snow-capped mountains and the busy Darjeeling town while having your breakfast.

While I like to have sandwiches, red velvet pastry, fried eggs, and a cup of Darjeeling tea, you can order from various sandwiches, pastries, burgers, pies, rolls, fresh slices of bread and loaves.

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Must-try: Sandwiches, Fried egg, Sausages, Darjeeling Tea and muffins or pastries of your choice.

Opening Hours: 7 am – 8:30 pm

Address: Nehru Road, Darjeeling; Phone – (0354) 225 8408

Google Map: Glenary’s

Keventer’s

If Glenary’s top the list, then Keventer’s will be the next that comes in my list of best places to eat in Darjeeling. It is near the upper-level taxi stand at the junction of Nehru Road and M.G. Road. The ground floor of Keventer’s is like a small bakery shop and takeaway counter.

If it’s your first time, you might think that you have entered the wrong place and might come out to recheck the shop name. Then you will enter again and see a narrow passage upstairs. Though the stairway is quite narrow, you would like to pause at every step while climbing, especially if you are a Bengali. You will notice a few photographs of old Darjeeling town and the movies that were shot here, from the cult classic Kanchenjungha (1962) by Satyajit Ray to the recent comedy-drama Barfi (2012) by Anurag Basu.

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The stairway leads to the first floor, where there is a small restaurant that accommodates 4-5 tables and a large terrace which is the main attraction of Keventer’s. Sitting on the terrace, you can get a glimpse of Darjeeling town around you and the snow-capped mountains on the far west on a clear day.

Tourists love the English breakfast platters in Keventer’s. It is delicious in taste and large in quantity. You may have to skip your lunch after having breakfast here. They offer sausages, salamis, bacon, meatballs, egg fries. You can also get bread, toast and eggs as per your choice. In drinks, you have tea, coffee, chocolate shakes, hot and cold milk. Keventer’s hot chocolate is a hot favourite for many guests.

Must-eat: Breakfast platter

Opening Hours: 8 am – 7:30 pm

Address: Shop No. 1, Club Side, Nehru Rd, Darjeeling; Phone – (0354) 225 6542

Google Map: Keventer’s

Kunga Restaurant

It is a small restaurant near the upper-level taxi stand beneath the Dekeling Hotel. The restaurant only accommodates 20 people at a time, and often you will find it full of international tourists.

The restaurant is popular for Tibetan foods. Momos, Thukpas, Tibetan tea and fresh fruit juices are their specialities. You will get the best momos in Darjeeling in this restaurant. You will also get beef, pork and chicken dishes made of minimum spices. The portions are large, and the price is reasonable.

Must-eat: steamed momos, chicken thenthuk soup

Opening Hours: 8 am – 9 pm

Address: 51, Gandhi Rd, Chauk Bazaar, Darjeeling; Beneath Dekeling Hotel.

Google Map: Kunga Restaurant, Darjeeling

Sonam’s kitchen

Sonam’s kitchen is a small eatery in Zakir Hussain Road that goes beside the stable at one corner of Darjeeling Mall. The original shop is in a small garage and has three tables inside, whereas the new extension is just the opposite of it on the ground floor of Hotel Magnolia Residency.

It is run by A Nepalese family, Puran Pradhan, and his wife Sonam, the magician behind the tasty foods. They serve breakfast and dinner every day. You can try toast, omelettes, sandwiches, pasta, pancakes and porridge.

And do not forget to drink a cup of coffee made from roasted coffee beans. You will notice the words “Home of Real Coffee” written over the cafe’s glass door. Well, they really do justice to those words. If you are a bookworm, borrow a book from Puran and enjoy reading it while eating your breakfast.

Must-eat: Breakfast platter including hash brown, scrambled egg, tomato, cheese and toast.

Opening Hours: Breakfast 8:30 am – 2:30 pm; Dinner – 6pm – 8:30pm

Address: Dr Zakir Hussain Rd, Chauk Bazaar, Darjeeling

Google Map: Sonam’s Kitchen

Gatty’s cafe

Gatty’s Cafe is another little cafe on Zakir Hussain Road, at 10 minutes walking distance from the Mall, that is more popular among the backpackers than the usual tourists. If the location being close to the budget guesthouses is one cause, the second must be the kind of food it offers – especially the Italian and the Arabic platter.

The ambience inside the cafe is also quite sparkling, which draws visitors. The cosy dim-lit space with a small live music area and a small bar area is perfect for spending a few hours hanging out with your buddies. The bar is kept open quite late in the evening, sometimes beyond midnight, which is unusual in Darjeeling.

The foods like pasta, pizza, ravioli, lasagna, pitta and hummus; all are delicious, although the service is a little slow. But that is why you go there, spending some time listening to a local band while your food is getting prepared.

In the morning, you can have your breakfast reading a book borrowed from the reception guy, or you can be busy accessing your mail inbox with the free wi-fi provided by them or enjoy the view of the mountains while eating your breakfast.

Must-eat: Spaghetti with garlic bread

Opening Hours: 10 am – 11 pm

Address: Dr. Zakir Hussain Road, below Omni Guest House, Darjeeling

Google Map: Gatty’s Cafe

Shangri-La Restaurant

This restaurant is on the ground floor of Hotel Shangri-La on Nehru Road, diagonally opposite Glenary’s. It is a perfect place to dine out with your family and friends, especially if you have a large group.

The restaurant is quite beautiful inside, with a wooden floor, arches and furnished interiors. There is a front desk where you have to register your name and enter inside if a table is available. The restaurant is often full during mid and high season, and guests have to wait in the small lounge near the front desk.

The restaurant provides a wide variety of Indian and Chinese veg and non-veg dishes. Foods are delicious and perfectly spiced to meet the requirement of an Indian taste bud. Also, there is a small bar at the other end of the restaurant.

Must-try: Tandoori dishes and Chinese foods, they serve nice momos too.

Opening Hours: 11 am – 10 pm

Address: 5 Nehru Road, near chowrasta, Darjeeling; Phone: (0354) 2254149; E-mail: shangriladarjeeling@gmail.com; Website: http://www.hotelshangriladarjeeling.com/

Google Map: Shangri-La Restaurant, Darjeeling

Nathmull’s Sunset Lounge Tea Bar and Bakery

Nathmull’s tea lounge is located in Darjeeling Mall. They have two lounges here opposite each other, one (old one) beside Golden Tips Tea Bar and another (new) beside Cafe Coffee Day. The original tea shop is in Laden La Road opposite SBI ATM.

Nathmull’s is one of the largest and oldest tea merchants in Darjeeling. Run by the Sarda family since 1931, their tea is sourced from the auction as well as directly from the tea estates. In both the tea bars in Darjeeling Mall, you can purchase tea and drink it sitting in their cosy tea lounge.

They offer black tea, green tea, white tea, herbal tea, ice tea, lemon teas and a few more. You can order it in a tea pot or a glass cup. I love the wine glasses that were provided to us in the new tea lounge. You can also have snacks from their snacks counter.

You can also see many accessories that they sell to tea lovers, like various types of crafted tea-pots and cups with exquisite designs in metal and ceramics, tea strainers etc.

Must-eat: Any Darjeeling Tea you like to taste

Opening Hours: 10 am – 8 pm

Address:

• Tea Lounges: Darjeeling Chowrasta (Mall), one beside Golden Tips tea lounge and another opposite to it beside Cafe Coffee Day (CCD)
• Main store: The Rink Mall (Opp. GPO), 19, Ladenla Road, Darjeeling

Google Map: Nathmull’s of Darjeeling – Main Store

Hasty Tasty

Hasty Tasty is a vegetarian restaurant on Nehru Road, way to the Mall. They serve North Indian thali, South Indian thali, Gujrati and Jain foods to their guests. They also prepare veg Chinese, and Italian foods.

As it is the best veg restaurant in Darjeeling, the place is often full of tourists and locals, but the space is very clean compared to the crowd it gets. At the end of the restaurant, there are a couple of tables where you can enjoy the mesmerising view of the valley and the mountains while eating your food.

Must-eat: Papdi Chaat, try the north Indian thali too.

Opening Hours: 8:30 am – 9:30 pm

Address: 13, Nehru Road, Darjeeling

Google Map: Hasty Tasty, Pure Vegetarian Restaurant

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