Where to eat in McLeod Ganj: beyond the travel-blog circuit
Everyone ends up at the same six cafes. Here is a wider list, including the place the monks actually go, and a Bhagsu bakery that only opens on Sundays.
McLeod Ganj has maybe twenty restaurants that get almost all the Google traffic. Most of them are fine. Some are overrated. And there are another twenty that visitors never find because they are down a side lane or do not care to post on Instagram. Here is a longer, more honest list.
For thukpa and momos, the consensus among Tibetan residents is Tibet Kitchen and Lhasa Kitchen, both near the main square. Both are small and fill up by 12:45 at lunch. If you want the old-style beef momos that are disappearing even in Lhasa, ask at Tibet Kitchen, though you need to go early.
Shiva Cafe above the waterfall does banana porridge that people actually talk about afterwards. It is a fifteen-minute climb from the temple. Go on a weekday before 10, and you will get a table with a view. On weekends it is a scrum.
There is a small bakery on the Dharamkot road that only runs on Sundays and holidays. It is called Sangye's. Sourdough, cinnamon rolls, and the best savoury scones in the valley. Word of mouth only. The bread sells out by 11.
Nick's Italian Kitchen does excellent Italian, despite the name, and decent Indian. For a proper Himachali thali, try Kangra Valley Dhaba near the taxi stand. It is a single-room family place with a menu that changes daily. No English sign. Ask around.
Illiterati has the view. Common Ground has better coffee. Bodhi Green has the best brunch but is cash-only. None of them are secrets.
Most McLeod Ganj cafes are used as workspaces by digital nomads on laptops. If you see someone staying for four hours with a single coffee, that is the local culture. It is not considered rude. Add your tip in cash on the table.
← All blog postsTibetan home cooking — momos, thukpa and thenthuk — plus Japanese, Korean and Israeli menus around Jogiwara and Bhagsu roads that grew up around long-stay travellers.
Small family-run Tibetan kitchens off Jogiwara Road and the temple-road lanes, not the view cafés. If a place is full of monks at lunchtime, that is the recommendation.
Yes — local cooking classes teach momos and thukpa from scratch, around ₹1,200 per person for a session with a local cook.