Darjeeling is a town in the Indian state of West
Bengal mostly noted for its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway,a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located at an average elevation of 6,710ft. Tourism as one of the main source of income there are a whole lots of restaurants, big, small all over the main
town for the locals as well as the tourists to
spice up their taste buds. Like most of the other hill towns Darjeeling too
specializes in local cuisines and mostly bakery shops. Momos, Thukpas, Aloodum,
are almost found in almost all of the shops and is everyone’s favorite. Here
are some of the restaurants that you ought to pay a visit if you ever happen to
be in Darjeeling.
The Park
Restaurant
Located in Laden-La road and right opposite to the State Bank of India and a
few yards from the famous Clock Tower is The Park Restaurant established in the
year 1993. The Park Restaurant is well known for its famous Thai Cuisine as
well as Indian and Chinese dishes, and is located on the upper floor of a
two-storied building. And the well stocked bar acts as a cherry on the cake for
liquor lovers. Deep, owner of the place usually dressed up as a cowboy wearing
a wide brimmed hat has made the ambience of the place very pleasing and
friendly. Coming to food you have large lists to choose from but one should
never forget to try the famous Tom Yam Soup, the Flat Noodles, and the Red
Curry made out of shrimps. Overall, the restaurant offers a great value for
money. You can visit the restaurant any day of the week between 10am to
10pm.
Kunga
Restaurant
The family run restaurant over 16 years old located on Gandhi road, in the same
building as Dekeling hotel is the Kunga Restaurant. The restaurant is fully
made of wood, and is a tourists favorite as the price are comparatively cheaper
and offers a large amount of food which is delicious as well. The menu being
not so large it’s very easy to choose from, as the restaurant offers varieties
from two cuisines Tibetan and Chinese. The restaurant being a cozy one can
accommodate 20 people at a time, and people might have to wait for their turn.
Mostly cooked without much spices is another reason why tourists love this
place. Chicken Thenthuk Soup, a delicious Tibetan soup is what the lady owner
recommends if asked to. Opened 7 days a week, it serves breakfast, lunch and
dinner from 8am to 9pm.
Keventer’s
Located right at the beginning of the Nehru Road, which leads to Chowrasta, is
the famous Keventer’s that has always being a dear eatery. It dates back to 100
years since its establishment and offers some of the best English breakfast,
snacks, tea and refreshments. Two storied building, the ground floor being the
bakery and take away section whereas the upper floor is a seating area from
where you get a marvelous view of the mountain range and the adjoining areas.
Keventer’s has been known for its famous English breakfast including chicken,
pork specialties and a wide range of sandwiches and burgers. For your reference
you can try the unique rose shake. Keventer’s serves breakfast and snacks, note
an additional 13.5% VAT is charged on all food items opened from 7:30am to
7:30pm.
Lunar
Restaurant
Located on Gandhi road right opposite to the taxi stand, below the Dekhling
restaurant is the famous Lunar restaurant. It is a part of a 2-star Lunar Hotel
but is mostly popular for its restaurants as it serves delicacies like
North-Indian, South-Indian and Chinese vegetarian dishes. It is basically a
vegetarian restaurant. Overall the restaurant looks quite impressive and you get
to choose from a wide range of almost all the items for all the three cuisines.
The quality of the food is quite good but a little expensive and is mostly
crowded with Indian families. Serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and is opened
from 7:30am to 9pm.
Glenarys
Bakery and Cafe
A two storied white building on the left of the Nehru Road that leads to
Chowrasta Mall is the famous Glenarys Bakery and Cafe. Also known as Glenarys
Cake shop, as you walk past the great wooden door you will see a varieties of
bakery delicacies displayed on the long glass case. It is well known for the
breakfast it serves with a dashing Darjeeling tea to spice it up. On the left
to it is a wonderful seating area from where you can enjoy the marvelous view
of the mountains. Symbolic to the early days you will get to see an old red
telephone booth at the centre of the place. You have a wide range to choose
from the pastries to the brownies, tarts, panner Manchurians, chicken chilies,
sausage rolls, loafs, burgers, buns and different types of cakes. You will also
have an internet access with availability of 6 PCs so that you can catch up
with your important works or just simply browse. You also have a Glenarys
restaurant on the upper floor and The Buzz Bar on the ground floor. You can
take the advantage of the café from 7am till 8:30pm.
Hasty Tasty
Located on the way to the Mall on Nehru Road, Hasty
Tasty is a popular self service restaurant where one can savour vegetarian
delicacies and snacks. The restaurant is running for the last 16 years where
you will get several vegetarian meals and snacks that include South Indian,
North India, Gujarati, Jain, Punjabi and even Chinese items like momo, thukpa
and Chowmein. The restaurant is very popular among locals as well as among
tourists as the quality of the food is really good and more of all, the meals
comes at a reasonable cost.
Beside these top 6 restaurants, there are many other
vegetarian and non-vegetarian restaurants around the town. You can check out
few of them as well, but these are the most popular of Darjeeling which is sure
to offer you some mouthwatering cuisine, which you taste buds will take long time to forget.
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