The Himalayan — Restaurant in Calgary

The chef knows what they are doing. All proteins were perfectly cooked. The grilled lamb was tender, Momos were juicy. Service was absolutely top notch from enthusiastic greeting to checking in and proactively bringing us hot sauce as they knew we probably would like it.

So different from some other places that when you come in you feel like a burden because maybe the server has been busy or they are swamped (understandable but highlights that the staff here keeps a high level of professionalism and attitude which is all part of the experience).

Also the bathroom was spotless and smelled nice, which is always good.

Though it is priced a bit higher than my normal choices, the value is definitely there. Certainly you can share 3 dishes among 2 couples (we took 3 dishes and struggled to finish with 3 of us but were able to manage).

You must try the grilled lamb. It was a highlight. Order it medium or medium rare. So good.

One point to mention is that the naan and rice that come with the dishes wasn’t enough for us, it’s a great opportunity to try the coconut naan which was so tasty. It has fennel and a coconut paste which walks the line between sweet and savoury.

Desert was good as well and I recommend trying the coconut cake which has similar texture to Japanese mochi.

This spot will make any occasion a special one, I’ll be back very soon...

It somehow matches an upscale ambience without being pretentious. I received quick, kind service. Heres what I ate and drank: -The wolf, a hazy pale ale - pineapple, passion fruit, and citrus flavours, just the right balance of hoppy and tropical -Pork Momo's - the hotter sauce saved the flavour. The waitress Christine knew, she saw me being bored and knew that I'd need a hotter hot sauce. And that really amplified the flavour and brought out all the flavours. The textures were perfect - spongey soft dumpling skin with incredibly tender pork filling supported by cilantro, spices, garlic, onion. -chatpat lamb curry with saffron rice and garlic naan (green pepper, tomato, onion) - naan was a mix of crisp on the outside and butter soft silk on the inside. The curry was hot, fragrant, aromatic, with very simple ingredients used in a tomato base so well. The lamb was soft, tender and the lamb flavour hits you at the end of that profile that it doesn't overpower you with the meat sweats. The saffron rice adds sweetness and the pickled carrot adds the extra dash of freshness. I was first worried the rice was underseasoned and unnecessary. But then I quickly realized that's not what it's for. Saffron rice adds such a depth of sweetness and intensifies your experience. 9/10 - the only recommendation? Get a hotter sauce, the whole experience is...

I want to preface my review by saying that my husband and I have dined in the restaurant twice, and both times we've had an excellent meal, however this evening, we decided to go with take-out and were absolutely shocked at how bad the food was. We had an order of butter chicken ($24) which had 6 small pieces of chicken and awful, greasy, chunky sauce and the Chili Chicken ($24.50) again had a few small chunks of chicken and more green peppers and onions than anything else. For that price, you would expect to get a proper portion. We also had an order of Chicken Chau Chau ($21) and the noodles were dry and clumpy.

This overall experience has ruined my view of the Himalayan to the point I'm not sure I'll return. As a family, we chose to support this restaurant as it's a local run, mom-and-pop shop, we could have easily chosen a chain, where one has come to expect a level of laziness and complacency with food, but we chose to spend our money here. For a small restaurant to be so apathetic with the food being serving to customers who are paying an exorbitant amount for their product, is shameful. In these times, where everything is already ridiculously expensive but people are CHOOSING to come to your restaurant, everything should be done to put out the best possible product...