Lamayuru Restaurant — Restaurant in Ladakh

I'd in mind to check out the Lamayuru in its new location, but couldn't find it. This afternoon while roaming around Fort Road, I finally spotted it, off the road to one side, overwhelmed by the signages of three restaurants, no less, especially the wide billboard of Summer Harvest, with pictures of tantalizing dishes. The old Lamayuru on the junction of Fort Road and Zangsti Road, had a fine location, even better than the GESMO next door. It's small balcony seating was great for people-watching and the big glass windows, let in a lot of beautiful light. It was ultra-busy from morning till night, all days of the week. The Lamayuru had to let go off its old premises, as a new building was planned there. Unfortunately, it landed from one planned construction to right beside another one. The Lamayuru's current location lacks views of the street, and the dull premises severely lack any ambience. It's clear at a glance that the once-reputed Lamayuru has a distinct disadvantage location and design-wise. Still, I was here for the food, and the Indian section of the menu didn't disappoint. I ordered a sweet lassi, tandoori roti and aloo mutter. The sweet lassi was thick and in a biggish glass, thoroughly enjoyable. The aloo mutter, though slightly salty, was spicy in the right way, with a thick curry. It was heartening to see, that despite the Lamayuru's industrial cafeteria look, there was a group on the next table, clearly...

We dined here about 4-5 times. Everything we ordered tasted good except the green collection juice (the one with spinach). Their hand-rolled pizzas were yummy. We loved the cheese.

The service was good even if they were almost always full. However, it starts becoming chaotic after 8 PM, as they have to close the shutter at 9, and they have to turn away some customers. The service also suffers a bit during this time. So, in case you want to have a peaceful dinner reach before 8.

In terms of price, it felt like value for money. The quantity and the taste never made us question the price of the items.

About the juice: It is less of a juice and more of chopped spinach, corriander etc. It felt like eating grass and left a lot to be desired. I didn't like the lemon nana drink(see photo) either, but it had some juice. Fresh juice selection was...

Lamayuru gave us our first culinary experience in Ladakh. We had just landed in Leh and were gearing down to stay put and acclimatize in the comfort of our room. For lunch, we called quite a few restaurants who were either not open due to this being the first stirrings of the tourist season or were open but wouldn't undertake deliveries. Lamayuru landed a winner on both counts. Happily, it is also a place that features on recommended lists on YouTube and print media.

Here's what we had.

Thukpa: A Tibetan noodle soup that is something of a staple in these parts. Given the cold, we yearned for something hot and this dish delivered.

Yak Cheese Pizza: A simple variation on what is a fairly regular pizza by simply making the cheese, yak cheese. Interestingly, this changes the entire flavour of the pizza.

I would love to go back some day...