Shantiko Kitchen — Restaurant in Ratnanagar

First of all, I’d like to say I do NOT recommend this place to Nepalese tourists. I tend not to leave a bad review but after 2 days of food poisoning (vomiting, headaches, etc.) to my mum and I after eating here, I have to let people know.

We ordered ‘Shantiko’s Curry’ in which we had to wait about 20 mins hoping it was because it was made fresh but unfortunately it wasn’t the case. We asked the staff to make sure with the kitchen if we’ve been given leftover rice and curry from the day before or something and he came back and honestly told us it wasn’t fresh… I appreciate the honesty but it is ridiculous to be served rice that is not fresh after waiting a long time when there were only 1 other table of customers. After reading other reviews, it would have been good to be offered a discount like others had but I believe it is because we look like the locals we weren’t offered one.

The other items we ordered were great but I can’t help but wonder if some parts of those dishes too contributed to our food poisoning. I’ve only got a few days left in Nepal and having to enjoy the rest of my holiday here is looking bleak now.

To the staff there, please respect the food laws & regulations and serve food that is of your high standards like so many others have said. That is the only reason I visited but unfortunately, I will not be visiting again after such a distressing...

Multiple disappointments, starting with the food: veg curry was totally bland as if both spices and salt had been forgotten. Freshly squeezed orange juice tasted diluted, as if made with unripe oranges. Chocolate chip cookie was a cloyingly sweet, as if mask absence of flavor and texture.

Most annoying was that when the bill arrived I discovered they don't take credit card. This is baffling given that not just the town is marketed 100% to tourists, but this restaurant targets westerners both with its western oriented menu and its Google Business profile (ie, with ratings like this which they solicit after the meal). If you're going to do that, be considerate of travelers who rely on credit cards, carrying little or no money for safety. Or at least inform them when they sit down that only cash is accepted.

In contrast, many other merchants in town do take credit cards, so this is certainly possible to do if desired.

The only thing deserving of a compliment is the service who was full of smiles and...

Unfortunately, apart from the nice ambience and friendly owner, I really don't have many good things to say about this place.

We were there during a festival, so we were informed shortly after ordering that the food might take longer due to a lack of staff... however, the food ended up taking more than 1.5 hours, which is completely unacceptable in my opinion.

When the food finally did arrive it was rather disappointing. The Katti roll I ordered was more like a spring roll and far from all the other traditional Katti rolls I had the last weeks.

Furthermore, their famous cookie was unfortunately also very salty (and not in a nice "salty-caramel" kind of way...)

Therefore, from my experience I really cannot recommend the service or food too much. The owner did apologize for the long wait though and gave us a 10% discount, which was the correct...