Himchuli - Highlands Indian & Nepali Cuisine — Restaurant in Denver

It pains me to write this review and only give 3 stars. But, sadly, although this is one of my favorite restaurants in Denver, the service we got last night was just really bad.

Food - still amazing! Highly recommend it, because the food can’t be beat. Best Indian/Nepali restaurant in town by far - the food is excellent!

I’m not sure what’s happened to the service though and it’s a bummer, because we’ve always enjoyed dining in. I think we’ll stick to take out from now on.

We got there at 8:30pm on Friday night, took them quite a bit to get our drink order… we ordered a bottle of wine and it took probably 20 minutes to get to us, mind you, there was only 1 other table there and they were already eating. Finally got the food order, but the server wouldn’t even let me finish making my order before he then moved on to the next person, and so on. You could honestly tell they were over it and just wanted to close up shop and go home.

We get our food, let’s say 9:10pm, and then around 9:20pm, we noticed all the chairs are being stacked up on the tables, still us and the other table there. Server (maybe manager) comes up and says we’re closing our register, can you please pay and leaves the bill. They turn off the music and then all the front house staff is sitting at the bar just staring at us, waiting for us to leave.

Again, really hoping this was a fluke and maybe they just had an off night, but I feel like they just wanted to go home, but caring we had maybe a quarter of our meal so far. Had to chug the wine and get out of there with how uncomfortable we felt.

Hope that the owners take a look at this and provide some training to the front of the house. It can definitely make for people to not want to come back. Back of the house -...

This place does not disappoint. Better service and hospitality than many other Indian places I go to occasionally. I love the decoration upgrades they are working on and I can’t wait to see the place when they are done. Here you are welcomed as a friend and every time I stop by, they have been cheerful, patient and very helpful with order suggestions. Tonight they were very busy and were doing their monthly vegan buffet and the dishes looked mouthwatering. I chose my favorite dish from the regular menu however; Saag Paneer, and an order of Garlic Naan bread. My friend ordered Masala with Lamb and it was divine. The lamb was stewed to perfection, melted in your mouth and the masala was spiced just right. The food portions are perfect and filling and I recommend family style sharing with friends. Taste and flavor balance are consistent the past times I’ve ordered as well as tonight and I’m glad they offer choose your spicy 🔥 level. I needed the kick but I also love the wonderful tones of the spices without the heat. So, that means their dishes stand strong on their own and have been crafted well. My friend and I paired a glass of a rich, dry Cabernet with our entrees and I have to say that the Masala paired the best with it. I am going to try a Pinot Grigio or a Chardonnay next time with the Saag Paneer and see what notes are brought out in our dishes (like the ginger). Definitely coming back! (Btw, they didn’t have Momos tonight because of the vegan buffet, but those Momos with the dipping sauce are amazing little dumplings you can get steamed or fried and they are something I like to get every...

This was our second Indian restaurant we went to this time in Denver (although this is run by Nepalese who are fantastic cooks too). I LOVED the ambience. Well placed tables for a place like this.

Prices not too bad. We got the beet salad which was OUTRAGEOUS. The samosas were ok. The 'pur' or casing was really good. The 'mava' or filling was pretty good.

The thing that 'shocked' us both was the onion pakodas. This was a disappointment but I don't think I can fault them as I have never had onion pakodas made by Nepalese nor have I been to Nepal. THat said, it could be this was a Neapli style made appetizer. Just didn't work for us. (Desis, just a forewarning to you cause I know we love our onion pakoras).

My wife ordered a spicy cocktail which was darn good.

The one start I'm knocking off is lack of knowledge of the gentleman who took our order. It was a hot day and I just wanted a very clean and crisp beer. No IPA or anything fancy. He didn't seem to know much about what they carried and/or tastes (this is absolutely not his fault so don't get me wrong. I think this is on the owners. ) He recommended the Nepali beer which while not an IPA was still too hoppy and nowhere close to a clean and crisp beer.

Then we took their spinach paneer home.

THAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE TOP 5 PANEER SPINACH I HAVE HAD IN THE UNITED STATES. This was the star of the show for us. The flavors melded beautifully, the texture was perfect, the paneer used was super...