Kathmandu Restaurant — Restaurant in Windsor Heights

I am from a small town in the Himalayas in West Bengal, India, where Nepalese people are aplenty. I was introduced to Nepalese cuisine very early in my life and have been in love with this cuisine since. Hence I was naturally thrilled when I first heard of this small informal place in Des Moines. But, to be honest I was skeptical at first and to be frank did not have high hopes about the food, specially after all the nightmarish experiences in almost all the Indian restaurants that I been to in the USA. The thing which I hate about these Indian restaurants is the fact that they serve some food which is in no way authentic Indian. All the food you get is basically some bland derivative of the proper Indian food and most of the entree have a common tomato base which I feel is an absolute insult to Indian food.

On the first day we started with chicken momo and to my pleasant surprise it was as authentic as ever. As for the main course, the chicken, mutton and paneer were cooked with perfection and were equally tasty and authentic. Most importantly, the food here is not some bland derivative of Indian/Nepalese food to suit the American palette. I have always felt that food should be always authentic and should never be changed drastically to cater to the taste buds of some particular community. I was happy that this restaurant have maintained the authenticity.

We came back a second time for the thali and needless to say that we were not disappointed. Another good thing is that they make fresh food after you have placed the order. The downside is that you have to wait for sometime, but, believe me, the food is worth the wait. The best way out is to order over phone at least half an hour so that you don't have to wait much.

The crew are extremely friendly and are always there to help you with the orders and they even urge you to order less if they feel the food would be too much. They are not professional and probably this is the reason the food is fresh and tasty. If you are looking for some posh place, this is not the restaurant, but if food is the main concern then definitely this is the place to...

Finally an Indian Restaurant on the South Side!

Don't blink, because you might miss this place. It's tucked away in an unassuming spot between a transmission repair shop and a U-Haul Rental location. There isn't much parking available in front of the building and that may turn some folks away. Never fear! There is more parking around back.

The décor is charming inside a cozy 8-10 table dining room. Flags, maps, pictures, and posters are hung around the restaurant that depict the culture. The wait staff wear authentic Nepali hats and are very accommodating. In my opinion, the only thing missing was some music to add to the ambiance. However, their menu is extensive offering Nepali and Indian cuisine, including vegetarian and vegan meals as well.

We had the chicken momos to start and we immediately devoured them. Momos are similar to pot stickers - but these had immense flavor and a slight zing. I ordered the chicken tikka masala, mild spice, and it was delicious. From the moment our server placed it on the table the enticing aroma, slightly sweet, drew me in and I was hooked! It's the most unique tikka masala I've had because the predominant flavor was sweet but not dominating. My wife ordered the aloo gabhi (cauliflower & potatoes in a creamy, tomato sauce). That dish had a lot of flavor - the finishing taste was of cilantro but it was not overpowering.

To finish, we had the rice pudding. It was a cool, delightful dish with creamy coconut milk and sweet raisins. Perfect end to a delicious meal.

The service was outstanding. This family is eager to please, very open to customer reviews and feedback. They're focused on providing a customer-centric experience.

We will be going back,...

My friend and I ordered naan, Kadai chicken and palak paneer to go. We had eaten at Kathmandu restaurant about 2 years back and had a pleasant experience. Unfortunately we can't say the same today. Palak paneer is a north Indian dish, where the spinach (palak) is ground into a paste and mixed with other spices. The spinach in palak paneer served to us was not ground at all, at best it was cut up into small pieces. The paneer tasted completely bland. It shows how little effort the cook put in preparing the dish. The Kadai chicken was runny and it seemed like the vegetables were added later and hence was unable to imbibe the flavor of the curry. Also, the chicken did not taste fresh at all. Both the dishes were priced ~ $15 each and the quantity served was meagre. The base of the naan was not crunchy at all. We stuffed ourselves with the food only because we were famished. We wish we hadn't since we are now experiencing gastro-intestinal disturbances!!

The only positive thing we can say is about the pick up service. Our order was ready when we arrived and there was no wait time.

We are more than open to returning back to this restaurant but we will wait till we have heard nicer things about the food from people who can compare it with the food from India.

I hope they improve the quality of their food and the owner accepts the criticism without making any...