The 10 Best Places to Eat in Gangtok

Gangtok’s trendy and chic restaurants serve a wide repertoire of dishes from hard-to-find Sikkimese classics like nakima and ghyuma to Korean bibimbap and Bhutanese ema datsi.

GANGTOK, SIKKIM / INDIA

A year ago you wouldn’t consider Gangtok, or the rest of Sikkim for that matter, as a gastronomic destination but a group of young entrepreneurs are transforming the Sikkimese capital into a hub for immersive travel and that includes a taste of Sikkim’s gastronomy. More and more eateries specializing in local Sikkimese fare, which borrows from Nepali, Bhutanese, and indigenous culinary traditions, are welcoming eaters to Sikkim’s diverse produce and cooking practices. They are educating outsiders to the fact that Sikkimese food is not just momos and thukpa. Today, in Gangtok, you can taste exotic dishes like ningro chhurpi, karchi marchi, and sisnu ko jhol. Local drinks like teen paani and chaang are also popping up on restaurant menus. Not only that, small businesses are shipping condiments like pickled dalle and Sikkim’s organic produce, like avocados and kiwis, to food enthusiasts across the country.

TIP: There’s no Zomato in Gangtok yet but you can order food through Dash Sikkim and Swiggy. You can pay using Google Pay or in cash.

These are the 10 best places to eat in Gangtok. If you staying at a homestay, talk to your hosts to see if they can offer you a taste of their kitchen.

Gangtok Eats: Best Places to Eat in Gangtok

Nimtho

For a taste of Sikkim!

Nimtho is our favourite restaurant in Gangtok! The brainchild of Binita Chamling, Nimtho has outlets in Gangtok and Delhi and strives to offer a taste of Sikkimese food beyond momos and thukpa. The menu includes little-known dishes like nakima, paheli dal, and philingey chutney. Order the Thakali thali that comes with rice, kaalo dal, tareko aloo, jhaneko saag, aloo simi timbur, and three types of aachar. We also had the jhol momo, mushroom sandheko, piro aloo, buff sukuti, and ghyuma and everything was delicious!

The Dragon Wok

For Chinese and Japanese food.

Spacious, with an airy balcony overlooking MG Road, The Dragon Wok is a lovely place to spend time with friends and family. We ordered the pork with black mushrooms, a vegetable chowmein, mala chicken (a cold Sichuan-spiced chicken salad served on a bed on shredded cucumber), and beef in cumin sauce and both were excellent. The ramen bowls, sushi, and bento boxes appeared to be loved greatly by the locals.

Also read: Our 2 Days in Gangtok itinerary will help you savour the best of this laidback hill-town.

Shuffle Momos

For unique momos!

Besides the usual momo candidates: pork, beef, chicken, and vegetable, they also serve a mean chilli green bean momo that’s absolutely unique and outstanding. We also tried the fried aloo cheese momo (gooey cheese oozing at every bite!) and it came with a bowl of steaming soup that warmed our souls.

Café Fiction

For coffee!

Café Fiction reminds us of the cosy restaurants of Pondicherry! Settle down for a coffee and a sandwich at this cosy bookstore. Afterwards, spend hours browsing books at Rachna Bookstore. Raman, the owner, curates an interesting collection of books written by authors from the northeast and books set in the northeast. His wife bakes amazing cakes and cheesecakes. Make sure to pre-order!

Also read: Planning to club a trip to Darjeeling? Read A Nostalgist’s Guide to Eating in Darjeeling for an introduction to our favorite places to dine in Darjeeling.

Bakers Café

For breakfast with a view!

Opt for their breakfast platter that comes with buttered toast, eggs, and sausages. Order a hot chocolate on the side (or, a honey ginger lemon tea if, like us, you are lactose intolerant) and a pastry.

Taste of Tibet

For Tibetan fare!

Their momos are so sought after that they were sold out by 7:00 pm! We ordered a plate of pork rolls that were amazing! Taste of Tibet is loved for its thukpa and shyaphlay. Don’t forget to sample their mula ko achar, a simple mix of julienned radish and carrot tossed in a paste of dalle chillies but totally unforgettable!

Also read: Where next? How about a trip through tranquil West Sikkim? Read The Complete West Sikkim Travel Guide to find out more.

Hamro Bhansa Ghar

For Nepalese food.

Try the Thakali thali, a beautiful platter of rice, daal, bhaji, your choice of protein, papad, and traditional condiments, here. They also do a spicy aloo sandheko, a potato salad tossed with julienned carrot, radish, cucumber and onion, and tossed with dalle sauce. It will set your tongue on fire but you won’t be able to stop eating! Perfect for chilly winter nights.

Best Places to Eat in Gangtok: #BUCKETLIST

Mu Kimchi

For Korean!

We missed this spot but who wouldn’t want a dotsol bibimbap and a bowl of ramen on a cold, wintry day. Highly recommended by folks!

Solpon

For food cooked with locally sourced ingredients.

Recommended by locals for its pork ribs with honey! Owner Thinlay Zangmo is an advocate of sustainable gastronomy and serves locally grown produce, such as greens sourced from an organic farm in Rhenock. We’ll try this the next time we are around.

Bhutia Kitchen

For Bhutanese food.

We missed this spot but this is the place that locals recommend for Bhutanese food. So, you know where to go to satisfy your ema datsi cravings.

Tell us about your favorite places to eat in Gangtok!