Café
Pumpernickel Bakery
A long-running Thamel bakery with a garden courtyard, known for fresh brown bread, croissants and its yak cheese sandwich, served to trekkers since the early 1980s.
Snowman Cafe
A family-run cake shop on Freak Street, open since 1965, where the hippie-era decor survives alongside chocolate cake, apple pie and lassis.
At a glance
- Type
- Historic cake shop and cafe
- Area
- Freak Street, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Price
- $ · Budget
Good to know
- Homemade cakes
- Lassis
- Family-run
Why we recommend it
Snowman Cafe opened in 1965 on Jhochhen Tole, the small neighbourhood just south of Kathmandu Durbar Square that became famous as Freak Street when it was a stop on the hippie trail in the 1960s and 1970s. Its founder, Ram Prasad Manandhar, took over a building that had been a tobacco store, and the family still owns the property, which the Kathmandu Post credited as the reason the cafe survived when so many of its neighbours closed. In the 1970s, when Freak Street was crowded with hippies, it served a multi-cuisine menu; today it is a cake shop and coffee stop.
The cakes are still baked by the family. When the Kathmandu Post visited in 2019, Ram's son Raju was running the cafe while his mother baked with help from his younger brother. The most popular slice is the one the cafe calls Chocolate Love, and the counter also holds creme caramel, banana chocolate cake, brownies, apple pie, crumbles and coconut cake. Drinks are simple: tea, coffee, milkshakes, juices and lassis. The cafe reported selling around 600 cups of tea and coffee a day.
The room is a small piece of history. The walls are covered in messages left by customers over the decades, some artworks have been kept untouched for years, and a glass-fronted till holds a collection of cassettes including The Beatles, David Bowie, Elvis Costello and Pink Floyd. Nepal Traveller described it in 2026 as one of the few hippie-era institutions still operating on Freak Street, keeping the same unhurried pace.
Snowman suits anyone curious about Kathmandu's travel history, as well as anyone who simply wants cake and a lassi after sightseeing. It is inexpensive and informal, and the family runs it with long hours; Raju told the Post he works from early morning into the evening every day. It is not the place for a full meal.
Freak Street lies in the Basantapur area just south of Kathmandu Durbar Square, so a slice of cake here fits naturally into a morning at the palace and temples. The neighbourhood still has guesthouses, trekking agencies and souvenir shops, although Thamel long ago replaced it as the main traveller district.
Snowman Cafe FAQs
When did Snowman Cafe open?
In 1965, founded by Ram Prasad Manandhar.
Where is it?
On Jhochhen Tole, better known as Freak Street, just south of Kathmandu Durbar Square.
What should I order?
The Chocolate Love cake, apple pie or a crumble, with a lassi or tea.
Who bakes the cakes?
The founding family; the founder's wife has baked them with help from her younger son.
Is it a full restaurant?
No. Today it is a cake shop and coffee spot.
Why is it famous?
It is one of the few hippie-era cafes still operating on Freak Street, with walls covered in customers' messages.
Is it expensive?
No. It is a simple, inexpensive cafe.
What is nearby?
Kathmandu Durbar Square is just to the north.