The Old House

The Old House is a cocktail bar and restaurant on Durbar Marg that opened in 2025 beneath a banyan tree said to be about a hundred years old. It is the first international venture of Yangdup Lama, a veteran Indian bartender, who runs it with his business partner Minakshi Singh in partnership with the founders of The Park, an upmarket retail and food space. Lama, who comes from Darjeeling, told Outlook Traveller that he chose Kathmandu over offers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Dubai because Nepali culture and language feel familiar to him.

The concept is a tribute to Newari culture and to the old-world feel of Kathmandu in the 1980s. The interior uses woodwork, tapestries and terracotta floors, along with features from Newari building tradition: closely spaced joists, a subfloor of terracotta tiles and clay-coated planks, and rakhi jhyal peeping windows. Behind the bar hang five carved Bhairava masks, a nod to the alcohol offered to the deity at Bhairava temples.

The cocktail list mixes Lama's classics from his Delhi bars, Cocktails and Dreams Speakeasy, Sidecar and The Brook, such as the Zing Thing, Cilantro, Foghorn and Duk Ley, with drinks created for Kathmandu. Dhaka Topi is named after the Nepali cap, Sindhuligari after a place and a 1970s folk song, and Why? Why? is a clear drink inspired by wai wai noodles. Mustang Valley uses sea buckthorn and apples from Mustang, Makalu Maya is flavoured with cardamom, and a gin-based mountain martini brings in Himalayan juniper and timbur, the Nepali Sichuan pepper. Roasted jimbu, a Himalayan herb, appears in several drinks.

The food menu, devised by Dhenup Lama, offers Newari kitchen staples with a twist and draws heavily on sekuwa, the Nepali style of barbecue, while teas and coffees come from Nepal Coffee Company. The bar opens from noon until 1am, so it works for a long lunch as well as a late drink.

The Old House suits couples and groups who want inventive drinks in a setting that reflects the city's heritage. Durbar Marg is also home to the Hotel Yak & Yeti, about 1 km from Thamel, so it is easy to reach from the main hotel areas.