Skip to content
List your business

Best Cafés in Kathmandu (2026)

Cafe culture in Kathmandu began with the travellers of the hippie era and has grown into a lively coffee scene. Snowman Cafe on Freak Street has served cake since 1965 and still keeps its old cassette collection, and Pumpernickel Bakery in Thamel has been baking bread and croissants for trekkers since the early 1980s, with a garden courtyard that fills up early. These places are inexpensive and best visited in the morning.

Nepal also grows its own coffee, and several cafes put it at the centre of the menu. Himalayan Java, which opened in 1999 as the country's first specialty coffee shop, serves beans grown on its own farm, and Kar.ma Coffee in Lalitpur brews single-origin Arabica bought from village farming families. In Patan, Dhokaima Cafe offers a garden patio beside the old city gate, part of the Yala Maya Kendra cultural centre. For a meal with a social story, The Bakery Cafe in Baneshwor has employed hearing-impaired staff since 1997. Most cafes are cash-friendly and casual, and many have Wi-Fi, which makes them useful places to plan the next stage of a trip.

6 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 cafés in Kathmandu

  1. Pumpernickel Bakery Bakery and breakfast garden, ThamelA 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.
  2. Snowman Cafe Historic cake shop and cafe, Freak StreetA family-run cake shop on Freak Street, open since 1965, where the hippie-era decor survives alongside chocolate cake, apple pie and lassis.
  3. Himalayan Java Coffee Thamel Specialty coffee house, ThamelNepal's first specialty coffee shop, opened in 1999, now a national chain whose Thamel branch serves coffee grown on the company's own Himalayan farm.

Café

2. Snowman Cafe

Historic cake shop and cafe$Freak Street

A family-run cake shop on Freak Street, open since 1965, where the hippie-era decor survives alongside chocolate cake, apple pie and lassis.

View details — Snowman Cafe

Café

4. Dhokaima Cafe

Garden cafe and bar$$Patan Dhoka

A garden cafe and bar beside the old Patan Dhoka gate, set in a converted Rana-era stable complex that also hosts lectures, films and music.

View details — Dhokaima Cafe

Café

5. Kar.ma Coffee

Ethical coffee shop$Lalitpur

An ethically run Lalitpur coffee company that brews single-origin Nepali Arabica from village farmers and turns its coffee waste into useful products.

View details — Kar.ma Coffee