Cafe Review: Old Thimphu Restaurant and Bar

Location: On the first floor of one of the few remaining traditional buildings opposite to Clock Tower, on the upper side of the main highway.

Perfect blend of old and new. Beautiful traditional wall colors to give you the backdrop and modern lightings to enhance your photos. Lovely views from the window side tables; to give you a look into one of the most popular hangout places in Thimphu – the clock tower, while enjoying your meal.

Cost: $$$$ (on a scale of $ to $$$$$)

Main course

• Chinese, Bhutanese and Indian dish options for both vegetarians and non-vegs.
• The portions are good enough to suffice more than a person unless you’re a heavy eater.
• The sikkam (pork) paa was not good, the pork wasn’t even dried well. On the other hand, the chicken was delicious and served with a side of steamed broccoli.
• The kewa datsi (potatoes with cheese) was okay. I guess it’s almost impossible to ruin this simple Bhutanese dish.
• The paneer butter masala was tasty as well, although extremely oily.
• The totse bowls, however, are not worth the cost. It’s better to order rice and choose a curry separately.

Beverages

• They serve cocktails, even Bhutanese versions of popular ones (we unfortunately couldn’t try it, having visited on an office day)

Dessert

• Very limited options (not sure if that’s the case always or we just happened to be unlucky)
• The fried ice cream was delicious, however, the batter to ice cream ratio could be improved a bit. It’s quite heavy though so wouldn’t recommend it if you’re already full after the meal.

Service

• Relatively fast even though we visited during a busy hour

OVERALL RATING

On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being “wouldn’t go there again unless it was the last restaurant on earth” to 5 being “would eat there everyday if I could”, would rate it a 3. I mean, it ain’t a bad place to go to once in a while but the food isn’t anything to rave about either. Besides, going there often would not be wallet friendly.

Disclaimer: We are in no way affiliated with the restaurant and the opinions expressed above are based on our own experiences.