The lit facade of Restaurant Tusa, a restored Malla-era brick courtyard in Bhaktapur, at dusk with the Tusa monogram glowing on the gate.

Bhaktapur · Nepal · est. 2022

A new beginning,
written in Nepal’s 118 ecosystems.

Name: Restaurant Tusa
Address: Nagpokhari, Bhaktapur, 44800, NP
Telephone: +977 982-1055559
Price range: NRs 7,500–12,000 per guest
Rating: 4.7

A seven-course tasting menu foraged across the country and cooked over a wood fire in a restored Malla-era courtyard between Dattatreya Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

Reserve a seat Read the menu →

★ 4.7 across 142 guests · Featured in The New York Times · Wonderlust · Nepali Times

A flat-lay of labelled foraged Nepali ingredients on a woven mat — pumpkin, dried herbs, seed cups.

The day’s foraging, laid out before service.

Our Story

We came home to cook.

Tusa — meaning new shoot, new beginning — is the work of three Nepali chefs who left home for Noma, the InterContinental in Dubai, and the high-end kitchens of Australia, and then came back to cook the country they grew up in.

We took a Malla-era brick home in Bhaktapur, restored it under the hand of UNESCO-prize architect Rabindra Puri, and turned it into a 28-seat dining room with an open wood-fire on a granite induction counter. The furniture, ceramics, textiles and tableware are all made in Nepal.

Every course on the seven-course menu draws from one of Nepal’s 118 biodiversity ecosystems — wild morels from Humla, Mustang apples, Jumla Marsi rice, sisnu from the foothills, juju-dhau curd from a dairy a five-minute walk from the front gate. The menu changes with the foraging. No two evenings are quite the same.

118

Ecosystems sourced

Seats per evening

Courses, one country

The Tasting Menu

Seven courses.
One country.
A surprise each evening.

Lunch and dinner pass through the same arc — from a fermented potato bread to a finishing nettle cake — but every course shifts with the day’s foraging. What you read below is what we’re cooking this week.

Per guest

NRs 7,500 / tasting

+ NRs 4,500 wine pairing

Reservations require a 50% deposit. We accept Khalti, eSewa, FonePay (NPR) and Visa / Mastercard for international guests. Cancellations 48 hours ahead are fully refunded.

01

Aaluko Roti

आलुको रोटी

Fermented potato bread, charred green-garlic & tomato sauce.
02

Macha Ko Jhol

माछाको झोल

River fish in a clarified Himalayan consommé, foraged herbs.
03

Batuk Chukauni

बटुक चुकौनि

Crispy black-lentil cake, tempered yoghurt, potato, green pea.
04

Katahar

कटहर

Slow-cooked jackfruit, tamarind glaze, mountain pepper.
·

A pause

— ब्रेक —

A small Newari sip. Served in juju-dhau ceramic.
06

Kukhura ra Cyaankhla

कुखुराको मासु र च्याँखला

Wood-fire chicken and Jumla Marsi corn, ember oil.
07

Sisno

सिस्नो

Nettle cake, sea-buckthorn, dehydrated wild honey.

Provenance

Where the plate comes from.

Wild morels

Humla
High-altitude apples

Mustang
Marsi red rice

Jumla
Dale Chuk · sea-buckthorn

Khumbu
Yak butter & dairy

Solukhumbu
Juju-dhau · the king of curd

Bhaktapur
Sisnu · stinging nettle

Terai foothills
Open-pollinated heritage maize

Kavre

Carved Newari wooden staircase rising into the lit courtyard of the restored heritage building at night.

The Kitchen

Wood fire on a granite counter.

The counter at the centre of the room is a single slab of Nepali granite, fitted with induction below and a brick wood-fire grill at the end. We ferment, dehydrate, dry-age and sous-vide alongside the fire — old technique, new technique, one room.

Plates are hand-thrown by potters in the valley. Linens are woven in Bhaktapur. The room seats twenty-eight, plus a chef’s table for up to eight in front of the fire.

Open wood-fire grill
Fermentation cellar
Dry-aging cabinet
Chef’s table for 8

Portrait

From the courtyard,
the kitchen, the plate.

4.7★ across 142 guests.

From New York Times readers to Nepali families to chefs on holiday from Sydney — verbatim, unedited.

★★★★★

“ Tusa is not merely dining; it is a manifesto enacted through food. Drawing from Nepal’s 118 ecosystems and over 440 wild fruits and herbs, the kitchen transforms foraged ingredients into dishes that taste of this land and nowhere else. In an ancient city, Tusa feels like the future.

— Alex Mayne

★★★★★

“ The chef thoughtfully incorporates many elements of Nepalese culture into the food without overdoing it, allowing each dish to tell its own story. It’s a rare pleasure to enjoy food prepared with such care and passion.

— Supasch R.

★★★★★

“ A culinary travel through the different regions of the country — the perfect summary of three weeks in one menu, recombined with high-class cooking methods. A hidden gem.

— Philipp W.

Visit

Between Dattatreya Square and the Durbar.

We sit on a quiet alley off Nagpokhari, a five-minute walk from either heritage square. Most guests arrive by taxi from Thamel (≈45 minutes) or Boudha (≈40 minutes).

Address: Nagpokhari, Bhaktapur 44800, Nepal
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Hours: Monday Closed
Tuesday – Sunday 12:30 – 2:30 lunch · 5:30 – 8:30 dinner
Phone: +977 982-1055559
Heads-up: Bhaktapur charges foreign visitors a NPR 1,800 UNESCO entry fee at the city gates. Show your dinner reservation at the booth and they will usually waive it; we’re happy to send a confirmation note.

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Reservations

Reserve the table.

We seat twenty-eight guests an evening, plus a chef’s table for up to eight in front of the fire. Most evenings book out a week ahead — for a Saturday in season, two.

✦ Lunch service 12:30 – 2:30 · Dinner 5:30 – 8:30
✦ 50% deposit secures the booking
✦ Khalti · eSewa · FonePay · Visa · Mastercard
✦ Smart-casual · the courtyard is unheated in deep winter
✦ Allergies & vegetarian path always accommodated — tell us 24 hr ahead

Or call us directly

+977 982-1055559

A new beginning, written in Nepal’s 118 ecosystems.

We came home to cook.

Seven courses. One country. A surprise each evening.

Where the plate comes from.

Wood fire on a granite counter.

From the courtyard, the kitchen, the plate.

4.7★ across 142 guests.

Between Dattatreya Square and the Durbar.

Reserve the table.

A new beginning,
written in Nepal’s 118 ecosystems.

Seven courses.
One country.
A surprise each evening.

From the courtyard,
the kitchen, the plate.