Places to eat and drink in and around McLeodganj.
McLlo’s- At the main ‘chowk’ of McLeodganj, it lords over the valley with the best views, yet it’s constructed like a prison: dark and claustrophobic. Light and air find it difficult to make their way in.
Yellow McLlo- the monstrosity with yellow shades.
It would be okay, if the food were fine, because after a 10km walk around the mountain the last thing you need is food that kills your preciously cultivated appetite.
Indian food looked good- garlic naan, dosas and the pakoras, but please do not order ‘Continental’- specifically steamed Trout (which comes from kullu) and Chicken (which comes from Punjab) Roast in brown sauce, the latter served with stir fried hideous.
Even the tea came already over brewed.
After sun down, it becomes a popular Bar. I won’t be judgmental about that.
Right behind that is Tibet Kitchen, which looked very well appointed and made us wish we had gone there instead.
Moonpeak Café- Small unpretentious café with the best views, facing the valley, has the best and most creative sandwiches and great homemade cakes and cookies. Try everything if you can (We had the Open chicken sandwich with mango and coriander, grilled chicken and mozzarella sandwich, cornflakes and chocolate cake with black coffee) and all of it had the goodness of home kitchen.
Nick’s Italian Restaurant (vegetarian only)
We had an ‘Everything Pizza’, which had a lot of vegetables on it. Good, but the special thing about it was the fresh tomato puree on the base, not tomato sauce. We packed some banana cake for later and it came in handy.
Green Hotel Restaurant
Attached to an internet café, it’s probably the most comfortable cafeteria in McLeodganj. We only have one stomach each so we kept to Green Tea, but the food looked great; if I go back I’ll definitely try the Tibetan food served here.
Family Pizzeria (Dharamkot)
One of the few Pizzerias in and around McLeodganj that has a wood oven, it was highly recommended by the owner of Moonpeak café. It’s in Dharamkot, the village above McLeodganj. It’s a bit of a walk through the village. Take a right turn from the red temple. We found it but it was shut but we want to know how the pizzas are.
Trek n Dine (Dharamkot)
If you walk up to Dharamkot from McLeodganj, which is a pretty steep walk, you will probably end up eating at this popular joint, and with good reason. It has an exhaustive menu, the chef can whip up almost everything you may be craving for. It’s cheap and dressed in bohemian fairy lights. And the food is very good and satisfying.
We had fried chicken, and clear vegetable soup with garlic bread.
And it’s open till midnight!
Special Mention- Vaishno Dhaba (opp Chakki Bank train station).
If you’re traveling by train, chances are you would be doing the night journey from Chakki Bank to your destination. Do not assume you will find something edible at the station, unless you have a deep desire for samosas and chhole bhature that are being sneezed upon at the tiny railway catering stall in the corner. Let Vaishno Dhaba come to your rescue. The food is actually pretty good, low on oil and and high on taste. They also pack plates and spoons along with your meal at an extra rate.
We had dal fry (which was channa daal) and paneer bhurji with tandoori roti.
the best place i went to at mcleodganj was Jimmy’s kitchen……The pastas, pizzas are amazing… the desserts are fantastic too….. Carpe Diem has a wood oven and their pizzas are great…. Oogo’s was great too…
me along with my friends had best pizza ever in family pizzarea and great cakes.
best pizza in the world and great cakes
I reached today after an awesome break to mcloedganj….
Food is where mcleodganj wins…been to family pizzeria in dharamkot and believe me the pizza (royal, with tuna) was really good…
nicks italian kitchen , german bakery, oogo’s , gakyi were on of the best…
missing mcleodganj
One of the BIG pleasures of being in McLeodganj is the food. Then again there are some “Oh Never NEVER again!” kind of places too. McLo’s is the champ for that list. We went there one afternoon. Eat there only if every other place in 100 km radius is shut. And NEVER ever try to use their loo. They have a stinky loo with a couple sized bathtub( strange!) in which there was a pee puddle!!! YECH! Needless to say, we didn’t eat there , I was so grossed out!
Nicks’ was good. Moonpeak service is S L O W W W! Yawn! Never go there on an empty stomach.
Family Pizzeria makes wood fire Pizza only for part of the year I am told. We had a very average over cheesed, gas grilled pizza…nothing to write home (or on a blog) about.
Finally, Trek and Dine…Ah Trek and Dine!! I almost don’t want to say anything lest everyone gets to know of this secret gem. The food is fresh, cheap and plenty…the way restaurant food should be everywhere. Apart from the usual (for those parts) international fair, if you are craving some daal roti…trek and dine does that too with absolute perfection. My favorite were the pastas and breakfasts.
Need to go back again!