If New York has a Himalayan corner, it lives along a four-block stretch of Roosevelt Avenue and the side streets that branch off it. Walk under the elevated 7 train between 72nd and 76th in Jackson Heights and you can eat your way through Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan without ever crossing back over to a chain coffee shop. There are momos floating in spicy sesame broth, hand-drawn noodles in clear yak bone soup, dal bhat sets built for a long day on a mountain, and at least one yak meat dish that ships in from a Vermont farm.
This is the cheapest and most concentrated way to taste Himalayan food in the city. Almost everything here is owned and run by first- or second-generation Nepali or Tibetan New Yorkers, and almost none of it requires a reservation. Here is the practical version of where to go and what to eat.
Quick Bites
- Best momos and the most awarded spot: Nepali Bhanchha Ghar (74-15 Roosevelt Avenue) — repeated winner of the Jackson Heights Momo Crawl.
- Best for a Tibetan-Nepali-Bhutanese-Indian crossover menu: Himalayan Yak (72-20 Roosevelt Avenue) — open until midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends.
- Best for thukpa, hidden up a back staircase: Phayul (37-65 74th Street).
- Best small, no-frills, paper-plate experience: Lali Guras (37-63 76th Street).
- How to get there: 7 train to 74th Street – Broadway, or E/F/M/R to Jackson Heights – Roosevelt Avenue.
Why Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights is one of the most linguistically diverse neighborhoods in the country, and its Himalayan community has built a tight food cluster along Roosevelt Avenue and the streets that feed into it from 37th Avenue. Many of the original wave of restaurants opened in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and the scene has only thickened since. The annual Jackson Heights Momo Crawl, held every fall, has become the local equivalent of a neighborhood championship — restaurants prepare for it the way pizzerias prepare for a magazine list.
Two notes before you go. First, many of these spots are small, cash-friendly, and busy on weekends. Lunch is the easier window. Second, the Himalayan menu is broader than just momos. If you have only had Tibetan dumplings before, this is the neighborhood to learn the rest of the canon — thukpa, thali, sekuwa, dhido, dal bhat, and the Tibetan butter tea called po cha.
Nepali Bhanchha Ghar — 74-15 Roosevelt Avenue
This is the most decorated address in the cluster. Chef and owner Yamuna Shrestha opened the original Bhanchha Ghar in 2015 after immigrating from Nepal in 2008, and the restaurant has become the repeat champion of the Jackson Heights Momo Crawl, picking up the people’s vote multiple years running. The signature dish is jhol momo — eight dumplings floating in a spicy, aromatic sesame-and-tomato broth that you eat with a spoon and your hands at the same time. It runs around $9 for a chicken plate and is the single best reason to come to this stretch of Roosevelt Avenue.
Beyond the momos, the thali set is the move if you want to taste more of the menu — curry, lentils, pickle, chutney, and your choice of steamed rice or dhido, the Nepali millet or buckwheat porridge that takes the place of rice in many traditional homes. Open daily 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Himalayan Yak — 72-20 Roosevelt Avenue
The longest-running Himalayan restaurant on the strip, and the one most willing to act like a full-on sit-down restaurant rather than a counter. The menu sprawls across Tibetan, Nepali, Bhutanese, and Indian dishes, which is part of the appeal — you can split a table between someone ordering momos and someone ordering chicken tandoori without anyone feeling shortchanged.
The signature here is the actual yak. The kitchen brings in fresh yak meat from a Vermont farm in the summer, most often served as shapta, a stir-fried platter, or cheley, a yak tongue dish served with bread. Both are hard to find anywhere else in the city. The kitchen also does a respectable thukpa and a Tibetan sausage called gyuma. Hours run late: noon to midnight Monday through Thursday and Sunday, until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday — useful if you are coming off the 7 train after a show.
Phayul — 37-65 74th Street
The cult favorite. Phayul is a second-floor restaurant that you reach by walking around the block from the 74th Street address, finding a small side door, and climbing a narrow staircase. It is exactly the kind of place that makes Jackson Heights what it is. The menu leans hard on Tibetan classics, especially thukpa — there are roughly seven versions on offer. The one to order is the beef thenthuk, made with hand-drawn noodles, vegetables, and a clear, deep broth. It is one of the most satisfying ten-dollar meals in Queens.
The crowd is heavily Tibetan-speaking, the room is small, and the service is unfussy. Cash is appreciated, but cards are accepted.
Lali Guras — 37-63 76th Street
Tiny, takeout-leaning, and one of the most personal kitchens in the cluster. Lali Guras — the name means rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal — sits on the corner of 76th Street and 37th Road and seats no more than a dozen people at any given time. Paper plates and plastic forks are part of the deal, but the food is serious. The kitchen serves Nepali, Tibetan, and Bhutanese dishes, with momos, thukpa, and a rotating set of curries and dal as the everyday rotation.
This is the place to come if you want to feel like you ducked out of New York for forty minutes and ate in someone’s family kitchen. Bring cash, keep the order simple, and do not skip the milk tea.
Lhasa Fast Food — 37-50 74th Street (entrance hallway)
This is the most hidden restaurant in the neighborhood. To get inside, you walk into a small one-story building at 37-50 74th Street, take an immediate right at the entrance, and follow a narrow fluorescent-lit hallway to the back. The room is bare-bones, the menu is short, and the food is the point. The signature here is the beef and chive momos, a regional combination you do not see at most other Tibetan kitchens in the city. The thukpa, fried potatoes, and beef sausage are also worth ordering. Most lunches come in under $20.
Nepali Momo Cafe
A newer addition to the corridor focused tightly on what its name promises. The kitchen turns out fresh, hand-folded momos and a short menu of traditional Nepali dishes. Good for a quick solo lunch, especially if Nepali Bhanchha Ghar is at a wait.
How to Build Your Own Crawl
The classic move is to pick three spots and order one signature dish at each. A reliable route looks like this. Start at Nepali Bhanchha Ghar for jhol momo. Walk three blocks down to Himalayan Yak and order yak shapta plus a Tibetan butter tea. Finish at Phayul with a bowl of beef thenthuk thukpa. Total walking time, under fifteen minutes. Total bill, comfortably under $40 a person if you split smartly. You can also assemble the full version of the route during the annual Jackson Heights Momo Crawl in the fall, when participating restaurants offer dollar-priced dumplings and the whole neighborhood turns into a tasting event.
Practical Notes
Most of the Himalayan kitchens here are small, family-run, and busiest on weekends between 1 and 3 p.m. and again from 7 to 9 p.m. If you are coming with a group of four or more, weekday lunch or early evening is the easiest entry. Cash is welcome almost everywhere; cards work most places. The 7 train to 74th Street – Broadway and the E/F/M/R to Jackson Heights – Roosevelt Avenue both put you within a two-block walk of the entire cluster.
If this is your first time eating Tibetan or Nepali food in the city, the order to try in any order is: one plate of steamed or jhol momo, one bowl of thukpa, and one thali. That covers the dumpling, the noodle soup, and the rice-and-curry trio that anchor the regional menu. From there, the rest of the neighborhood opens up.
For more of Jackson Heights’ food, see our Roosevelt Avenue corridor guide and the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst food crawl roadmap.
