With the idea of promoting the essence of Nepali food, Nisha Sen Thakuri along with her partner opened up Lapsi Garden about four months ago. The restaurant is located in Pani Pokhari just behind Japanese Embassy and offers a relaxing ambience surrounded by trees and greenery. The building Lapsi Garden is operating on has two storeys - the restaurant on the first floor and an adjacent spa on the ground floor.
What adds to the calming atmosphere of the restaurant is its decor. Right when you enter the restaurant, you will be greeted by paintings and fresh air because of the many plants hanging around the place. And the outdoor seating space gives off a tree house-esq vibes with all of the mini trees, hanging plants and light bulbs covered by bamboo holdings the space is decorated with.
The food the restaurant offers is just as impressive as its interior and decor. From unique and experimental soups - like Seafood Soup and Loung Fung Soup (that has bacon, prawn, spinach, lemon grass, paneer and egg mixed into it) - to a variety of salad options - like Greek Salad, Mexican Beansprout Salad and Chicken Waldroft Salad to name a few - Lapsi Garden is an eatery everyone who loves trying out new food must visit at least once.
For me, the most interesting thing about the eatery was being welcomed with their signature glass of complementary Lapsi juice alongside the usual glass of water that is offered at all restaurants. This Lapsi juice is something the eatery came up with themselves and they have fresh stocks of it at all times.
Good start
“We actually intended to follow a very typical Nepali menu at the beginning but we ended up adding a wide variety of other food as well,” says Thakuri about the menu of the eatery. But she does admit that the restaurant is planning to start focusing on making the menu more Nepali food oriented again - which might take them a few months. They also have a BBQ night and campfire every Friday.
I had a wonderful experience trying out different dishes at Lapsi Garden (that I probably wouldn’t have gotten to eat anywhere else) and would call this restaurant a must-visit - especially for food lovers. What’s more is you can actually enjoy a relaxing spa while you’re there! Their spa offers everything from manicures, pedicures and ayurvedic massage to hot stone massage and shirodhara.
All in all, Lapsi Garden is a place one should not miss out on.
French I Mushroom
Price: Rs. 450
Every vegetarian who visits Lapsi Garden should try out this dish. The French I Mushroom is made with a slice of mushroom stuffed with garlic, baby corn, mixed herbs, cheese and mayonnaise – all of which is deep fried with bread crumbs on the outside. The mixed herbs in this dish gives a somewhat spicy flavor to the mushroom. The ‘I’ in the name of the dish actually represents the small slice of black olive that is put on top of the mushroom to make it look like an eye. The mayonnaise on top of the mushroom looks like the white part of an eye and the black olive looks like a pupil. The mint sauce dramatically dragged along the side of the plate adds to the pretty presentation of the dish. All in all, this is the kind of food that is creamy, cheesy and crunchy, all in one.
Nepali Thali Set
Price: Rs. 399
Since a Nepali Thali is something we eat on a regular basis at home, we usually have high expectations from the same thing offered at a restaurant. And the Thali set at Lapsi Garden does not disappoint. Although they serve a typical Thakali Thali set with no new or different side dishes, the every side dish offered alongside it taste phenomenal. The chicken curry is served well cooked chicken, the daal has a nice homely taste and the vegetables are all prepared properly.
Wild Love Kingdom
Price: Rs. 600
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My review ended by tasting this interestingly named mock tail. It has a mixture of pineapple juice, orange juice, mango juice and apple juice with grenadine and is topped with a syrup of sweet blue curacao. 25 ml of each juice is used to make this drink. The use of so many juices all at once makes the drink taste a bit overwhelming. The mild flavor of the curacao syrup adds more to the already sweet drink. I wouldn't recommend this to people who love their drinks mild, as this tastes a little too sweetness. The floating apple slices do balance out the sweetness to some extent. This drink is only made on request.
Devil Prawn Wrap with Bacon
Price: Rs. 550
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Among the dishes I reviewed at Lapsi Garden, their Devil Prawn Wrap has to be my favorite. Who does not like prawns? That too with bacon wrapped from the outside, with tomato salsa as the base. The prawn is grilled with herbs and is served on top of a tomato salsa and the tanginess of the salsa balances out the juiciness of the prawn. The spices hit the right taste buds and give the food a kind of flavor that does not leave your mouth even after you have finished eating. The right amount of spice and seasoning makes this dish worth trying. The name does justice to this dish as the prawn really is devil.
