Tucked into the heart of downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Himalayan Curry & Grill is the kind of restaurant that catches you completely off guard — in the best possible way. Lancaster is famous for Amish farmland and shoofly pie, so finding a family-run Nepali kitchen here feels like stumbling onto a hidden treasure.
The restaurant has earned a 4.6-star rating from over a thousand reviews, and regulars describe it as a place that feels less like dining out and more like eating at someone’s home. If you have never tried Nepali food before, this buffet is the most welcoming, affordable, and genuinely exciting way to start.
Why a Nepali Restaurant in Lancaster, PA Is Worth Talking About
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a city where horse-drawn buggies share roads with college students, and the food scene has long been anchored by Pennsylvania Dutch classics — scrapple, soft pretzels, and shoofly pie. Nobody expects to find a Nepali kitchen here, which is exactly what makes Himalayan Curry and Grill such a genuine surprise.
The restaurant sits at 22 E Orange St, right in the middle of downtown. It holds a 4.6-star rating from more than 1,100 Google reviews, which is not a fluke — it reflects years of consistent cooking and hospitality that keeps people coming back.
Reviewers regularly call it their favorite restaurant in all of Lancaster, not just their favorite Nepali spot.
The cultural distance between shoofly pie and dal bhat is enormous, and that contrast is part of the charm. Himalayan Curry and Grill does not feel like a novelty — it feels like a discovery that rewards anyone curious enough to walk through the door.
What Nepali Food Actually Is — And How It Differs From Indian or Tibetan Cuisine
Many first-time visitors walk into Himalayan Curry and Grill expecting something close to Indian food — and while there is overlap, the flavor profile of Nepali cooking is its own distinct thing. Less cream, less butter, and a heavier reliance on mustard oil, fermented ingredients, and a spice called timur pepper set it apart almost immediately.
Timur pepper is a relative of Sichuan pepper and creates a mild, buzzing numbness on the tongue that you will not find in standard Indian cooking. It shows up across several dishes here and tends to be the detail that makes first-timers pause and ask, “What was that?” in the best possible way.
Tibetan influence is also present — Nepal shares a border and a culinary history with Tibet — but the food here is warmer and more herb-driven than Tibetan staples. Think of it as its own complete tradition rather than a regional variation of something you already know.
The Restaurant Space: What It Feels and Looks Like Inside
Walking into Himalayan Curry and Grill feels a little like being invited into someone’s home — reviewers use that exact comparison repeatedly, and it holds up. The space is mid-sized and intimate, decorated with wall art and textiles that reference Nepal without tipping into theme-restaurant territory.
The lighting is warm and the noise level stays comfortable enough for actual conversation, which is rarer than it should be in a busy downtown restaurant. One reviewer described it as “walking into your grandparents’ home for a home-cooked meal,” and the atmosphere genuinely earns that kind of language.
Sarmila, the owner who frequently works the front of the house, is a big reason the room feels as welcoming as it does. Multiple reviewers single her out by name, noting that her warmth sets the tone for the entire visit.
The food is clearly the main event here, but the space makes you want to linger well after the plates are cleared.
The Buffet Setup: How It Works and What to Expect
The lunch buffet at Himalayan Curry and Grill runs Monday through Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM, and it is the main reason first-timers and regulars keep showing up week after week. Priced in the mid-range for a Lancaster lunch, it offers access to 10 to 15 rotating dishes — a spread that covers lentils, curries, rice, bread, and several items you simply will not find anywhere else in the region.
One practical thing that sets this buffet apart: the staff refreshes dishes consistently throughout service. The dal stays the right consistency, the curries hold their texture, and nothing sits under a heat lamp long enough to dry out or lose flavor.
That kind of attention to detail is not guaranteed at buffets, and it makes a noticeable difference.
Pace yourself through the first round — it is easy to fill up on the first two dishes and miss the more unusual items further down the line. Go slow, try small portions of everything, and circle back to what surprises you most.
Dal Bhat the Heart of the Nepali Table
Dal bhat is Nepal’s national meal — steamed rice paired with a thin, herb-forward lentil soup and a rotating selection of sides. Most of the country eats it twice a day, and the version at Himalayan Curry and Grill gives you a clear, honest sense of why that tradition has lasted for generations.
The dal here is noticeably different from what most Americans picture when they hear “lentil soup.” It is thinner, brighter, and built to be poured directly over rice and eaten together — not sipped as a standalone starter. The combination creates a layered, satisfying bite that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Side dishes like saag, achar, and spiced vegetables complete the plate and shift the flavor experience with each bite. What sounds simple on paper turns out to be a genuinely complex eating experience — one that rewards attention rather than rushing.
First-timers are often surprised by how much depth a bowl of lentils and rice can carry.
Momos: Nepal’s Beloved Dumplings
Order the momos. That is the single piece of advice that comes up most consistently across reviews of Himalayan Curry and Grill, and it deserves to be the first thing you try when you sit down.
Steamed or fried, filled with spiced meat or vegetables, these dumplings show up as an appetizer and get ordered by nearly every table in the room.
The wrapper on a well-made momo is thinner than a Chinese dumpling and carries a slightly chewier texture than a Japanese gyoza — a small difference that changes how the filling flavor comes through. The filling itself is seasoned with a spice blend that feels distinct and purposeful, not generic.
The dipping sauce served alongside is a tomato-based achar with real heat — not the kind of heat that overwhelms everything else, but the kind that builds and lingers. It works perfectly against the mild, savory filling.
One review put it simply: “Don’t forget to order a side of Momo and Samosas.” Solid advice.
Curries on the Buffet: Variety, Heat Levels, and What Stands Out
The curry section of the buffet at Himalayan Curry and Grill is where the kitchen’s confidence really shows. Expect a rotating selection of both meat and vegetable options, with heat levels that range from genuinely mild to legitimately spicy — and the kitchen does not automatically soften things for American palates unless you ask.
Mustard oil, used as the cooking base in several dishes, gives certain curries a slightly sharp, almost peppery undertone that lingers in a way that vegetable oil-based curries simply never achieve. The Goat Jalfrezi and the Lamb Rogan Josh have both earned specific praise in reviews — the lamb described as slow-cooked and deeply aromatic, the goat as tender in a way that surprises people who have only had it overcooked elsewhere.
Chicken Tikka Masala also appears on the menu as a standout, with multiple reviewers calling it the best version they have had in the region. The curries rotate, so repeat visits consistently turn up something new worth trying.
Vegetarian and Vegan Options: Better Than Most Restaurants Manage
Nepali cuisine has a long vegetarian tradition built into its cultural and religious fabric — a large portion of Nepal’s population eats plant-based by default, and that history shows in how thoughtfully the vegetarian dishes at Himalayan Curry and Grill are prepared. These are not afterthoughts added to accommodate dietary restrictions; they are fully realized dishes seasoned with the same care as anything with meat.
The saag — slow-cooked greens seasoned with spices and mustard oil — and the chana, a spiced chickpea preparation, are two standouts that hold their own against any meat dish on the buffet. The veggie pakora also gets specific love in reviews, with one diner calling it a highlight of the entire meal.
One vegan reviewer who has tried Nepali and Indian cuisine around the world wrote that Himalayan Curry and Grill “surpasses all of them” — specifically noting how effortlessly the kitchen accommodates plant-based eating. Gluten-free and vegan labels on dishes make navigating the menu genuinely easy for guests with dietary needs.
Drinks and Chai: What to Order Alongside the Food
Most people walk into a Nepali restaurant and order water or soda without thinking twice — but the drink menu at Himalayan Curry and Grill is worth pausing on. The mango iced tea shows up in multiple reviews as a specific must-order, described as refreshing and genuinely flavorful rather than artificially sweet.
The mango lassi draws similar praise.
The Nepali-style milk tea is the drink that deserves the most attention, though. Brewed with a stronger cardamom presence and a slightly thicker body than the masala chai most Americans know from coffee shop menus, it lands somewhere between warming and quietly complex.
It is not overly sweet, and it works particularly well at the end of a spicy meal.
Cardamom is the dominant note — not cinnamon, not vanilla, not whatever flavoring goes into chain coffee shop chai. The difference is immediately obvious on the first sip.
If you are eating your way through a plate of spiced curry and dal, finishing with this tea is the right call.
The People Behind the Restaurant: Ownership and Authenticity
Himalayan Curry and Grill is owned and operated by a Nepali family, and Sarmila — who regularly works the front of the restaurant — is the person most reviewers mention when they describe why the experience feels different from eating at a typical ethnic restaurant. “I felt so deeply welcomed by the owner, Sarmila,” one reviewer wrote after discovering the place by accident while walking past.
That personal connection to the food matters. The recipes here are not adapted from a generic South Asian template or pulled from a commercial playbook.
They reflect actual Nepali cooking traditions, and the kitchen’s willingness to rotate regional specialties through the buffet rewards people who come back more than once.
Restaurants where the owners are cooking their own cultural food almost always carry at least one dish that you will not find anywhere else nearby. At Himalayan Curry and Grill, that quality shows up consistently — in the seasoning, in the hospitality, and in the sense that every plate was made with a specific kind of care that is genuinely hard to fake.
Planning Your Visit: Hours, Pricing, and Tips for First-Timers
Himalayan Curry and Grill is open for lunch buffet service Monday through Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM. The restaurant is closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.
The phone number is 717-393-2330, and calling ahead for a reservation is strongly recommended — multiple reviewers note that the dining room fills up quickly, especially on weekday lunches when the buffet draws a regular crowd.
Pricing sits comfortably in the mid-range for Lancaster, marked as $$ on Google Maps, which makes the buffet a reasonable everyday lunch rather than a special-occasion splurge. Parking is limited on E Orange St, but a garage about half a block away solves that problem without much hassle.
A weekday visit tends to offer shorter waits, fresher buffet rotations, and more opportunity to ask the staff questions about specific dishes. First-timers should order momos as an appetizer, move slowly through the buffet, and save room for Nepali milk tea at the end.
The website is himalayanlancaster.com for current menu details.