Cafeography
Kathmandu · Lazimpat & Baluwatar

Cafés in Lazimpat & Baluwatar

Embassy streets north of Thamel: bookshop cafés, brunch bowls and coffee from 06:00.

Photo: Pawan Bhandari, Pexels License

Lazimpat takes its name from Lazimpat Durbar, a palace nearby that is now Hotel Shanker. It is a residential area close to the Narayanhiti palace, with Thamel on one side and Baluwatar on another, and it holds the Indian, British, Israeli and French embassies and the Delegation of the European Union.1

Baluwatar, further up, is home to the Prime Minister’s official residence, the headquarters of Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank, and the Russian Embassy.2 The cafés follow the neighborhood: breakfast places, a bookshop café, garden tables and tea shops, with fewer late nights than Thamel.

Local tip: When you book an inDrive car to a Lazimpat café, set the pickup or drop-off at a landmark such as Hotel Shanker rather than trusting the map pin.6

At a glance

56Cafés listed
5With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
20:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Namaste De cafe, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–18:00 · Sun 06:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Café Soma, until 20:00 (Daily 07:30–20:00).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (11%), brunch (4%), smoke-free indoors (2%).

Namaste De cafe

  • Maharajgunj Road
  • Mon–Fri 06:00–18:00 · Sun 06:00–18:00
  • Open by 6am
MapIs this you?Report

Organic Smoothie Bowl & Cafe

  • Lazimpat 2
  • Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat 10:00–16:00 · Sun 08:00–19:00
  • +9779843514612
MapIs this you?Report

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Kathmandu.

Coffee chains in Lazimpat & Baluwatar

Hotel Shanker and Thirbam Sadak

The Hotel Shanker building is usually dated to 1894 and was built for General Jit Shumsher Rana, a brother of Prime Minister Bir Shumsher. Ram Shanker Shrestha turned it into a hotel in 1964, opening with 23 rooms; the neoclassical front was kept and the interior remodeled.3

A short walk away, Thirbam Sadak has a run of small cafés: Avocado Cafe at number 95, which is wheelchair accessible, and Holiday Cafe and Niyalo Cafe at number 110. Cafe kunz on Lazimpat Sadak has Wi-Fi, Blue Lotus Cafe is at 136 Kapurdhara Marga, Genesis Cafe is in Panipokhari, and Coffee Time is in Baluwatar. Cafe Joshi, Lama’s Cafe and Tara Café are in the same streets.

Breakfast and bookshop cafés

BM Cafe, the café inside the Books Mandala bookshop in Baluwatar, is open 07:00–20:00.4 Café Soma’s Baluwatar branch opens at 07:30 and closes at 20:00, with Wi-Fi and a no-smoking room. Organic Smoothie Bowl & Cafe in Lazimpat has vegan dishes, brunch and Wi-Fi, 08:00–19:00 on weekdays and Sundays and 10:00–16:00 on Saturdays.

Deli Akuj is a coffee shop that also shows the AKUJ label’s products, known for its coffee and desserts.5 Sarita Bakery & Cafe on Bishalnagar Marga and Born and Bread cover bread and cakes, and Samsara Coffee in Ajima Galli serves brunch with Wi-Fi from 10:00.

Early tea and chain coffee

Namaste De cafe on Maharajgunj Road has the earliest start in the area, 06:00, and closes at 18:00. For chiya, Ek Cup Chiya on Nursery Galli and Dari vai ko chiya pasal on Shree Kanti Marg in Basundhara are two neighborhood tea shops, the second with Wi-Fi. Chiyapan, Suiro Teas and Tea Boutique are on the tea side too.

Himalayan Java, Barista Lavazza and illy Caffè all have branches in Lazimpat and Baluwatar. Lazimpat is about 20 minutes from New Road and Asan, and government offices such as the Inland Revenue Department are here as well.1

Getting around Lazimpat

Microbuses and tempos (three-wheeled shared vans) run along the main roads for Rs 20–30, and the green tempos are electric.6 If you book a ride on inDrive, choose a well-known landmark as the pickup point: pins in Kathmandu are often in the wrong place.6 The CIWEC travel clinic is in Lazimpat.6

Sources

  1. Lazimpat, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Hotel Shanker, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. BM Cafe, Books Mandala, accessed October 2026
  5. Must-Try Cafés and Coffee Shops in Kathmandu, Nepal Traveller (March 19, 2025), accessed October 2026
  6. Kathmandu, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Kathmandu

Thamel

61 cafés

Kathmandu Durbar Square & Asan

26 cafés

Durbar Marg & Naxal

49 cafés

Boudha

52 cafés

Jhamsikhel & Sanepa

79 cafés

Patan

69 cafés

In Lazimpat & Baluwatar, also browse: Wi-Fi Bakery cafés Brunch

FAQ

Lazimpat & Baluwatar cafés: questions

Which embassies are in Lazimpat, Kathmandu?

Lazimpat in Kathmandu hosts the Indian, British, Israeli and French embassies and the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal. The Russian Embassy is in neighboring Baluwatar, which is also home to the Prime Minister’s official residence and the headquarters of Nepal Rastra Bank.

Where can you get an early coffee in Lazimpat and Baluwatar, Kathmandu?

Namaste De cafe on Maharajgunj Road opens at 06:00. BM Cafe inside the Books Mandala bookshop in Baluwatar opens at 07:00, and Café Soma’s Baluwatar branch at 07:30. Organic Smoothie Bowl & Cafe in Lazimpat starts at 08:00 on weekdays and Sundays and at 10:00 on Saturdays.

How did Lazimpat in Kathmandu get its name?

Lazimpat is named after Lazimpat Durbar, a Rana-era palace nearby. Its main building, usually dated to 1894 and built for General Jit Shumsher Rana, became Hotel Shanker in 1964, opening with 23 rooms. The hotel kept the neoclassical front and remodeled the interior.

For café owners

Own a café in Lazimpat & Baluwatar?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design