Two words: momo platter. Photo: Lucy Ridge
I love momos. These Nepalese dumplings are explosions of spice and flavour wrapped up as delicious morsels. So I have been especially keen to check out Kathmandu Momo House, where momos are something of a speciality.
The restaurant is in the centre of Civic, and technically opened in 2023, but after a break in 2024, the doors were reopened in late 2025.
It’s a large venue with plenty of seating, a small stage for live music, and two private dining rooms. Visiting on a quiet Tuesday, there was a smattering of tables, but I’ve previously been there on a buzzing Friday night (complete with a cover artist serenading us from the stage).
In addition to a page dedicated solely to momos, the menu also features classic Nepalese curries, noodle dishes, snacks and breads.
Kathmandu Momo House is a large space with a decorative fountain and pillars at the entrance. There is often live music on busy evenings and a couple of private dining rooms for large groups. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
While many might be familiar with steamed momos, at Kathmandu Momo House, there are eight different serving styles to choose from, each available with vegetable, chicken or buffalo fillings. You can choose momos served in hot or cold johl soup, pan-fried, deep-fried, crumbed, tossed in a chilli sauce, or mixed with onion and herbs. There’s even an option to get momos in a butter chicken-esque sauce.
To simplify matters, we chose the momo platter, which showcases a range of styles along with delicious dipping sauces. We also chose a mix of vegetable and chicken momos.
The fried momos in chilli sauce were my favourite: it’s the perfect blend of texture, heat and flavour. The momos were simultaneously crispy and chewy, and I love the fiery sauce. My friend preferred the crumbed momos for extra crunch. These also sopped up the tomato and sesame chutney very nicely. If this is your first foray into Nepalese cuisine, the momo platter is the perfect primer to get you up to speed, and it’s especially good when washed down with a bottle of Kingfisher beer.
For a variety of dishes, order one of the sets which allows you to taste around eight different curries, chutneys, pickles, soups and a traditional dessert. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
After devouring our dumpling platter, we opted to share a set meal. There are a couple of options, but we went with the Nepali Khana set, which came with a mountain of fluffy steamed rice surrounded by various chutneys, pickles, a lentil soup and a goat curry. The goat was so super tender we could basically just suck the meat off the bones. A crispy pappadum added some crunch to the warm, comforting soup. I love these set plates for their diversity of flavours and mix of fresh, cooked and pickled dishes.
This set also came with a dessert: a sweet ball made from milk and flour, soaked in syrup (I know these as Gulab Jamun in India, but I believe they are called Lal Mohan in Nepal), served with creamy curd. The slight acidity of the curd offset the syrupy sweetness, and it was a lovely way to finish the meal.
While you could easily enjoy one of these sets as a meal to yourself, I love sharing extra dishes among friends, and there were plenty of options on the menu for groups to dig in together.
Kathmandu Momo House: share it with friends.
Kathmandu Momo House is located in the Jollimont Centre, 65 Northbourne Ave. Access via Alinga Street. They are open from 12 to 9.30 pm Monday to Thursday, from 12 noon to 10 pm on Friday and Saturday and from 12 noon to 9 pm on Sunday. Follow Kathmandu Momo House on Facebook or Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
