Full disclosure here – I am a carnivore. While I have tried many times to go vegetarian, or even pescatarian but I have found some restaurants to be very lacking in their herbivore offerings. And what is the point of only having one choice of a vegetarian meal? Of course countries like India and Nepal are exceptions as a large proportion of their citizens are vegan or vegetarian – in fact, it is believed to be up to 42% of the Indian population!

We visited Nourish by Avata on a couple of occasions for lunch and dinner. It has an amazing array of vegetarian food and none of us were disappointed.

Nourish is the restaurant located at the Avata Wellness Centre in Kathmandu. Established in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, their goal is to ‘…promote healthy lifestyle and holistic wellness practices…’ with such activities as meditation and chanting, several forms of yoga including workshops and retreats, and healthy eating. Healthy eating – Thats what we went for!

While the staff are mostly Nepali, and some chefs of European descent, the crowd is mostly westerners or ex-pats looking for a respite from the sometimes rich and spicy Nepali cuisine.

Almost Scandinavian like, Nourish by Avata is a truly comfortable space with warm tones and blond woods.

On our first visit we are offered an amuse-bouche. We are warned that the mustard is hot – which some of us really like! I personally am a fan of the marinated feta and the roasted nuts.

On both occasions we opt for shared servings of teriyaki glazed tofu and crispy eggplant.

Delicate and soft these teriyaki glazed tofu squares are beautifully presented and taste lovely. There are six of us dining tonight, so we are thankful one person doesn’t like tofu so there is one for the rest of us.

This dish is what keeps us coming back – in fact many of our group return several times and this was always ordered. The eggplant (also known as aubergine) is battered and fried until it’s crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside. The spicy sauce is not overpowering and leaves only a hint of heat on the palate.

I’ll admit it. I’m not a fan of wedges. I find them boring. But these are pretty darn good with their garlic and rosemary seasoning. Its probably the garlic and rosemary that swayed my decision to like these….!

The double decker cheese mushrooms were high on my list to try. My dear friend Jen orders these but somehow they have been forgotten during the order taking. When they do finally arrive, Jen is smitten with them. In fact, so am I after I try one!

I ordered the pan seared paneer. This dish was delicious. Paneer is used in a lot of Nepali and Indian cooking – for example, panner palak and paneer masala. This version, pan fried, has an interesting take by with fried sliced bread on top. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

This dish is pretty spectacular and I believe there may have been a bit of added extra’s from the garden such as pomegranate and beetroot.

The following dishes, I didn’t actually try, but boy they looked delicious!

My friend who ordered the Spaghetti Neapolitan exclaimed it was delightful!

As a pesto and mushroom lover, this was another delicious looking meal from Nourish that gave me food envy. I a told it was amazing.

The next time we all return its lunch and there is a new Autumn lunch menu.

Of course we start with the teriyaki glazed tofu and a serve of the delicious crispy eggplant. Mmm yum, I have had dreams of this eggplant dish and have vowed to make a version at home.

What you may note is the garnishing on this serve was slightly different to the previous version – why’s that? All the herbs and much of the vegetables come from Avata’s own garden – it’s what’s available and in season.

I chose the Italian Pita Pocket. Its nice and filling, and the raspberry sauce adds a mellow flavour against the zing of the lemon zest mayo.

The next few pictures are of what my friends ate, I cant really comment on the taste, but I will say there were no complaints and everyone enjoyed their dishes!

Olivia nods enthusiastically when she took a bite from this dish. She swears by cashew nut spread and exclaimed it is a lovely dish.

Beautifully presented, and I am told hummus was divine.

Sweet and spicy is how the Korean pita bread dish is described. I think it looks great and I have a little bit of food envy.

What a filling and healthy looking dish! Full of goodness and superfoods – what more could one want?

I truly enjoyed each meal at Nourish by Avata and when I am back in Nepal, I will certainly be paying a visit – maybe I’m not such a carnivore after all…?

https://www.avatawellness.com/service/nourish

All meals were paid for independently.