First Burger in Nepal: The Kakshapati Story
How Shyam Kakshapati, a Ratna Park grocer from Palpa, brought burgers to Kathmandu at Café de Park in 1973, and where his Bakery Cafe still serves one.
The first burger in Nepal was served in the early 1970s at Café de Park, next to Rani Pokhari at Ratna Park in Kathmandu, by the restaurateur Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati. Café de Park opened in 1973, and Onlinekhabar reports that “people would line up to eat burgers in that cafe”. Kakshapati went on to co-found Nanglo on Durbar Marg in 1976 and to found The Bakery Cafe in 1991. Café de Park and the Nanglo flagship are gone. The Bakery Cafe still serves burgers, so it is where you can eat one from his restaurants today.
If you came here looking for a Santosh Shah or Shangri-La burger, I found no source for either. The correction near the end explains what the chef and the hotel are actually known for. For a wider list of where to eat now, see our guide to the best burgers in Kathmandu.
| Quick answers (checked 18 October 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Who introduced burgers in Nepal? | Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati, at Café de Park |
| Where and when? | Next to Rani Pokhari, Ratna Park, Kathmandu; opened 1973 |
| What came next | Nanglo, Durbar Marg (1976); The Bakery Cafe, Teendhara (1991) |
| Still serving burgers today | The Bakery Cafe |
| Nanglo’s Durbar Marg flagship | Closed in December 2014 when its lease expired |
| Santosh Shah and Shangri-La | No link found, and no burger in either story |
Who introduced burgers in Nepal? Shyam Kakshapati
Nepali media credit Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati with introducing burgers to Nepal. The Kathmandu Post quotes Yogendra Sakya on him: “He was the man who introduced burgers and hamburgers in Nepal” (Kathmandu Post, 9 August 2021). Inside Himalayas repeats the credit in its 2022 piece on Lalitpur’s burger scene (Inside Himalayas, 25 July 2022).
Kakshapati came from Palpa district. After his father died, he opened Sam’s Grocery Shop at Ratna Park. He was 19, according to the Kathmandu Post obituary. The grocery led to the café. The café led to the burger.
My view: Kakshapati matters less for the burger itself, whose recipe nobody recorded, than for what he built around it. He gave Kathmandu a café habit, then Nepal’s first restaurant chain, then a hiring policy no Nepali business had tried before. The burger was the way in.
Café de Park, Ratna Park: Kathmandu’s first burger counter
Café de Park opened in 1973 beside Rani Pokhari, the temple pond at Ratna Park in central Kathmandu, and it is where Nepal’s first burgers were sold. Most sources spell it Café de Park; Onlinekhabar writes “Cafe Day Park”. I use the majority spelling.
Map of central Kathmandu: Rani Pokhari and Ratna Park, where Café de Park served Nepal’s first burgers in 1973, and Durbar Marg just to the north, where Nanglo opened in 1976. The original buildings’ exact addresses are not documented. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
What went into that first burger is not documented. No source I found says whether the patty was buff, pork or chicken, or what it cost. So I stick to what the obituaries say: burgers and hamburgers, and a queue at the door (Onlinekhabar, 12 August 2021).
Café de Park may not have been alone. Ekantipur (5 July 2025) names Centerpoint, near New Road, as an early famous burger house. I could not confirm its date, owner or status, so treat it as a lead for further history, not a rival claim.
Nanglo, Durbar Marg: history of Nepal’s first restaurant chain
Nanglo opened on Durbar Marg in 1976, co-founded by Shyam Kakshapati and his younger brother Gopal Sundar Lal Kakshapati. Nanglo Chinese Room followed in 1981, according to The Annapurna Express. Onlinekhabar goes further and credits Nanglo with popularising the buff momo, the buffalo dumpling that is now Kathmandu’s signature snack.
Narayanhiti Palace, now a museum, at the head of Durbar Marg in Kathmandu. Nanglo, Nepal’s first restaurant chain, opened its flagship on this avenue in 1976 and closed it in December 2014 (photo taken in 2016, not of the restaurant). (Photo: Suraj Belbase, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narayanhiti\_Palace\_Museum.jpg)
By August 2010 it had 14 outlets, and ECS called it the first restaurant “chain” in Nepal (ECS, August 2010).
Is Nanglo on Durbar Marg still open?
No: Nanglo closed its Durbar Marg flagship in December 2014, when the lease expired (Kathmandu Post, 22 December 2014). Fifteen months later the Kathmandu Post reported a reopening at a new location (Kathmandu Post, 22 March 2016). Where Nanglo trades today, and under which name, I could not verify. Check locally before you go.
The Bakery Cafe Kathmandu: the burger lineage you can still eat
The Bakery Cafe is the Kakshapati restaurant that still operates and still serves burgers. Kakshapati founded it in 1991, with its first outlet at Teendhara, Kathmandu (Wikipedia, Nanglo Bakery Cafe; The Annapurna Express). The Kathmandu Post dates it to 1997 at New Baneshwor instead. I go with 1991. My guess is that 1997, the year the New Baneshwor outlet began hiring hearing-impaired staff, got taken for the founding date.
Why The Bakery Cafe employs hearing-impaired staff
In 1997, at its New Baneshwor outlet, The Bakery Cafe began employing hearing-impaired staff, the first business in Nepal described as doing so. By 2010, ECS reported that Kakshapati had trained about 40 deaf staff across four locations; Wikipedia counts 45 hearing-impaired employees among 290 staff. My sources record the policy, not his reasons for it, and I will not put words in his mouth.
What to order at The Bakery Cafe today
Order a burger. In my view it is the closest thing on today’s menus to what he served at Café de Park. A search snippet of the official menu shows chicken, ham, crunchy chicken and veg burgers on sesame buns, VAT included. The menu page itself did not load when I checked on 18 October 2026, so I publish no rupee prices yet. Ask at the counter; I will add dated prices once I can confirm them.
Illustrative photo, not taken at The Bakery Cafe: a breaded vegetable-patty burger with lettuce and carrot, served with potato wedges and ketchup at Cameleon restaurant in Kathmandu, October 2010. (Photo: Spelcek, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kathmandu\_VegBurger.jpg)
The outlet count is unsettled too. Wikipedia lists four (Teendhara, New Baneshwor, Jawalakhel and Pulchowk), The Annapurna Express counted nine at Kakshapati’s death in 2021, and a delivery app lists a Durbar Marg branch. Check the official site before you cross the valley.
First burger in Nepal: timeline from 1973 to 2021
The burger reached Kathmandu in three steps, all founded by Shyam Kakshapati: Café de Park in 1973, Nanglo in 1976 and The Bakery Cafe in 1991.
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Undated, age 19 | Kakshapati opens Sam’s Grocery Shop at Ratna Park after his father’s death | Kathmandu Post |
| 1973 | Café de Park opens next to Rani Pokhari and serves Nepal’s first burgers | The Annapurna Express, Onlinekhabar |
| 1976 | Nanglo opens on Durbar Marg, co-founded with his brother Gopal | Kathmandu Post |
| 1981 | Nanglo Chinese Room opens | The Annapurna Express |
| 1991 | The Bakery Cafe opens at Teendhara | Wikipedia, The Annapurna Express |
| 1994 | Kakshapati launches Kathmandu Yellow Cab | Kathmandu Post |
| 1997 | The Bakery Cafe, New Baneshwor, hires hearing-impaired staff | Kathmandu Post, Wikipedia |
| 2010 | Nanglo has 14 outlets, called Nepal’s first restaurant chain | ECS |
| 2012 | Kakshapati is president of the Hotel Association of Nepal | Kathmandu Post |
| 2014 | Sam’s One Tree Café opens; Nanglo’s Durbar Marg flagship closes in December | Kathmandu Post |
| 2016 | Nanglo reported reopening at a new location | Kathmandu Post |
| 9 August 2021 | Kakshapati dies of cancer in Bangkok, aged 69 or 70 | Kathmandu Post, Onlinekhabar |
Timeline of the first burger in Nepal, 1973–2021 (horizontal timeline chart): 1973 Café de Park · 1976 Nanglo, Durbar Marg · 1981 Nanglo Chinese Room · 1991 The Bakery Cafe, Teendhara · 1997 first hearing-impaired staff, New Baneshwor · 2010 Nanglo reaches 14 outlets · Dec. 2014 Nanglo’s Durbar Marg flagship closes · 2016 Nanglo reopens at a new address · 9 Aug. 2021 Shyam Kakshapati dies. Sources: Kathmandu Post, The Annapurna Express, Onlinekhabar, ECS, Wikipedia. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Kathmandu Post (9 Aug 2021, 22 Dec 2014, 22 Mar 2016), The Annapurna Express (11 Aug 2021), Onlinekhabar (12 Aug 2021), ECS (Aug 2010), Wikipedia; original work)
Kakshapati also launched Riverside Spring Resort in Kurintar. He died at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, according to Onlinekhabar, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Sources disagree on his birth year (1951 per The Annapurna Express, 1952 per Onlinekhabar), hence “69 or 70”. Who runs Nanglo and The Bakery Cafe today, I could not confirm.
Why Kathmandu’s beef burgers are made with buff
A “beef” burger in Kathmandu is usually buff, meaning buffalo, because the cow is Nepal’s national animal and its slaughter is illegal. Newar cooking has long used buff, and it fills the momo, the snack Nanglo helped popularise. Our Kathmandu burger guide explains how the city’s burger kitchens borrow those flavours: tomato achar, chilli and timur pepper.
Steamed buff (buffalo) momos with tomato achar, served in a foil bowl in Nepal. Buff is the same meat that goes into most “beef” burgers in Kathmandu, because killing cows is illegal in Nepal. (Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buff\_Momo.jpg)
Correction: Santosh Shah restaurant in Kathmandu, and Shangri-La
Chef Santosh Shah has no documented link to Hotel Shangri-La Kathmandu or to burgers. I searched Wikipedia, the Kathmandu Post, ekantipur and Shangri-La coverage on 18 October 2026 and found neither connection, so this article does not make them.
Who is Santosh Shah?
Santosh Shah is a Nepali chef, born on 5 November 1985 in Karjanha, Siraha District. He was runner-up on BBC MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020 and won the 2021 Rematch (Wikipedia). In London he worked at Dishoom and Benares, was sous-chef at The Cinnamon Club and head chef at Cinnamon Kitchen. His cookbook is Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and Himalayas (DK).
Santosh Shah’s restaurants: Mithila Thali
Santosh Shah owns Mithila Thali, a Mithila cuisine restaurant, not a burger place. It opened in Janakpur, near Ramnanda Dwar, in 2023 and serves a 15-item thali with no burger on the menu (Kathmandu Post, 29 June 2023). Kathmandu branches followed in Jhamsikhel and Gaushala, with Naxal/Garidhara announced (ekantipur, 22 June 2024).
Hotel Shangri-La Kathmandu: a heritage hotel, not a burger house
Hotel Shangri-La on Lazimpat Road opened on 1 July 1979, founded by Shyam Bahadur Panday (1936–2024), in a building designed by Desmond Doig (Nepali Times, 30 July 2024). Its Lost Horizon Café launched a new menu in September 2019 under Executive Chef Vikram Kumar, with no burger named. As of July 2024, the Panday family was redeveloping the property for relaunch under the InterContinental and Hotel Indigo brands. I could not confirm its status in October 2026.
Where to eat a burger in Kathmandu today
Beyond The Bakery Cafe, Kathmandu’s burgers now come mostly from independent buff and chicken burger bars in Thamel, Chabahil and Lalitpur. These are the ones my sources document:
- Chef’s Burger: started in 2018 in Chabahil by four chefs, including Tirtha Raj Katuwal. Its official site lists seven outlets and a Chef’s Special Buff at NPR 550 (chefsburger.com.np, checked 18 October 2026).
- T’s Your Palate, Thamel: co-owned by Aayush Tamrakar and three cousins, with never-frozen meat, the Jaw Dropper (buff) and the Hook-a-Chuck (chicken) (The Annapurna Express, 26 December 2023).
- Handmade Burger, Kupondol, Lalitpur: opened in July 2018 with buff, chicken and veg burgers, Himalayan French Cheese and Flat Iron Grill buns (Onlinekhabar, 24 September 2018). I could not confirm it is still open.
- Burger Shack: founded in 2014 by Rohit Shrestha. Wanderlog lists its Jawalakhel outlet as permanently closed and I could not confirm the Tripureshwor one, so I recommend neither.
Where to eat a burger in Kathmandu today, compared (checked 18 October 2026). Columns: Restaurant | Area | Opened | Signature burger | Status. The Bakery Cafe | Teendhara, New Baneshwor, Jawalakhel, Pulchowk | 1991 | chicken, ham and veg burgers (prices not confirmed) | open · Chef’s Burger | Chabahil + 6 outlets | 2018 | Chef’s Special Buff, NPR 550 | open · T’s Your Palate | Thamel | n/a | Jaw Dropper (buff), Hook-a-Chuck (chicken) | listed December 2023 · Handmade Burger | Kupondol, Lalitpur | July 2018 | buff, chicken, veg | not confirmed · Burger Shack | Jawalakhel / Tripureshwor | 2014 | n/a | Jawalakhel closed, not recommended. (Table: Burger Breton, data from chefsburger.com.np, thebakerycafe.com.np, The Annapurna Express (26 Dec 2023), Onlinekhabar (24 Sep 2018), Wikipedia, Wanderlog; original work)
For neighbourhoods and the wider picture, head to our Kathmandu hub above, or browse our burger restaurant guides from around the world.
How I checked this story
I built this history from the three 2021 obituaries (Kathmandu Post, Onlinekhabar, The Annapurna Express), dated Kathmandu Post reports on Nanglo, Wikipedia, ECS and Nepali Times, and checked every link on 18 October 2026. Where sources disagree (Kakshapati’s birth year, The Bakery Cafe’s founding date, the Café de Park spelling, the outlet count), I say so. Where no source exists (the first burger’s meat and price, current menu prices, Nanglo’s current address, today’s managers), I leave the fact out rather than guess.
FAQ: the first burger in Nepal
Who introduced burgers in Nepal?
Shyam Sundar Lal Kakshapati, a restaurateur from Palpa district, introduced burgers to Nepal at Café de Park in Kathmandu in the early 1970s. He later co-founded Nanglo and founded The Bakery Cafe.
When did the first burger appear in Kathmandu, and where was Café de Park?
Café de Park opened in 1973 next to Rani Pokhari at Ratna Park, in central Kathmandu. Its burgers drew queues, according to Onlinekhabar.
Is Nanglo on Durbar Marg still open?
No. The Durbar Marg flagship closed in December 2014 when its lease expired. The Kathmandu Post reported a reopening at a new location in 2016; its current address is unverified.
Does The Bakery Cafe still serve burgers, and how much do they cost?
Yes, The Bakery Cafe still serves burgers, including chicken, ham and veg options. Its official menu page did not load when I checked on 18 October 2026, so I have not published prices.
Why are “beef” burgers in Kathmandu made with buff?
The cow is Nepal’s national animal and its slaughter is illegal, so beef-style burgers use buff, meaning buffalo meat, the same meat as the classic momo.
Which restaurants does chef Santosh Shah own in Nepal?
Mithila Thali, which opened in Janakpur in 2023, with Kathmandu branches in Jhamsikhel and Gaushala. It serves Mithila food, not burgers.
Does Santosh Shah cook at Shangri-La Kathmandu?
No source links Santosh Shah to Hotel Shangri-La Kathmandu. The hotel was founded in 1979 by Shyam Bahadur Panday.
Is Hotel Shangri-La Kathmandu open?
I could not confirm its status in October 2026. In July 2024, Nepali Times reported that the Panday family was redeveloping it for relaunch under the InterContinental and Hotel Indigo brands.
Why does The Bakery Cafe employ hearing-impaired staff?
Since 1997, starting at New Baneshwor, The Bakery Cafe has employed hearing-impaired staff, the first business in Nepal described as doing so. Wikipedia counts 45 among 290 employees. My sources do not record Kakshapati’s reasons.
Where should I look for burgers in Kathmandu today: Thamel or Jhamsikhel?
Thamel, the backpacker district north of the old city, has the densest choice, and Jhamsikhel in Lalitpur is the café street. The burger bars documented here sit in Thamel, Chabahil and Lalitpur. Our Kathmandu burger guide covers the neighbourhoods.
