Everest on Grand

1278 Grand Ave
St. Paul, MN
651-696-1666
http://www.everestongrand.com/

Category: Nepali, Indian, Tibetan

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 7
Service: 2
Ambience: 7

Recommendation: Good. It’s a unique restaurant that offers you a chance to try the cuisine from the land of the Himalayas, but be warned, service is slow and nonchalant.

When we first heard about a Nepali restaurant, the first thing that came to mind was “Momos”. These dumplings are something that Nick grew up with (and adores) and we had a chance to sample them recently when we visited Paris and stayed with Nick’s Nepalese uncle. Everest serves cuisine that is hard to find and therefore we would label this restaurant a “find”. When we stepped into the restaurant, our eyes were drawn to the ambience that is so representative of the hills. Brightly colored fabrics adorn the walls, the picturesque scenery is presented in the form of photographs and the rustic woody interior captures the essence of a family-run homely restaurant that you find in small towns in the Himalayas (albeit Everest is a little more upscale).

The menu presents a combination of flavors from Nepal, Tibet, and India. The appetizers and curries are representative of what you will find on an Indian menu, with the names (and flavors) accentuated on by the locals. We started with a plate of the Chicken Momos (steamed dumplings with chicken, onion, and spices). When the dish came out, we couldn’t wait to dig in only to find that we had been served Vegetable Momos. They weren’t very good – a skimpy filling of flavorless cabbage, spinach and onion with a chewy dense dumpling wrapper. We informed our server about the mix-up and she said she would inquire. About 15 minutes later, when we hadn’t received an update, we asked the server to cancel them. A few minutes later we find a plate of Chicken Momos dumped on our table with no explanation (no less an apology). We were hungry by now and were pleasantly surprised when we took the first bite – the filling had much better flavor and we actually enjoyed the appetizer (although we would still argue that the wrapper was a little dense and the accompanying sauce unimpressive). For the main course we ordered Palak Paneer and Bhedako Maasu (Lamb Curry). The former is a vegetarian dish made with Paneer (cheese) and spinach – we enjoyed it tremendously. The Lamb Curry was similar to Indian curry, except the flavors were more subtle. We wished the lamb were a little more tender, but enjoyed the dish. The Naan was surprisingly sweet, unlike traditional Indian Naan and had a soft yet crisply texture we enjoyed very much. If we had a larger group, we would have definitely tried Daal-Bhaat (Lentils and Rice), a traditional Nepali dish. Service was disappointing – the mix-up with the Momos is one thing; but no apology or follow-up is inexcusable. Food took a while to arrive and when we asked for doggy-bags, the server just plunked the boxes at our table and walked off. Indifferent service was a real put-off.

$$. Most dishes are under $15, but the combo meals get expensive. This wasn’t a cheap meal - $52 for two (with a glass of beer) and no dessert.