Downtown Los Altos has a new addition – and a first: a Nepalese restaurant opened on Valentine’s Day by a husband-and-wife team that launched their first location just weeks before COVID-19 shutdowns.
Kathmandu Cuisine opened its second location on Valentine’s Day in a space on First Street formerly occupied by a Peruvian restaurant, bringing handmade momos, curries and other Indo-Chinese dishes to the city’s downtown core. Santosh and Mameeta Giri opened their first restaurant in Milpitas in early 2020, less than three weeks before pandemic restrictions upended the industry.
“We survived because of the community,” said Mameeta Giri, noting the restaurant did not qualify for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans because it was new, but received support from local customers and a city grant. “COVID taught us to be resilient.”
The couple met while attending college in Kathmandu, where they later married. They will celebrate their 25th anniversary this summer. Both practiced law in Nepal before moving to California in 2005, where they worked as paralegals prior to pursuing their passion for cooking.
Nepalese cuisine, sometimes called Indo-Chinese, blends flavors from India, China and the Himalayan region. The Giris emphasize fresh, whole herbs and spices – including cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and garlic – which they roast and grind themselves. They also use turmeric and a touch of Sichuan pepper, keeping heat levels mild. Santosh said the herbal profile and warming spices reflect Nepal’s mountain climate – nourishing and keeping people warm.
The menu highlights the family’s signature momos, hand-crafted dumplings culturally linked to Tibetan and Chinese traditions. “The momo is not fast food; ours are handmade,” Mameeta said. Curries, meanwhile, draw on Indian flavors, creating a distinctive hybrid that reflects Nepal’s history as a crossroads between the two countries.
Santosh Giri described Nepal as “a small, tiny pebble between two giant boulders. We have been a trade route between these two nations, so that’s where Indian spices find their way to China, through Nepal. And Chinese food and culture find their way into India through Nepal … and that kind of gives us this blend.”
While the Milpitas restaurant caters to a younger, late-night crowd – with red walls, Tibetan prayer flags, and concert posters evoking Kathmandu’s bustling Thamel district – the Los Altos location was designed for a different vibe. Light-colored walls, hanging flowers and subtle Himalayan touches give the space a soothing atmosphere. Diners will still spot prayer flags, but it is “more calm, more quiet, more peaceful, more relaxing,” Mameeta said.
Their son and daughter, both college-aged, help out at the restaurants as time permits, creating a tag-team system across the two cities. On most days, Santosh and his daughter manage the Los Altos location, while Mameeta and their son oversee operations in Milpitas. The family said that hands-on management is central to their identity as an independent business.
“What we’ve learned over the years is that a restaurant is all about community and family,” Santosh said. “We want to keep that spirit alive rather than relying on hired professionals, hired workers, because we really want to connect with the community and we want to learn the community’s stories, we want to share our stories with the community.”
Kathmandu Cuisine is located at 376 First St., Los Altos. For more information, visit ktmcuisinelosaltos.com.
