tibetan kitchen cafe

excellent food;goodvalue. we've had lunch and dinner at the tibetan cafe several times now. the menu is not extensive, but concentrates on relatively few, well-made, dishes. it's by and large indian, usually with 3 to 5 curries (usually chicken,salmon, beef, pork, vegetarian) to choose from, as well as various other dishes. you have a choice of white rice or flavouful basmati. most dishes are seved with rich mini-naan or roti. the food is simply made, but very flavourful and very good. the staff are extremely friendly, efficient and seem to enjoy their work a great deal. definitely not a place that is out for the come-once-only tourist trade but is there for victorians. highly recommended.

upon arrival downtown about midday, we sought out tibetan kitchen as it was featured on "you gotta eat here" but more importantly as tibetan food is not found on every corner. we were warmly welcomed by a member of the family who run this restaurant and who indeed are from tibet. we started with momo which are dumplings common to tibet, nepal and generally the himalayan region. these were deep-fried and filled with tasty pork but there is a vegetarian option and you could have them steamed also. they were accompanied by a spicy sauce. very nice! i was impressed with the number of vegetarian options here and asked if that was a tibetan thing. the answer is not really. tibet is a generally cold country and their diet is more meat-centric because of the limited growing season. they are, however, catering to victoria's evidently extensive vegetarian community.goodthinking. we tried one of tb's several lunch specials, pork curry with mustard greens, served with rice, pooris and lentil soup which was frankly delicious! at $14 this is a verygooddeal. we loved the curry. finally, we had chicken shepta. this was basically a stir fry on rice but tibetan style (with a generous addition of veggies as previously discussed). ginger, garlic, tomato paste, soy sauce and mild curry formed the sauce for this tasty and healthy dish.colorful and busy is how i would describe the decor, with a distinctive nod to tibet and the dalai lama. his words are posted here and there for our edification which is agoodthing. comfy enough and with friendly folks, we recommend this place. expand your horizons and try something a little different.

i passed by this place several times always thinking how amazing tibetan food must taste. the occasion came last thursday during lunch time, that blackboard displaying "lamb curry" just pulled me in.

the place looks inviting, yeah it's a bit cozy but at least you can snoop into other ppl dishes while having second handed delicious smell (i was salivating the whole time).

i liked the decoration; the dalai's lama altar givesgoodenergy. i noticed lots of ppl go eat there by themselves, loner power.

food speaking: i'm a fan!

i had the lamb curry lunch that was accompanied with brown rice, a cup of lentil's soup, and those delicious breads. i burnt my tongue in desperation to eat that curry... it was worth! the dish was so aromatic. the flavours were terrific, there were plenty of lamb crumbs, the colour was beautiful, perfectly seasoned. all my senses got feed.

after that great meal, my hangover brain was tempting me last saturday to go try one of the soups. i ordered a thukpa with beef and egg noodles. not only did i resuscitate, i was also happy and satisfied all day long. ok, i also had pork momos. both things met my high expectations and made me regret not eating there before.

i'm sure i'll go or order from them pretty soon (they are in skipthedishes).

it's quite expensive but i love it! it was definitely one of the best dining experience i have ever had. the momos were pretty much the same with fried pot stickers i've had in chinese restaurants-nothing special. the beef soup i had seemed very healthy, with a variety of fresh ingredients- it really satisfied my personal taste cuz it was not too tasteful, not salty at all but withgoodvariety of veggies. a healthy and delicate dish just makes me happy! the poory (bread) was really delicious! i had the chai tea- it was perfect for someone like me who doesn't like drinks to be sweet. just loved its delicate and mild taste. the dessert gulab jamun only consisted of two balls but it's exactly what i wanted cuz it was really tasty and at the same time not too much- no one wants a big dessert after a big meal :) i believe they use local/ organic ingredients here so things were pretty costly. however, i really enjoyed everything i had cuz they are of high quality! the decor and the music are really soothing and pleasant!

priced for a prince. i can't say if it's anygoodbecause i walked out when i saw the watermelon and spinach salad cost $14. everything else seemed overpriced as well and from the pictures on the menu tiny portions.

best curry in town. we made reservations for 9 people on saturday night . we have lamb curry , shrimp curry and shepta's . the food was excellent , the flavours and the fresh ingredients . the waitress said they make all their sauces at the restaurant and my goodness they are doing agoodjob . it was pretty busy but the service wasgood, a little hard to understand the waitress at times but our plates were taken on time our drinks were always full . all in all an awesome experience . definitely going back .

what a disappointment. i used to come here for lunch quite a bit and thoroughly enjoyed the food. my husband and i came with another couple using a groupon last year and enjoyed our dinner. we finally came again last night and were totally shocked by the difference in quality and the high prices. the watermelon salad was $13 - so my expectations were high. cut up pieces of watermelon with some spinach on the bottom and goat cheese on top with what honestly tasted just like vinegar for the dressing. sometimes a simple dish can be exquisite - this wasn't. the only highlight was the kale and onion rings - actually pakoras - some with onion and some with kale. this was a ridiculously large portion - too much for the two of us. served piping hot and absolutely delicious for $10. i had the vegetarian momos for my entre - nothing special - nothing like i remember these being. the worst dish was the salmon curry which i have had before for lunch and found very tasty. for $20, there was a big bowl of curry, a smaller bowl of rice and another of steamed vegis and two puris - puffed fried bread. it only looked big as the curry was two severely overcooked pieces of salmon drowning in a soup of curry. my husband said it didn't taste like the salmon had actually been cooked in the curry. the glass of wine was only $6 but it was a very cheap wine. the service was verygood- all of our needs and wants were quickly attended to. but overall i think it is obvious why the restaurant wasn't very busy on a saturday night. we won't be back. there are just too many other better choices in victoria.

call that a curry ?. we went twice with high hopes, lots ofgoodreviews and nice staff, but boy was i dissapointed. i love curries,i've travelled around india for 6 months, i come from england where curry is the national dish, so i feel justified in saying this is a terrible curry.

bland ,flavourless, never seen a spice in it's poor miserable life kind of curry.

the popadums where nice though

why had i not been here before?. i am ashamed to say i am a local and after 8 years in victoria (thanks to groupon) i found this little place in downtown. now, it is one of my favourite places. i have tried several dishes and not once i have left disappointed. all food is made from scratch with natural and organic ingredients. the fusion of indian, tibetan and even chinese cuisine is a very unique concept. service is alwaysgoodand the price of the food is consistent with the quality. don't forget to get a dessert. they are very unique!

a nice spot. we had eaten once in a tibetan restaurant in portland (or) and when we saw the name of this restaurant, we decided we needed to try it. the food was quitegood(and is agoodvalue...our entrees were about $13 each in july 2012), and the service was prompt and very friendly.

the food was well prepared and flavorful. it's hard to put into words, but we all have had eating experiences which we find ourselves thinking "it's hard to imagine the food being any better." this did quite reach that level, but we certainly were not disappointed at all by our experience.

was on my way to another spot for lunch and their sign caught my eye. i am always a sucker for curry. had the veggie curry on brown rice to go for $9.95. super fast service and reallygoodvalue. i will be returning next time i'm craving curry.

fresh, wholesome, akin to a reliable home cooked meal.goodpeople,goodservice.

always happy to find a tibetan restaurant. we're suckers for momos, and can almost never find them anywhere. we ordered pork and veggie momos, steamed (much better this way). both delicious, though the veggie ones (if you like fennel) were better. the lamb curry was good, though the portion of meat was rather small. the bread that came with the curry was excellent. the veggie tibetan pita wrap thinger was tasty as well. what really made the meal authentic, though, was the amazingly friendly service. the waitress was great to talk to and hadgoodmenu suggestions. if you've ever had tibetan food, i'm sure you'll be happy to find this place, and if you haven't, you should definitely make your way over and try it.

wonderful food.. wonderful hospitality.. this review is long overdue. this small homey place made such an impression that i'm writing this review 5 months after our visit, labor day weekend 2010. my wife, 2 kids (ages 9 and 5), and i were exhausted and hungry after a fun day of sightseeing in victoria. we found this place by luck using the proximity search feature on the urbanspoon iphone app. it was late on a sunday night and we got there just as they were closing, but the owner and her husband welcomed us warmly.

the food was fabulous - we all enjoyed it. i'm an omnivore, my wife is vegetarian, and my kids aregoodeaters but sometimes balk at spicy food. there was something to please everyone and both of my kids kept saying "yummy" including saying it to the chef/owner when she came our of the kitchen to make sure we were enjoying everything. once she met us and asked us a few questions, she brought all sorts of "extra" things for us to try - each was wonderful. the tibetan cuisine here is similar to indian food (the owner is ethnically tibetan but was raised in india and is "indian" as well).

as for other details, it's tucked away on a quiet side street just a few blocks from the waterfront. the ambience is nice - cozy and clean. the owners were very gracious and chatted with me and my family well after the meal when they just could have easily ignored us so we woudl leave and they could close up.

our family enjoys going out to eat. on this trip, we ate everything from street food to fine dining at the empress. this was our most memorable and enjoyable meal of the trip. try it. you have little to lose as it's inexpensive and you might enjoy it us as much as we did.

good chai. have eaten there many times with a happy gluten free belly
best chai i have had outside of india. wish the home made hot sauce recipe hadn't been changed, it was sogoodat the old location, but things have to change. used to love the salmon curry, hope it returns to the menu some day. recommend to bring your own salt as some menu items can be a bit bland and they don't have any on the table. nice to see the restaurant doing so well!