The Old House in Kathmandu’s Durbar Marg is the newest cocktail bar by Indian mixologist Yangdup Lama

In the coronary heart of Kathmandu’s Durbar Marg — dotted with luxurious retailers, upscale eating places and accommodations — stands The Old House by Minaskhi Singh and Yangdup Lama. The award-winning duo, greatest recognized for Sidecar, which options on World’s 50 Best Bars (2021, 2022, 2023) and Asia’s 50 Best Bars (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), has partnered with Desal Lama from Nepal for this enterprise enterprise.

The Old House spells nostalgia for Delhi-based mixologist Yangdup. Back in 1993, as a younger industrial trainee at Hotel Annapurna in Kathmandu (then a part of the Taj group), he would usually go by this previous dwelling. Decades later, he has tried to revive its reminiscence, by reimagining it as his and his enterprise accomplice Minakshi’s first worldwide bar. The bar took a yr and a few months to form up. When it did, it felt like a vibrant and welcoming house that reminds guests of Kathmandu’s Newari-style houses. Developed by the indigenous Newar folks of Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley, Newari structure is characterised by elaborate wooden carvings and pagoda-style temples.

Yangdup at the bar
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Special Arrangement

Yangdup Lama at The Old House
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Special Arrangement

Minakshi explains, “The architecture is such that it breathes life into the bar, reminiscent of the fine art, folk culture, design and the days gone by. This bar will transport you to the Kathmandu of the 1970s and 1980s, decked with woodwork, tapestry, and floor work characteristic of Newari architecture, featuring closely spaced joists (dhalin) supporting a subfloor of terracotta tiles and wooden planks, adorned with a layer of fine yellow clay. The place also features a central water feature in the courtyard, adding a sensory dimension — sound, light, reflection, and calm”.

Why? Why? Why?
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The Old House can seat 80 folks and it is not only a title; it is a sentiment. Yangdup explains, in Kathmandu, all ancestral houses over 100 years previous had been colloquially known as ‘old houses’. The Old House too, he recollects, has been via many adjustments; “But, the banyan tree still stands,” he shares. That lone reminder, and the emotional imprint of the place, was purpose sufficient to protect the title and spirit of it in their new enterprise. Their Nepalese enterprise companions, although not from the hospitality world, instantly related with the imaginative and prescient. Desal Lama, who owned The Old House, has been roped in as one in all the co-founders of the bar.

Cocktails with a narrative
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“When Desal Lama reached out to me for a business partnership, I thought it was a good time to reconnect to my memories as a trainee. Once I visited the place , I knew what had to be done,” says Yangdup.

This new bar is rooted in Kathmandu Valley’s Newar tradition — wealthy in each craftsmanship and culinary heritage. Yangdup and Minakshi labored carefully with a neighborhood Newari architect to design the house, leaning into the texture and storytelling of conventional houses. Think in depth wooden carvings, asymmetry, and delicate echoes of pagoda structure. The consequence is a spot the place design and drink communicate the similar language.

The cocktail menu journeys via the mountains and plains of Nepal, utilizing native elements and layered narratives to form its 12 signature choices. From Himalayan juniper and sea buckthorn sourced from Mustang Valley to apple orchard notes and cardamom from Makalu, every cocktail evokes a selected geography and emotion. Yangdup’s consideration to element is exacting — each component has intent.

Oven Roasted Salmon
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One drink, Why? Why? Why?, is a whimsical tribute to Wai Wai, Nepal’s beloved instantaneous noodle. Another, Sindhuli Gadhi, is a nod to a Nineteen Seventies folks tune and the historic battle in which the Gorkha military triumphed over British forces. There is additionally Syangay ko Suntala, impressed by the famed oranges of Syangay, and Jau Jau Jau, a smoky, roasted-barley and whisky quantity that channels the fertile essence of the Terai lowlands. Even Nepal’s iconic Bhadgaule Topi will get a toast in the type of a namesake cocktail.

The staff at The Old House
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Food, too, performs a central position, with a meat-forward menu that displays Kathmandu’s sturdy palate. Guests can count on Sekuwa, the beloved Nepali-style barbecue, alongside Momoka — a Nepali twist on momo dumplings made with pink meat and served with a spicy, tangy peanut sauce. It is flavourful, sincere fare, meant to enrich the drinks and spark dialog.

For Yangdup and Minakshi, this is not simply one other addition to their acclaimed portfolio of bars — it is a return, a remembrance, and a celebration. In The Old House, they’ve captured a second from the previous and poured it into the current, creating an area that’s as evocative because it is ingenious.

In doing so, they’ve not solely raised the bar — they’ve instructed a narrative. And that, in mixology as in life, is what makes all the distinction.

The Old House at Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal, is open on all days from 12pm to 1am