Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine

2hr delivery, cold, soggy, tiny portions, oh but good flavor… if it was hot.
Ordered the full portion of the tika masala and it was maybe a half pint/​8oz portion. Wondering how big the lunch size portion is (or how small i should say). For $ 10+ I’d expect a more. The Samosas were burnt and soggy. Delivery took just shy of 2 hours to get less than 2 miles. The reviews were really deceiving in this case. I might consider giving this place a 2^nd chance as there is potential (good flavor) that it could be enjoyable. Another hunch, tried messaging eat24 for an order update and got no response. smh

Excellent food. I was in Nepal not too long ago and this food is authentic, very flavorful, spicy (if you want) and lots to choose from — carnivore or vegetarian. Wine available. The staff are very helpful and knowledgable although there may not be enough of them. Will definitely be returning.

Amazing food, fabulous prices. My boyfriend and I had never tried Nepalese/​Himalayan food and this was a wonderful introduction. We got the vegetable korma, chicken momo, yak chili, garlic naan, and bottomless basmati rice for less than $ 35 (before tax). We ordered medium spicy and it was just enough to keep our sinuses clear without being overdone. Service was attentive and I would definitely drive out here again.

— Caring and genuine service.
— Great ambiance.
— Delicious food.
I heard a rumor that this place is BYOB! If true then I’ll be here more often. I’m going to have to check before my next visit.
Yak Chili ⁹⁄₁₀
Curry Chicken ¹⁰⁄₁₀ (best curry chicken sauce anywhere)
Nan ⁸⁄₁₀: Comes out crispy enough for some texture and crunch.
Rice ⁸⁄₁₀: No rice was ordered so it must have come with either the chili or curry.
Warning: This place can be SPICY. I usually laugh at places that warn how spicy their food is so just know that I can take the heat. You can select how spicy each dish will be. We ordered the Yak Chili medium and the Curry low. I think next time that I’ll go with low for both but medium is still good. No way am I ordering anything super spicy here.
Tip: Parking lot in back (access from Venice Bl.)

Awesome food with very friendly staff. My family and I were craving for traditional nepali lunch and we were not disappointed :) :)

I had the pleasure of being introduced to traditional Nepalise/​Hymalyan cuisine last year at the Tibet Nepal House in Pasadena. It was outstanding and to rave about as Mom would have once said. I came to Tara’s with high expectations and on a few important levels they delivered and not so much on other important things like service which wasn’t great. Small and very charming with great traditional ambience and vibe of what I’ve experienced in this type of restaurant. Here’s what I had …
1.) Veggie Momo Dumplings — tasty and nicely steamed as requested. Tasted fantastic in my Sherpa’s Stew with Yak.
2.) Sherpa’s Stew with Yak was excellent flavor and a nice serving size however very very hot to the point the Yak was a tiny bit dry. Heavy on peppers but still this was tasty.
3.) Hymalayan Iced Tea and Lemonade (Arnold Palmer) very sweet but very tasty highly recommend. Herbs I can’t place that really compliment the spice of the stew.
I’ll be back however good luck with parking

Called in for pickup and ready in 20!
Love the chicken sekuwa. The chicken is super tender. Comes with vegetables and rice. Automatically mild spicy but you can get it spicier.
Chow chow with vegetables. Chinese style noodles with a lot of garlic. So don’t eat this before going out/​on a date haha

Love Tara’s! This place is great. Ive never had himalayan food before but to be honest its pretty similar to indian food which I have had a lot of. My go to here has been the Yak Chili medium spicy with a side of naan. The yak is really lean, and the cuts of meat are tender and delicious with a good amount of kick. A healthy red meat to be eating! I order this regularly and its amazing every time

Good restaurant with unique dishes you can’t really get anywhere else! I’ve only ordered for delivery/​pick-​up from here though, so I can’t say much about the restaurant environment.
Food is good — I’d recommend the yak chili (if you like super lean meat) & veggie samosas.
The yak chili is a overall a very rich-​flavored dish cooked with bell peppers & onions. The veggie samosas are a tad on the oily side, but have fried shells that are nice and crispy. I’ve had the naan (both plain and garlic) here before as well. It’s not as fluffy as I’d like it to be, but it’s decent.

This place is so unique!!! You feel like you are in a tent in the Himalayas.
The food is very fresh. People who are from India, Rahjistan, Pakistan say this is the best food in town because it’s fresh and authentic. More fresh ingredients and not so overcooked.
I love the yak chili! It’s really good! I also loved the Sherpa soup! The chicken tikka masala is also good.
The service is incredible. The waitstaff is super sweet and accommodating.
You have to try their iced tea! It’s so unusual and refreshing! I crave it.
I’ll be back again and again!

Excellent food here. Everything from their delicious veggie options– from the saag paneer to the fluffy naan. The thalis are great, the daal is delighful, the eggplant curry moreish. The Khasi Ko Masu for the carnivorous is truly special.
The service is always warm too. The only thing is the lighting– somehow the neon low-​energy lightbulbs could do with a little help from some gels so as not to spoil the atmosphere– but this is only something that will bug the most fastidious among us. Well worth going– do enjoy this neighborhood gem.

Tried the vegetarian thali with veggie korma. It was good, but not amazing. Creamy but seriously lacking in veggies. Comes with lots of naan – which is a little different from the naan I’m used to. It didn’t have that tandoori oven taste. It came with some greasy greens that were inedible. The mango lassi was very mango-​y which I appreciated.
Warning: There is no parking and the area has very limited street parking. I had to run in while my friend drove around the block.

Himalayan cuisine was a brand new experience and, thanks to Tara’s, it was really a great one!
We had the steamed chicken Momo; Thukpa Sherpa’s Stew with Yak; a Nepalimixed pickle side of lemon and mango; and the Daal Bhat Masu with goat. Our favorite was the Sherpa Stew with yak, although everything was delicious… with the exception of the pickled lemon and mango which was just too salty for our taste. The service was kind and guiding. This would be a regular feast for us if we lived near.
Better yet, and printed right on the front of the menu is that 10% of the profit earned educates women and children in Nepal.
The music and décor felt like we were dining in another land, and possibly living in a yurt.
Dave & Scott of Warren Ohio

Never had Himalayan food before; similar to Indian food. Service was great; our server was very friendly and attentive. She stopped by often to check in on us while we ate.
Not a super fancy restaurant but it is very much reflective of native Himalayan culture.
Enjoyed the experience and will definitely go again.

Delicious Indian food!
Came here on a weekday night with a co-​worker, and it was surprisingly crowded! Seems like a well-​loved restaurant in the Palms/​Culver City area. Overall had a great experience with the food. Haven’t found many Indian restaurants, so this is as of now my go-​to place for it.
To start-​off: consider yourself warned about parking. The parking lot in the back is a death trap. I went in, it was full, and struggled massively to back out. Not worth taking the chance. I ended up parking across Venice Blvd, but my friend told me the lot at the Brazilian restaurant and laundromat is typically empty. Apparently they don’t tow, but no guarantees on my end…
Food wise — absolutely delicious! For $ 20 each, we ordered quite a lot of yummy Indian food. The naan was probably the best I’ve had — insanely awesome! I could just eat that by itself every day, haha. The tandoori lamb was great, too. Unilocal gave a free iced tea for checking in. I didn’t quite like it, but hey, it was free…
Service was decent. Our waitress was very nice and tended us well. The restaurant is small, so it felt a bit crowded inside and warm. Nevertheless, I doubt people come here for the ambiance or service — the food is really the selling point.

This place is amazing. Goat curry custom ordered with no garlic? No problem. Aloo cholu (sp?) without garlic? Yes, please. Accommodate a large party at 10 minutes notice? No problem. Wine, lassi, naan, and other deliciousness awaits!
Finding parking is a bit hard though.

I decided to come here for dinner with a friend because we wanted to see what Himalayan food was all about. It was pretty empty on a Wednesday evening (though finding parking was still bad, as expected) and we decided to sit inside.
We started with an order of samosas, which conveniently comes with 2 samosas and 2 sauces. One of the sauces was unexpectedly sweet and the other was refreshing (I guess that makes sense now that I know what these sauces were — tamarind and mint chutney, respectively). I don’t know what constitutes a good samosa because I’ve only ever one once before, but I enjoyed the whole combination.
I ordered the Aloo Bodi Tama, mainly because it seemed to be a fairly unique vegetarian item. They apparently have spiciness rankings from 1 – 10, and it can get really spicy. So I opted for a 3. The spiciness was definitely there but not overwhelming. It would have been too spicy for a few people I know, so aim super low if you have little to no tolerance for spicy food. Anyway, I thought it was a good dish and discovered that I like black eyed peas. I also ordered a spinach naan, which was also good and really chock full of spinach. We also got rice, though I’m not sure which dish it actually came with.
My friend had the Yak chili, which he enjoyed. He said it wasn’t as gamy as he thought it would be. He is a fan of spicy food and decided to get a 5 in spiciness. He said he thought he could bring that up to a 7 next time, though it seemed like my curry might have tasted a bit spicier to him. So maybe curries tend to taste spicier than other dishes?
We both had flights to catch either the night of or the next day, so we had to finish everything and were stuffed to the brim. Although service was a little slow at times, I had a good experience overall. I would come back if I’m ever in the area again!

This place serves Indian Food – for those of you who are thrown off by the name «Himalayan Cuisine». At least that’s what we order. We’ve been ordering take-​out at this place several times already. Here’s my review:
1) Food (5 Stars): We have ordered only Chicken Korma and Lamb Saag with brown rice. We eat these two together. Anyway, we love ‘em!
2) Ambiance (2 Stars): Not so good. .. kinda on the dingy side and with quite a strong smell of food. Maybe that’s why we just order take out.
3) Parking (1 Star): Difficult. Although they have a parking lot at the back but it is small (for a handful of cars only). And it can be accessed by a narrow driveway – a driveway that only one car can go at a time. Therefore, you could drive in there and find no space. And I’m not sure if there is space to turn around. Anyway, it’s difficult, suffice to say. The surrounding area has street parking but still hardly an open space. Another reason why we just order take-​out –one can stay in the car, while the other picks up the food.
4) Service (5 Stars): Good service. The lady who helps with the take out is nice.
5) Frequent-​User Card (5 Stars): Yep, they have one of those. And you only have to do six purchases, and then you get a free item. (Btw, a purchase means either one item or more. So during a visit, if you ordered three items, that counts as one purchase.)
In summary, thumbs up for the Food (just the ones I’ve tried), the Service and the Frequent-​User Card.

I was invited to Tara’s by a friend and it was an O.K. dinner but I have to say it was just ok. nothing stood out or would bring me back. The house special is a plate of meats that come on a sizzle platter. Looks great when it arrives but once you dig into it it’s a bunch of overcooked dry meats lamb, chicken and shrimp chicharron are what it tasted like. The service was friendly but a bit slow I don’tknow if my friend requested for the food to come out slow but if he did they could have atleast stayed on top of our drinks.
I’m on the fence with my 3 stars kind of want to go 2 but maybe I just didn’t get the right things on the menu I’ll say it’s ok.

Tara, I’m sorry. I have to break up with you. Oh no… no…no…it’s not you, it’s me. This is what I would like to say, but I can’t. It wouldn’t be right, or honest. It’s totally YOU.
Himalayan Cuisine very similar to Indian food. I’m very sorry to go against the 4-​star grain. I had a smattering of entrees at a team event, and each and every thing was disappointing. In fact, it’s not worth writing the details of what I had. Each thing was a 2.0 star at best with the exception of the rice. I ate it, and not very happy to tell about it.
The positives:
1) Kind-​hearted people run this place, but that’s not enough to have me return back.
2) The décor is really cute, comfy, colorful, and intimate. A little dated and worn, but I’m not bothered by that.