Warmly furnished in red and mahogany, set off by cream-colored plaster walls, the Maharaja Dining Room at the Grand Hotel Kathmandu isn’t just for hotel guests --- it’s for anyone in Kathmandu who’s looking for a quiet, comfortable, quality dinner in a room with a view. Eight floors up, it offers panoramic mountain and city vistas and two private banquet rooms opening onto open-air terraces,
The menu had only Indian foods, but I always found at least one dish mild enough for my Western taste. My favorite was a delicious tandoori (clay oven) cooked chicken drumstick called 'Tangri Kabob' that tasted more crispy-roasted than baked. Service was attentive, swift, and, in a word, superb.
There was a quiet, cozy bar in an alcove off the main dining area, also with picture windows overlooking either the city or the mountains. Service here, too, was attentive and it was a good place to await the 7pm opening of the restaurant.
Menu prices were reasonable, but Western-style alcoholic drinks were expensive.