We found ourselves in the middle of Pokhara on a hot day, not wanting to do any touristic activities but desperate to have a cool sit down and relaxing meal out of the sun. So we made our way to Samay By The Lake, a small restaurant with a beautiful location right next to Pokhara’s languid, lagoon-like Phewa Lake.
Samay is primarily an outdoor restaurant, featuring a cosy and sheltered sit down area, with low tables and big cushions on the floor where you can stretch your legs out and lounge around. This is the kind of place where no one would bat an eyelid if you decided to lie down and take a nap before dessert arrives. This place takes the definition of ‘relaxation’ to a whole new level.
The tables in the lakeside dining area are only a few steps away from the water. A group nearby was actually fishing while they ate, and some of them jumped into the water mid-meal. With the searing summer sun beating down on us, it was difficult to resist the temptation to join them.
We started with a Banana Lassi (Rs 175) after reading on the menu that the bananas come from Samay’s own kitchen garden. The well-blended lassi was smooth and thick, and we were delighted to find that they did not skimp on the bananas.
The waiter recommended the Samay Buffalo Wings (Rs 300) - spicy, crispy chicken wings served with a side of yogurt, and we immediately got down to dirtying our hands. The wings were generously spiced, and the plain yogurt complemented the spices well, making it the right amount of sweet and spicy needed to perk our tastebuds up for the rest of the meal.
