Riding Kathmandu's organic bump is Sanepa's Bú Kebá, and if you imagine that means a convenient marriage of the rustic and the comfy for the expatriate crowd, you're half there. Bú Kebá is all thatched roofs and wooden platforms for semi-alfresco seating shaded by translucent white curtains, but the clientele is surprisingly diverse.

Perhaps this has something to do with the welcome expansion of its menu, which now ranges over continental (meat mains, pizza, pasta) and Indian fare and includes a few intriguing originals. We paired the Anda Kebab (eggs marinated with tandoori masala, stuffed with minced chicken and served with achari gravy), with Nashilo Chyau ko Ras (oyster mushrooms flambeed with vodka and cooked with cheese, cream and fresh sage). Eggs-cellently imaginative, and the soup was the perfect consistency – just enough to remind you it's mushrooms and not powder you're indulging in.

We also tried a Vegetable Bruschetta, the dull toppings of which we thought wasted on the buckwheat, corn and millet bread. A salad drowned in dressing (albeit tasty) didn't help. But the buckwheat spinach pancake was impeccable. Kudos for making the most of 'local' ingredients and endeavouring to liberate us from the tyranny of rice and wheat!

Though we didn't venture into our own 'selezione di pasta' by combining whole wheat and buckwheat pastas (sourced from Fab India Organics) with meat and veg sauces, we did try a Goat Cheese Pizza with herbs. Good. But not good enough yet to be competitive with the likes of Roadhouse or F&I.

As for the mains, we ordered mutton chops w/mash and local chicken stuffed with spinach and grilled mushroom w/tarul mash. They were both very well presented and portioned, and the chops in particular (curvy ribs inclusive) would impress any Nepali accustomed to fatty blobs of overdone khasi in curry. But the sauces were not as different as the menu made them out to be, and we couldn't tell the tarul from the potato mash.

We ended with another of Chef Khatri's innovations – the Intercaste dessert, a cute combo of orange and cream liqueurs that while distinct, eventually flow together. Bu Keba has a vision, with a knowledgeable, personable staff worth ingratiating yourself with; don't wait for the summer rush to get your table.

Nepalikukur

Heading south from Hotel Summit, pass Hotel Greenwich, turn left and keep going until you pass
the signage for SNV. Bú Kebá's on the left.

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