with mildly trendy decor touches and great pure-veg Tibetan food. Try the cheese-andspinach momos or special gyathuk (a rich noodle soup). It’s upstairs and easy to miss hidden behind a willow tree almost opposite Ladakh Bookshop. Pumpernickel German BAKERY CAFE $ Bakery (Zangsti Rd; meals ₹70-180) Behind the simple
bakery counter (good strudels) is a merrily ramshackle dining room with Ladakhi wooden columns and a full multicuisine menu.
Gesmo MULTICUISINE $ (Fort Rd, curries ₹40-100, rice ₹35) Old-fashioned
traveller haunt, with gingham tablecloths, checkerboard ceilings, and a range of cakes, breakfasts and good-value meals from curries to yak-cheese pizza.
eatery serving generous portions of excellent vegetarian Tibetan and Chinese food at sensible prices. Try the delectable cheese kothay (like Japanese gyoza). Summer Harvest MULTICUISINE $$ (Fort Rd; mains ₹70-120, rice ₹30-90) Tourist
favourite with pseudo-traditional lacqueredwood columns and dangling mod-Chinese lamps. Our malai kofta was divine but momos were bullet-proof. Service charge 10%. Lamayuru Restaurant MULTICUISINE $ (Fort Rd; curries ₹30-80, rice ₹25) Plain but reli-
able backpacker place for good inexpensive Indian, Chinese and international snacks, all vegetarian. A ₹70 thali is available till 7pm. Dolphin Bakery CAFE $ (Malpak Alley; mains ₹40-120) Cakes and snack
meals served in the open air at a simple triangle of a tree-shaded, streamside terrace. CHANGSPA
The following eateries feature on Map p246.
oBon Appetit
MULTICUISINE $$
(%251533; mains ₹180-350; h11am-late) By far
Leh’s most imaginative restaurant is a stylish exercise in Ladakhi minimalist architecture and offers a wide panorama of the southern mountains. A limited but thoroughly scrumptious selection of artistically
257
Calabria MULTICUISINE $ (Changspa Rd; mains ₹45-90, rice ₹30, pastas ₹160-180) The decor wins no prizes and traf-
fic outside can be annoying but the vegetarian Indian and Chinese fare is consistently excellent, sensibly priced and obligingly served. Pastries and real espressos (₹30) are available, electricity willing. Café Jeevan MULTICUISINE $ (Booklovers Retreat; Changspa Rd; meals ₹70-140)
Despite the comparatively sophisticated appearance, prices aren’t significantly higher than most bog-standard traveller pads. A glass-sided kitchen turns out high quality vegetarian meals in a wide range of cuisines, including some of Leh’s best pizza. There’s also a two-case bookshop and a covered roof terrace.
Amego KOREAN $$ (mains ₹85-400; h9am-8pm Mon-Sat) A wide
range of very authentic Korean specialities served in a rural farmhouse setting surrounded by barley fields.
Wonderland Restaurant MULTICUISINE $ (Changspa Lane; meals ₹70-190, rice ₹30) The
brick-thick menu is a veritable dictionary of cuisines covering virtually all bases. The rooftop offers indoor and outdoor seating, limited views and respite from traffic noise. Prices are reasonable. Real coffee served. Otsal Restaurant MULTICUISINE $ (Changspa Rd; mains ₹40-90, pizza ₹90-130) Ser-
enaded by a gurgling stream, this pleasant backpacker retreat includes rooftop seating plus an indoor area of floor mats and colourful Tibetan tables.
6
Drinking
Many garden and rooftop restaurants serve beer, but it’s almost never on the menu: ask the waiter. Bon Appetit has a cocktail menu and pours a mean mojito (₹170). For takeaway booze the handy Indus Wine Shop (Map p249; Ibex Rd; h10am-1pm & 3-9pm) is closed on the 8th, 10th and 15th days of the Tibetan calendar.
oLala’s Art Cafe
CAFE
(Map p249; Old Town; h8.30am-7.30pm) A tiny,
brilliantly restored mud-brick Old Town house with trip-you-up stone steps and an open roof terrace serving great Italian coffee
L ADAKH&DKRASHMIR I N K I N G (INCLUDING L ADAKH) LDERHI N K I N G JAMMU
Tenzin Dickey TIBETAN $ (Fort Rd, mains ₹40-70) Cosy if unpretentious
prepared dishes includes sublime cashew chicken in pesto sauce.