Some Newari dishes are definitely an acquired taste due to the significant use of fermented ingredients. But I think I've been to enough Newari restaurants now to be able to distinguish my own lack of familiarity with quality. I would rank Woodside Cafe as just okay. I stopped myself from ordering the viral "momos a la vodka" expecting disappointment and instead stuck to the classic thali. The achaari aloo was probably my favorite item, but none of the flavors of the sabzis were that memorable. Newa Chhe in Sunnyside remains my favorite option for this cuisine in Queens. read more

Woodside Cafe - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

The place is real nice. They have a cool pizza oven pumping fresh pies. Very tasty not too cheesy. The avocado bruschetta was so fresh and tasty. Overall a real gem in the neighborhood after an afternoon mets game. Literally a block and a half from the lirr. read more

Not bad! I don't know much about Nepalese food, but my Nepalese friend introduced me to some popular dishes. She said this place is quite authentic, so I tried it. Their pickles were quite good. Vege Dumplings had some flavorful sauces. We asked for two types. I think we had spicy and mustard. The rice with vegetables around it was good, but not enough vegetables. I need more vegetables around it lol! The restaurant has two sections, front and back. The back section was empty but I saw a stage setup for a band. Maybe busy during the night but I prefer to eat quietly! Everything's veggie and nice! Thanks! read more

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Very tasty food with great love music!! Fresh take on Nepali staples I definitely recommend visiting this place! read more

Woodside Cafe - The band is in action! - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

Heard too much hype about their pink momo. As soon as I got to NY,I couldn't wait to get here and dig on their menu. We ordered jhol momo, pink momo, steam momo, rice thali some Sakeuwa choila and chowmein. The service was very nice. People greeting us well, the place was well organized and our server was knowledgeable to guide us throughout. The main reason i wanted to try this place was from one of the vlog i watched and that in turn made me curious about the pink momo. The sekuwa and choila tasted really good, full flavor but somewhere lacked the smoky flavor. I am not sure if they were pan fried but definitely missed the main part of being char grilled. The steam momo was ok, pretty bland for my taste, i felt it missed spices and was low on sodium too, may be this is more of designed for folks with low sodium intake. Pink momo is like eating momo with pasta sauce, so there might be people who like em like that but for me, i was not impressed. However, Jhol momo was good. The jhol was done perfectly with full flavors so we ended up adding our steams and pinks to the jhol. Chatamari was nice and crispy. It could be more beefy but i guess thats what we get for the money. Newari khaja set came with white rice, imagine that. But the server was cool to give us the chiura on the side. Chowmein was the savior of the night. It was something that reminded me of the street food in Nepal. Street foods are always full of taste. Overall this is a good vibing zone. Nice service, good atmosphere and good food but but they do miss the authenticity of Nepalese food. This is more like a fusion, thats what i felt. Definitely try out this place, i would suggest start with jhol momo and chowmein if you expect authenticity of Nepalese food. read more

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I've been to Woodside Cafe maybe about 6 times now and I'm still a little unsure of how I feel about it. First of all, their service is so-so. The servers are a little slow with the orders unfortunately. The decor is quite nice. The location is great, right next to the M/R stop on Broadway so it's very easy to find. As for food, my favorite thing on the menu is the Wai Wai Sadeko. I've tried all 3 spice levels (mild, medium, spicy). Mild is doable for someone who can't handle spicy at all. Medium has a nice kick to it and I can handle it quite well. Spicy is DEFINITELY spicy! I'm salivating just thinking about it right now lol. My second favorite thing on the menu is the Beef momo in pink cream sauce (AKA Jhol Momo). Their chicken lollipop is very delicious as well. As for their thali, I know a lot of people like it but I have had way better thali before at other restaurants in Jackson Heights, which is the next neighborhood over. So if you want thali, I would go elsewhere. Their beers are reasonably priced as well. I think they go for about $5 a bottle. I had their chang (rice wine) once and I really liked it! It was cold which was different but very delicious. Overall, 4/5 stars. read more

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Bear in mind, I used to love this place. As a nepali, I wanted to support nepali businesses. However, I felt disappointed and disrespected by my time here: listen to the other reviews that say that the service is slow. Not only that, but they got our order detrimentally wrong, not once but rather multiple times. Someone in our group is vegan and cannot tolerate spicy food for health reasons. We assured our waitress of this while ordering and reiterated this multiple times. We get our appetizer, wai-wai sadeko, which we requested to be non-spicy, and it was extremely spicy. First strike. We move on and think we will be okay for the starters. The food doesn't come at once, but that's okay. We begin to dig into the momos and the momos intended to be vegetarian has, *drum roll* chicken. When we tell our waitress this, she says we only requested that the chow-mein be vegetarian and not the Momo. I don't appreciated being gaslit. There was never an apology, let alone a sign that they had messed up. There was no attempt at reconciliation. The entire group remembers me reminding the waitress that we have dietary restrictions and need the steamed Momo to be vegetarian. Anyway, they take back our order and bring us back our correct order 45 minutes later. BUT THE ORDER IS MISSING. there's no chow-mein and the veg momos look sad...The rest of the group had already finished their meal when the new meal came back. We did not even get our chow-mein at the end and we were charged for it. Very upsetting. We will not return here again. Worst service of our life! There are far better and more respectful places to give our business to. Dietary restrictions are not trend and can be dangerous for other people's health. Worst service of our lives read more

Place place to hangout in queens New York with best authentic Nepali cuisine We came from California we love this place a lot we will be back read more

Woodside Cafe - a band playing on stage - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

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* Review is only on the Kothe momos * Pros - - !@#$'n scrumptious momos! One of the I have ever tasted - Cheap, me and my girl got 16 dumplings for only $14. -Even their beers are mostly only $4 asides from their Taj Mahal beer. $4 for beers in NYC is almost unheard of - Friendly wait staff - Many different options to order asides from dumplings - Doesn't get too packed, I went on a Saturday night and didn't have any issues being seated Cons - - Location is kinda awkward; parallel to the BQE. However it is located next to the 65th street stop (conveinent) - The restaurant can use a little a renovation - Restroom is a bit dirty/awkwardly situated Overall it's a lowkey gem that has been slept on. Would definitely return again in the future. Their momo's were freaking amazing. read more

Woodside Cafe - Kothe beef momos - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

I was here few days before and taste of food made me review even after days. Among lots of Nepali restaurant in New York Woodside Cafe is one of my favorite to have newari food... this restaurant is run by a newar family and they really provide authentic newari taste and hospitality then other restaurant. Best restaurant for newari taste, whenever I crave for newari taste always my first option. You should try maccha tareko here... usually comes 4 average size deep fried fish... so daam tasty with few drops of lemon juice and spicy sauce they provide... Would also recommend Nepali and newari thali... You will get "Pet varyo maan varena" walla feeling... read more

Woodside Cafe - Beef Newari thali set - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

I was there with my four friends. We order different food for all individuals. One of them order chicken thali and we found that there was a dead cockroach in the food. I immediately call the guy who work there, the guy with spectacles and show him that there was a cockroach . He immediately took the food into the kitchen and after like some minutes he came back and said sorry and this is the first time i ever saw cockroach on the food . He just cancel the chicken thali on the payment. I just wanted to tell that we need to be very careful what woodside cafe serves. Seriously we were left all upset. read more

It was my very first time going over there and everything was okay except for people smoking inside. Staffs saw them but didn't say anything. read more

Such a great place! A neighborhood secret! I only got fried chicken momos, but they were great. Will definitely go back if I'm in the neighborhood. read more

Woodside Cafe - Chicken Momos - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

Don't expect a fancy restaurant, cause this is not. It also doesn't have any Nepali decor, looks like a low key cafe. But, the food and the service wins it all. I went here yesterday with 3 of my Nepali friends. We ordered the following: 1) Chicken Sekuwa 2) Macha Tarero (Fried Fish) 3) Mas Ko Bara 4) 4 orders of Steamed Chicken Momo My favorite of all was the Macha Tareko, the fish was so fresh, well fried and the combination of spicy Achaar (Sauce) and the size of the fish reminded me to Malekhu (A place in Nepal famous for its local fried fish). I equally enjoyed the Chicken Sekuwa and Mas Ko Bara (Lentil Cakes). Will definitely order this again when I go there next. Their Momo wasn't my favorite, I would give it 6 out of 10. I have had lot better momos before. The filling was ok, the dough was a little thick for my taste. I enjoyed their tomato achar (Sauce) that came with the momo. I also had Mango Lassi to drink. It was made out of mango pulp and not real mangoes. Since its the mango season, i wish they used the real mangoes instead. It makes such a big difference in the taste. At the end of the day, we were very satisfied with majority of the dishes we ordered. We also ended up ordering extra Chicken Sekuwa to go for tonight. read more

Woodside Cafe - Steamed Chicken Momos! - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

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I came here for lunch and got the chicken thali. Everything was delicious and fresh which is hard to find these days when it comes to restaurants. A lot of places tend to give you pre-made sides. If it is your first time eating here I would def suggest getting the thali. You get a wide variety of dishes to try and the flavor in each side dish is amazing. I also loved the dessert. The yogurt was amazing and fresh, as well as very light. This place has an authentic feel to it since the dishes come in copper plates and the water comes in copper cups. The service is slow which is why I had to give this place 4 stars. It took a while to get my water refilled. read more

Woodside Cafe - Thali - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

The vibe is everything. We ordered the chili and cream momo and a few drinks. Everything was amazing. Will definitely be returning. This was really a hidden gem. read more

I've been here quite a few times throughout the last few years because I live in the neighborhood. The pink momos are generally a great idea and were good the first couple of times. The last time we went, they were all broken and the sauce was all oily, as if they were reheated. One of the times we went there, there was a giant (maybe 2-3 inch) water bug just crawling around on the table next to us. We told the waiter and they said sorry, sometimes they get inside. We were ah-ok with it, because it's New York, but it will give you an idea about the general cleanliness of the place. Last time we went, there was also a group of - I assume - nepalese people that arrived after us. The restaurant decided to serve them first. We waited for a really long time for our food and weren't happy about it. No apology, no explanation. We just felt like they didn't serve us because we aren't nepalese. We also took some of the food we ordered home, and even though it was only a short walk and we placed the food into the fridge immediately, the next day it already smelled spoiled. Really tried to like this place, but everything about it keeps pushing us away from it. Avoid. read more

Really bad service. Waited inside after choosing a seat for about 20 minutes. The waitress had a bad attitude from the start. There were about 3 other parties inside. We did not get served after 20 minutes of waiting. The waitress served the regulars who got there after us. She did not even say anything when she saw us leaving. Can't tell if it is discrimination or a terrible business practice of prioritizing regulars while ignoring new customers. Glad we left because I see bad reviews about cleanliness and roaches. Never going here again. Glad Phayul was nearby to redeem the night. read more

This place is amazing! Sign makes no sense, never any white people in here so you know it's good!

Better than all the Nepalese restaurant in town. authentic taste :) However, they could do better in service, it's kinda slow and, if the salt portion of the food was on the low side than it deserves a 5 star :) read more

Woodside Cafe - chatamari :) - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

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The food was not up to mark. The egg ramen was bland and the eggs on top had no salt. Overall we had a very bad experience. The chicken lollipops were too hard and the momos tasted sweet ! Also, They already included tip on our order and without us knowing as they didn't gave us the itemized receipt. On top of that, that even asked for tips. Totally a waste !! read more

Maybe we just ordered poorly, but we didn't particularly like our meal here. We got the beef steamed momos in cream sauce, chargrilled chicken in spices and jumbo shrimp entree. The shrimp was not bad, but my favorite part of the dish was surprisingly the cauliflower that came on the plate. The beef inside the momos had a weird taste to it when eaten by itself, but when mixed with all the sauces, the momos were pretty good. The chicken dish came out cold. It would have been nice to have that be specified on the menu, because I wouldn't have ordered it in that case. We took the leftovers home and even when warmed, the chicken app was just okay. I'd be willing to come back and try some of their noodles or curry, mostly because they seem to be a really good deal. read more

Woodside Cafe - Jumbo shrimp curry entree - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

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Worst momos I have ever had. They were completely soggy and uncooked. I had ordered both Fried and steamed.

Took half hour for 1 order of aloo parantha. Their dessert sucks.... two eyeball sized of gulab jamun and 2 pea size ras malai cost $10. I don't recommend to order dessert from this restaurant. Their service is slow as bullock cart. read more

Woodside Cafe - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

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Don't know why it's only 3 stars but it's super nice and cute. GREAT food!! Must try their pink cream sauce momo!! Mango mojito is a bit too sweet but still very good read more

Unfortunately one of the more disconcertingly dingy restaurants I've visited in recent memory. Not to be confused with Woodside Cafe (http://www.yelp.com/biz/woodside-cafe-woodside-3) which shares a kitchen with Sean Og (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sean-og-tavern-woodside) and pumps out Irish pub fare, this Woodside Cafe is barely a block from where I grew up and serves traditional Nepalese cuisine. Bhatmas sadeko (Nepalese soybeans) - The soybeans were spread on the plate in a single layer and looked very spartan, but they were pretty good, crunchy and dressed generously in spices, lemon, and raw onion. Spiciness accumulated across several minutes in a nice, low burn. Vegetarian thali - All the usual items come on this sampler plate of a meal, and you also get a separate cup of plain yogurt (plus sugar packets if needed). The saag was insipid, but everything else was decent. Veggies, achar, beans, and dal ringed a huge mound of rice. Like the soybeans, the thali was satisfying (if austere), but in terms of flavors that actually intrigue and delight, I'd go for Dhaulagiri Kitchen's (http://www.yelp.com/biz/dhaulagiri-kitchen-jackson-heights). In both restaurants, you're asked if you want refills on any thali items - I guess Nepalese thali is inherently all-you-can-eat? It was quiet inside at 10pm on a rainy night. The dinginess does get me though (which is saying something!). There were a few groups of Nepalese customers in the dim, awkwardly shaped restaurant, but Woodside Cafe can probably attract more diners if they cleaned up the walls, patched up some areas, finished painting so the room is one color... Maybe I'm traumatized by how my childhood home looked (embarrassingly similar to this), but I can imagine unwanted critters popping up in the downstairs kitchen. Their recent "A" restaurant health grade is a little hard to have faith in..! read more

This is the place to go for Newari food (which is still Nepali food, but Newars are a particular ethnic group, and they have some unique dishes of their own). Their dhal bhat tarkari as well as their momos--the staples that all Nepali folks love to eat--is good. I also recommend their chatamari (Newari dish) and their fried fish (best Nepali-style fried fish that I've had outside of Nepal so far). The staff are super friendly, it's a family run business, and they will try to make your experience there as pleasant as possible. The interior could use some work, so I wouldn't recommend taking a date there. He/she won't be impressed. However, if you want authentic, home-cooked, Nepali/Newari food, this is a great little spot. You will mostly see Nepali folks dining out in this place--it's a local favorite. read more

On our 2 Night stay in NYC - we made a point to eat at only restaurants serving "authentic" nepali dish. And this surely made the cut. The place is somewhat small but big enough to accommodate a group. There's not much to look at when it comes to decor and has more of a cafe (as you can guess from the name :) ) feel to it. Let's get down to business now. Everything we ordered were really good. Since this restaurant is recognized for it's "Newari" food - we had to order the "Chatamari" - aka Newari Pizza. It was good but not what I imagined it to be. Other than that, we got the Wai Wai Sadeko, Aloo Paloo, Tareko Macha (Fried Fish), Chicken Kothe Momo, Veg Kothe Momo and Chilli Momo. My favorite was the Fried Fish and my least favorite was the Aloo Paloo. I'm a big potato eater but the Aloo Paloo was just a bit soggy for me. Nevertheless, my visit here did not disappoint me. The price is very reasonable and the service wasn't too bad either. Tip: The food here are really spicy so make sure to ask them to tone down on the spice level especially when ordering dish that's supposed to be somewhat spicy. read more

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Food: worst Nepali food I have ever eaten. Decor: ok. Service: never got water refilled. The lady never comes out the counter. Weird attitude..!! Value: ok. I really don't like to give bad reviews. I tried the place on my wedding anniversary day with my wife. It looked pretty crowded, a gentleman welcomed nicely. We were said to wait for 5 min but took about 10 min to get the table.. A dish with potatoes ( forgot the name) was too spicy and nobody warned.. Their thali looked nice but tasted totally bland. The appetizer (potatoes) came even in the thali and nobody even told. The chickpeas were just boiled, non of the refill was requested..!! Wasted the money..!!! read more

I do not eat out at any Nepalese restaurants because I love my Mom's cooking so much that I refuse to believe that there are people out there who can actually cook better Nepalese food than my Mom. Woodside cafe is an exception though. The food here is excellent. The word excellent does not even do any justice. From waiwai sadeko to the pink cream sauce momo (dumpling in their special sauce) and the chicken lollipop and chicken thali (I am a meat lover) and... I can just go on forever. They make the best Lassi in town girl. I usually get the plain ones but the mango one is very tasty too. The consistency is just right(some lassi can be too heavy and thick). They have set up a new bar recently (a little bit of booze never hurts) and the drink I would recommend to everyone is piña colada. It is so gooood! I come here once a week and my madre is very disappointed that I love their Momos more than hers now. Lol. Get the Momos guys! Kothe and Pink cream momo are the best with a lot of their chili on top or side or anywhere. YUMZ I can literally feel it in my mouth now. Brb! Almost forgot, the service here is really superb! Get your purse/wallet and get going STAT to this place! read more

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My brother took me here one weekend that I was visiting. I had never had Nepali food, so I wasn't sure what to expect! The first thing I noticed when we walked in was the smell. It was pretty terrible. After a while, I got used to it, but it is very pungent when you first walk in there. Anyway, we were seated right away. For an appetizer, we ordered the papad, which I LOVE. It came with a sauce, almost like a salsa. So delicious. We also got an order of the musya palu - roasted soybeans with mustard oil, ginger and garlic. These were so tasty, but HOLY HELL they were spicy. I couldn't stop eating them because they were so good, but my mouth was on fire. For my meal, I got an order of the woh and then an order of the momo. I am obsessed with dumplings, so I thoroughly enjoyed the momo and ate every last one of them. The woh was interesting. It was very good, but I'd try something else on the menu next time. Overall, an interesting place. Don't let the smell deter you! read more

The food itself is pretty sub-par. I've been to a good deal of the Nepali restaurants around Queens and they're all better than this place. But the portions here are absolutely enormous (like, an appetizer has an entree-sized portion), so I'm giving them an extra star for their generosity. Honestly, some of the dishes would have been improved simply by adding more salt. We ordered take out, so I don't know if the experience is better if you dine-in. read more

NOT a place for family. The worst environment inside restaurant. The person who is responsible in Kitchen comes outside and hang out with girls. When asked for steamed chicken momo , they take about an hour to serve the food. when they finally bring it, its overcooked. read more

Woodside Cafe - KOTHE MOMO ? - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Woodside, New York

I came here to try something different ftom the cuisine I usually eat. The service here was slow and the food was just ok. Keep in mind that I never had Nepalese food before so I can't compare it to other places. Portions were large though; I had the thali. read more

I'm not a fan of their momo or sauces (don't know how they made it on that my times list.) The service is pretty much awful, but that doesn't bother me much as long as the food doesn't take forever and ever. The other food is really good. I love the sukuti, I've tried a bunch of other dishes which are so good. read more

The food is soooo good and filling! Definitely try the regular thali if you don't like food that is that spicy and the Newari thali if you like spicy food. My favorite though was the dessert - ras malai, it's like nothing I've tried before! It's not too sweet, and it's so milky!The mango lassi was the best drink I tried!and definitely try the momo, that's what the restaurant is popular about. In conclusion, Nepali food rocks :D read more

I was saddened by the few people that were in the restaurant on a recent Saturday so I thought I would start a review. Woodside Cafe is what got me into momos in the first place and it's momos are what I compare any other ones I come across in the neighborhood. Thus far, nothing has compared to their scrumptious and savory kothe momos or the heat and crunch of their red-hot chili momos. I've had them in meat filled versions but I actually prefer their lighter vegetarian kind. I also really love their thalis, filled with assorted veggie curries and meat, if you choose. Each time I've had that, they've asked if I wanted a refill on the vegetarian curries or rice, which is really nice. And unusual for a place in this neighborhood, they have a fully stocked bar with very cheap cocktails. Go here, you won't be disappointed. read more

Pros: i like the food and friendly staff. Cons: Chatamari was too salty. In thali, kidney beans looked like they were left overs and the greens had no leaves just stems, only bits of cauliflower in the curry (not even a tsp of it) so why even bother putting it in? Maybe they just scraped the last bits in the pan? I'd rather they give bhatmas or some other things to make up for it instead they scrape out and sprinkle it on top and act like thats enough. This happened when i dined in and when i got delivery so its not a 1 time thing thats bothering me. They hiked up the prices but the quality has gone downhill. It used to be as good as lali guras thali but now i'd rather go there instead or the other nepali place few blocks up thats open till 3 am. read more

OMG!!! The best place for MoMo's ever... I had the chicken momo's which had wonderful rich spices that brought life into my soul! The second I took a bite into it I felt like I was in heaven. The cilantro, hint of garlic, onion and mild spices just was immaculate. Also I requested for their hot chili sauce on the side! WOW.. amazing! however be careful it is Spicy!!! I can't stop thinking about woodside cafe "Every little thing I do your[W.Cafe] on my mind'---- Soul For Real. read more

Good prices. Strong drinks. Goat bhutan is great. Im no expert in this type of cuisine but to me everything I have tried is excellent. Some people complain it is not "the best" but for the price and my taste buds I am giving 5 stars. I have tried Pork curry, salmon dish, bhutan and various sides. Service is good but is not "fast". It is a cafe so maybe there is some inconsistencies day to day which is why the reviews vary so much, but the stuff i order is always good. read more