Hidden behind Flybar (or is it Barfly?) on Divisadero and Fulton there used to be a little hole-in-the-wall Jamaican place. I always wanted to eat there, but never could.

Why?

It wasn’t ever open. Never, ever. It was there back in the days when your Divisadero dining choices were Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken, a bagel at the Bean Bag from before they had actual food, and Phuket Thai, who would at least deliver enormous thai iced teas and lots of peanut sauce. Not much, and the Jamaican place always made me want to eat at Palmer’s back in New Orleans, which was more problematic than trying to get to a restaurant with no hours.

Khatmandu has opened in the spot behind FlyBarFly. They serve Himalayan food, the promise of which brought me and D-Yo out on a quietish Wednesday night, where I’d give her my feedback on a couple of chapters of her Africa book.

Khatmandu is pretty spare and unassuming inside: Eight or so tables covered with white tablecloths and glass on top, plain wallpaper with the requisite posters of the homeland cover the walls, and a divider leading to a hidden kitchen area. The place looks like it was carved out of the back room of another building and spruced up by new tenants who hoped to do better later. It probably was back in its Jamaican days.

We were warmly greeted after seating ourselves, and browsed the menu. There were a lot of familiar words and dishes that reminded me of the geographical closeness between Nepal, India, and Pakistan. The dishes are similar, but spiced differently; there’s generally less heat and more subtle smoky flavors; a whisper of a curry rather than a shout.

We started off with an order of vegetable pakora ($3.50). This was, perhaps, a mistake; the waitress said it was as good as the ground chicken dumplings, but any ground chicken dumpling would be better than the thickly breaded bunch of onions that arrived. It was little heavy and didn’t contain much flavor, and unfortunately no sauces came along with it. Fortunately, a little complimentary raita had come in along with complmentary Chapati before, which helped the thick breading go down.

Our entrees were much better, particularly the fish curry ($9.95). The curry came in a small metal bowl with a creamy (but not cream-based) sauce that was full of subtle flavors. It was like a Tikka Masala that decided to hide and make you seek it out. After the fish was gone, D-Yo and I soaked it up with the whole wheat Paratha ($2), a wafery layered bread that was baked and spread with butter. We passed over the wonderfully named butter chicken ($8.95) for the sautéed chicken ($8.95), which promised mixed vegetables and chicken in a slightly sour sauce. The dish was fine: the chicken was juicy and tender; the sauce was pleasantly sweet with the tiniest hint of sour; but the vegetables, green and red peppers and onions, were barely cooked enough to heat them up, but they still released all their raw flavor, which didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the meal.

Kathmandu has a wide selection of beers—appropriately, mostly lagers, a smaller selection of inexpensive wines, as well as delectable lassi—both mango as well as an enchanting rosewater lassi. ($3) The large Taj Mahal complimented our meals nicely.

All in all it was a pleasant experience—if I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll likely go back. The temptation of a number of other sauces awaits; if they can just weed out a few iffy dishes the place could become one of those fabulous holes in the wall that you’d be excited to take your friends to.

Kathmandu
1279 Fulton St (at Divisadero)
San Francisco, 94117
(415) 567-5100
Beer and wine