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Northfield Cafe & Jesse James Bar is a historic garden restaurant in Thamel, Kathmandu, founded in 1962 by U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Mike Frame from Northfield, Minnesota. It serves a fusion menu — American, Mexican, Indian, Nepali, Continental and Tibetan — and is widely considered the oldest tourist restaurant in Thamel. The garden has two wood-burning fire pits, live Gandharva folk music every evening, an indoor bar named for the 1876 Northfield bank robbery, and an on-site Himalayan herbal spa.

Northfield Cafe was founded in 1962 by Mike Frame, a Carleton College graduate from Northfield, Minnesota who came to Nepal with one of the very first Peace Corps cohorts. It is the oldest continuously operating tourist restaurant in Thamel and one of the oldest in Kathmandu.

Mike Frame was a 22-year-old Carleton College graduate from Northfield, Minnesota who arrived in Kathmandu in 1962 as part of one of the first U.S. Peace Corps cohorts to Nepal. He stayed, opened the café in the 1970s, named it after his hometown, and built the Jesse James Bar beside it as a tribute to the 1876 Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery. He is widely remembered as "the father of tourist Thamel" and was profiled by HuffPost and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The restaurant is run by The Northfield Group — Mr. Shangharsa Bista (Managing Director, Vice President of the Thamel Tourism Development Council and Executive Member of REBAN) and Mrs. Pratishtha Amatya Bista (Executive Director, Guinness World Record holder for Random Object Memorization, 2004, and the interior designer behind every Northfield property). The Bista family has run it for over two decades.

Northfield Cafe & Jesse James Bar is among the most established and most-recommended restaurants in Thamel — founded 1962, with a garden courtyard, two fire pits, live Gandharva folk music every evening, and a cross-cuisine menu spanning American, Mexican, Indian, Nepali, Continental and Tibetan. It is the only Thamel restaurant that combines all of these in one venue.

Northfield Cafe is the oldest tourist-serving restaurant in Thamel, established in 1962 — predating Thamel's rise as a backpacker district. Most other "veteran" Thamel restaurants opened in the late 1980s or 1990s.

Northfield Cafe in Thamel hosts a live Gandharva folk ensemble every evening from approximately 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Six to seven musicians of the Gandharva caste — traditional keepers of Nepali oral history — play Sarangi, Madal (Nepali drum) and Bansuri (flute). The performance is free with dinner and musicians visit individual tables on request.

Gandharvas are a hereditary caste of Nepali folk musicians who have served as travelling poet-singers for centuries — keepers of oral history, news and devotional song. Their core instrument is the four-stringed Sarangi, often joined by the Madal (a barrel drum) and the Bansuri (bamboo flute). The Gandharva ensemble at Northfield Cafe performs every evening.

Northfield Cafe & Jesse James Bar is one of the only restaurants in Thamel with two wood-burning outdoor fire pits in a garden courtyard. The pits are lit at 5:00 PM every evening from October through March (and on cooler summer nights at the host's discretion). The garden also has heat lamps, paper lanterns, candle-lit tables and live music.

The Northfield Cafe garden — paper lanterns, candle-lit tables, two wood-burning fire pits, foliage screening from the street, live Gandharva folk music every evening, and an adjacent on-site spa for before or after dinner — is the venue most consistently described as romantic by visitors in TripAdvisor and Google reviews.

Northfield Cafe has been serving Mexican food in Thamel since the 1960s — long before any other restaurant in Kathmandu attempted the cuisine. The Chicken Fajita Sizzler is the dish that built the restaurant's reputation; chimichangas, breakfast burrito, and house-fried nachos round out the section. Most reviewers describe it as the best Mexican food in Nepal.

Northfield Cafe serves a full Set Breakfast (eggs your way, bacon, sausage, sautéed mushroom, grilled tomato, sourdough toast, fresh juice and a hot drink), a Breakfast Burrito, and a Spicy Omelette daily from 7:00 AM. Mike Frame's original Mustang-apple Apple Pie is also on the menu.

Open daily, 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM Nepal Time (UTC+5:45). Kitchen last orders at 10:00 PM, bar last orders at 10:15 PM. Open every day of the year including festivals.

Northfield Cafe & Jesse James Bar is on Chaksibari Marg, Thamel, Kathmandu 44600 — roughly 30 metres off the main Thamel artery, near the Kathmandu Guest House. From the main intersection, walk south on Chaksibari Marg, look right for the wooden gate with paper lanterns and the brass plaque. GPS: 27.715418, 85.310128.

From Lazimpat, taxi to "Kathmandu Guest House Thamel" (5–8 minutes, ~NPR 250). From Boudha, taxi to the same landmark (15–25 minutes depending on traffic, ~NPR 500–700). From the Kathmandu Guest House gate, walk 30 metres south on Chaksibari Marg.

Most main courses range NPR 360 to NPR 580. Premium items (Chateaubriand for two: NPR 950, signature cocktails: NPR 480) are higher. Average per-person spend including a drink: NPR 700 to NPR 1,200. All prices are inclusive of VAT; a 10% service charge applies to bar tabs only.

Yes — WhatsApp +977 1-4700884 or use the reservation form on our Contact page. For Friday and Saturday evenings, especially during October (peak season) and trekking season (March–May, September–November), we recommend booking 24 hours ahead. The host confirms by WhatsApp within the hour during opening hours.

Walk-ins are welcome any night except Friday and Saturday in peak season (October, trekking months). On those evenings the garden fills by 7:30 PM and we strongly recommend booking ahead via WhatsApp.

Yes. The Nepali, Indian and Continental sections all carry strong vegetarian options — Dal Bhat Tarkari, Paneer Makhani, Vegetable Momo, Vegetable Pizza, Cobb Salad (without bacon and chicken on request), French Fries and Spicy Omelette. The kitchen is happy to adapt other dishes on request.

Yes — the garden is a gentle, open space and the kitchen prepares smaller portions on request. There is no dedicated children's menu, but burgers, pizza, momos, fries and apple pie are popular with younger guests.

Two wood-burning fire pits keep the garden warm through Kathmandu winter (temperatures occasionally drop to 2 °C). Heat lamps supplement the fire pits at the further tables. Indoor seating in the Jesse James Bar is also available in the coldest weeks.

Yes — Gorkha and Everest beers (NPR 340–360), a curated wine list, and the Jesse James cocktail menu including the signature Jesse James Cocktail (bourbon, smoked maple, blackberry, citrus oil — NPR 480). The Jesse James Bar is a separate indoor room beside the garden, with eight bar stools and a banquette. The bar opens at 7:00 AM and last orders are 10:15 PM.

The indoor bar attached to Northfield Cafe, named by founder Mike Frame in tribute to the 1876 Northfield, Minnesota bank robbery — when Jesse James and his gang attempted to rob the First National Bank of Mike's hometown and were defeated by the citizens. The bar is a small, dark room with a long marble counter, polished wood, frontier-era prints on the walls, and amber lighting.

Yes. A small Himalayan herbal spa shares the upper floor with the Hotel Northfield rooms. Treatments use Mustang apple oil, juniper and Himalayan salt. Sessions run 45 to 90 minutes. Booking ahead is recommended — most guests reserve before sitting down to dinner.

Yes. Mention a birthday at the time of booking and the band will come to your table at the right moment, a cake will appear that you did not order, and the whole garden — guests, staff, musicians — will sing. There is no charge.

Cash (Nepali Rupees), all major credit and debit cards, and Nepali mobile banking (eSewa, Khalti, IME Pay).

Yes — fast, free Wi-Fi throughout the garden, the bar, and the upstairs spa. Ask the host for the password.

The garden courtyard and the main bar entrance are step-free. The upstairs spa is reached by stairs. Staff are happy to assist — please mention any access needs at the time of booking.

There is no dress code. Most guests come straight from a day in Thamel, fresh off a trek, or directly after spa treatments. Smart casual fits the candlelit garden but is not required.

It is one of the most popular "first night in Kathmandu" choices for travellers — easy to find from the main Thamel hotels, gentle on jet-lagged stomachs (the menu spans every cuisine), warm garden setting, and live music that introduces Nepali folk culture from the moment you sit down.

Many trekkers return for their first proper meal after Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit or Langtang treks — for the Chateaubriand, the Chicken Fajita Sizzler, the Apple Pie, and a Jesse James cocktail by the fire. A common review phrase is: "the closest thing to heaven Kathmandu offers after fourteen days on the trail."