Nepalese restaurants are popping up in pubs all over Cambridgeshire at the moment. With locations in Whittlesey, Waterbeach, Girton, and Newmarket Road, just to name a few, they seem to be all the craze.

What many people do not realise, however, is that these restaurants are all part of the same local chain, Lapen Inns (Nepal spelled backwards). There is nothing wrong with this, of course, as their food is delicious and a breath of fresh air in an area dominated by Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, but it does mean that once you have tried one, you have pretty much tried them all.

The good news is that a new independent Nepalese restaurant has set up in the Plough & Harrow in Littleport a few months ago, offering a distinct take on the cuisine.

The restaurant is divided into two rooms: the left side retains a casual pub atmosphere, while the right offers a more formal dining feel. A TV plays 4k videos of beautiful Nepalese landscapes, helping you embrace the spiritual home of the food you are about to enjoy. It isn’t going to win any awards for style but it is humble and practical, serving its intended purpose perfectly.

• Read the menu here

Trust the team

​I decided to put my trust in the staff and asked the waitress behind the bar for her recommendations. She suggested the goat curry and chilli momos.

Chilli momos

The monos were absolutely incredible! Served in a thick, spicy sauce with red peppers, they were a far cry from the anaemic momos I previously had at the one in Girton. 

They were noticeably larger, more plump, and absolutely packed. The dough was softer, and I was glad to see the kitchen wasn’t scared to give them a proper spicy kick. These are a must for anyone visiting!

This reaffirms differences between the cuisine here and Lapen Inn restaurants and is great news for fans of Nepalese cuisine looking for something different.

Goat curry

Pictured here with pilau rice, this goat curry hit all the right spots. The meat was incredibly tender thanks to slow cooking. While it shared some similarities with a typical Bangladeshi curry, the use of authentic, imported Nepalese spices gave it a different character profile – more subtle and mild, without an overly aggressive spicy punch. Portion sizes were about average, maybe verging on slightly small but it will be enough to serve anyone other than fat, out of control foodies who don’t know when you stop stuffing their face (like me 🤣).

Daal & peshwari naan

Because I was looking for any excuse to abandon my post-Christmas January diet, I ordered some daal and a naan on the side to make sure I had enough food to review (I selflessly do this for you guys! 🤣)

This turned out to be a brilliant move. The tadka daal had a rich, buttery flavour, likely thanks to the fried ghee. The peshwari naan was absolutely loaded with filling and wrapped in soft, warm bread, making it one of the best examples I have had in ages. If the curry didn’t fill me up then this certainly finished me off.

A must for any fan of Nepalese

The Plough & Harrow is a real foodie find, offering a unique and truly independent take on Nepalese cuisine in Cambridgeshire. I could not fault a single thing this evening, and there is still so much more to explore (I am looking at you, grill menu). Being located in a pub means it might not be the first choice for a formal date night, but it is ideal for almost any other occasion. If I was a local Littleport resident, I would be over the moon with this addition to the village.

Thanks for reading