Recommended Restaurants in Lhasa
Guangming Gangqiong sweet tea houseIf you want to experience authentic Tibetan life in Lhasa, then you have to come and have a cup of tea at Guangming Gangqiong sweet tea house.It is the biggest and oldest local sweet tea house. Take a tea cup by yourself and put the money on the table. Then someone will come and pour the tea for you. Sweet tea tastes a little like milk tea. A cup of tea costs only 70 cents RMB, which is very cheap.If you are not used to the taste of buttered tea, sweet tea can be a great alternative. You can just relax and bath in the sunshine on a cup of tea. The waiter will refill for you just when you put an empty cup on the table. Everything here is so warm and soothing, you may feel you can spend the rest of you life here.
Address: Hotel Shambhala, Tibetan hospital road, Chengguan district, Lhasa (near Beijing middle road)
Transportation: take bus No. 7, 8 or 20 and get off at Cemenlin station, the tea house is about 120 meters away
Per capita consumption: 6 RMB
Canggu temple sweet tea house
Canggu temple sweet tea house is an authentic Tibetan restaurant in Canggu temple. The shop is clean and comfortable, and a bit quieter than the bustling Guangming Gangqiong sweet tea house. Walking through the front door, you will find the tea house behind the wall. Nuns of the temple will wait on you, and they serve sweet tea, Tibetan buns and buttered tea.
Address: Lin kuo road north, Chengguan district, Lhasa
Transportation: take bus no. 5, get off at the cordyceps trading center and walk for about 200 meters
Per capita consumption: 6 RMB
The cave sweet tea house
The cave sweet tea house is on the west side of Potala palace, there is no sign board so it is a bit hard to find. People who come here are basically local Tibetans.Though the tea house might be a bit small, it could be a perfect place to rest your feet while having some thing to bite on having visited the Potala palace.
Address: Lin kuo road north, Chengguan district, Lhasa
Transportation: take bus no. 1,11,12,17,24 or26，then get off at the Labai station and walk for about 200 meters
Per capita consumption: 6 RMB
Arokang restaurant
The Arokang restaurant is near Jokhang temple and is many travelers’ favorite, not only for its inexpensiveness, but also because they offer tasty dishes. If you are not used to authentic Tibetan food, you might as well come here and try the "reformed school". Fried lamb chops, turnip beef stew, Zanba, buttered tea, yogurt and barley wine are their specialties.
Address: 21 Dosengge youth south road, Chengguan district, Lhasa
Transportation: take bus no. 23，then get off at civil aviation bureau station and walk for about 50 meters
Per capita consumption: 45 RMB
Snow land restaurants
Snow land restaurant can be a good choice when you don't know where to eat. The shop is decorated in a unique style, and the teapots also have their own characteristics. Tibetan food, Nepalese food and western food are all available here. The price is medium and the taste is good. We recommend cheese cake, chicken curry set meal, barley wine, roast mutton chop, buttered tea, sweet tea, etc.
Address: Dosengge north road, Chengguan district, Lhasa (near Guangming Gangqiong sweet tea house)
Transportation: take bus No. 7, 8 or 20, and get off at Cemenlin station, the tea house is about 120 meters away
Per capita consumption: 64 RMB
Gangki restaurant
Gangki restaurant is a popular Tibetan restaurant on the internet, which is located beside the square of Jokhang temple. If you go there early, you may get an open-air seat on the second floor to enjoy the view of Jokhang temple in sunset. Their potato bun is very interesting and unique, with potatoes on the outside and yak beef on the inside. Besides, fried yak noodles, sweet tea, ghee tea and yogurt are recommended.
Address: next to Jokhang temple, Chengguan district, Lhasa (near Bajiao street)
Transportation: take bus No. 7, 8 or 20, and get off at Cemenlin station then walk about 120 meters
Per capita consumption: 46 RMB
Snow shrine Tibetan restaurant
At the foot of the hill to the west of the Potala palace, Snow shrine Tibetan restaurant is one of the most upscale Tibetan restaurants, of which all the waitresses are Tibetan girl. They make roasted yak tongue that is crusty on the outside and juicy on the inside. Fried ginseng fruit rice, fried raisin rice are also very popular. This restaurant serves authentic Tibetan taste, but some people may not be be able to adapt to the taste of it.
Address: opposite of Potala palace square, Beijing middle road, Chengguan district, Lhasa city (located on the west side of the Potala palace wall)
Transportation: take bus No. 13 or 17, and get off at Baita station
Per capita consumption: 74 RMB Ganglameduo
Tibetan paintings and watercolors hang on the walls of Gonlamedo, which make eating there a unique experience . They make good Tibetan mutton chop and Tibetan steak , yogurt, sweet tea and barley wine are also popular choices. Address: no. 127, east Beijing road, Chengguan district, Lhasa
Transportation: take bus no. 7, 8 or 20 and get off at Cemenlin station
Per capita consumption: 76 RMB
Makye Ame
Makye Ame is the most famous restaurant on Barkhor street. The restaurant runs in a small two-story yellow building. According to words of mouth, it was where Tsangyang Gyatso met Makye Ame and wrote the famous on the Top of the Mountains in the East, which made it one of the must-visit places in Lhasa.
Makye Ame is a tasteful artistic bar with walls covered in paintings, photographs and shelves filled with original books. You can listen to melodious folk music while reading one of them. There is a terrace on the roof, which is the best place to overlook the Barkhor street. Because of the dazzlingly elegant decoration,food becomes less important. Most people like to order a cup of sweet tea and relax quietly for a while sitting by the window.
Address: the intersection of Barkhor street and Dongzi road, Chengguan district, Lhasa (yellow two-story building)
Transportation: within walking distance from Jokhang temple square Per capita consumption: 74 RMB
Namasade restaurant (Yuta road)
Namasade is on second floor of the intersection on Yuta road, you might pass it by without noticing if you don’t look close. It is a very popular restaurant,, you night have to wait for a table.The restaurant offers Nepalese and Indian dish.Masala chicken with Nan is their signature dish. Masala is a mixture of tomato sauce and curry, and Nan is kind of like a salty and crispy scone, you can have it with masala dip. The deep - fried lamb chops are a bit greasy, but they come in large bowel. Don't forget to order a pot of sweet tea to wash your meal down.
Address: 2nd floor of Everest Weiye building, no. 30 Yutuo road, Chengguan district, Lhasa(near Dosengge south road) Transportation: take bus No. 23, and get off at civil aviation bureau station then walk about 300 meters
Per capita consumption: 56 RMB
Tianhai night market
The famous Tianhai night market is located in the western suburb of Lhasa, near the Nepalese embassy and is not far from Norbulingka. Each booth is filled with customers, and the market is always crowded with people.
The market mainly serves barbecue, including Sichuan barbecue and Golmud barbecue (Muslim food). please don’t take food with you when eating Golmud barbecue, and some booths forbid drinking. Roasted mutton cubes, yak beef, lamb legs, steamed stuffed buns, vegetables and etc.all taste wonderful with sprinkles of cumin, fragrant. Vegetables is charged a bit higher than usual on the highland. You can have a small local watermelon, which will bring a refreshing feeling with its sweetness.
Address: Tianhai road, Chengguan district, Lhasa city
Transportation: take bus no. 26 and get off at Dekang Minju station
Per capita consumption: 27 RMB
