Himalayan House Completes Building Renovation, Features New Dining Room
When Himalayan House owners Prabhu and Bhagya Thapa were in the market for a larger home, their son Prabhat Thapa convinced them to put an addition on their building at 1522 E. Fort Ave. in Locust Point. The Thapas loved the idea and spent the last few years planning and completing a renovation, which now added an expanded home upstairs and a brand new restaurant on the first floor.
Himalayan House reopened its dining room in July. It had been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The carry-out business stayed open during the renovation other than a 30-day period when the kitchen was renovated.
Prabhu Thapa called Locust Point “the best place in Maryland.” He said Baltimore reminds him of Katmandu, one of the cities he resided in in his native Nepal.
The Thapas moved to Baltimore in 2006 from Nepal to be closer to Prabhu Thapa’s sister. They opened Himalayan House as a small grocery story and Indian and Nepalese carry-out, but the Thapas eliminated the grocery store in 2017 and transitioned it into a dining room.
Prabhu Thapa has been a restauranteur since the age of 16 and still owns a restaurant in Katmandu. While Himalayan House has Indian and Nepali dishes, Prabhu Thapa said all the plates have a Nepali flare.
Prabhu Thapa noted everything at Himalayan House is made fresh to order and not prepared ahead of time. The Thapas hire cooks from Nepal to work in the kitchen.
The color scheme in the new dining room is a nod to the most popular spices in the kitchen, turmeric (gold) and chili pepper (red). The new dining room has a lot of extra natural light thanks to a large new window facing Fort Ave. and three new windows on the side of the building facing Cooksie St.
The interior has new wood floors, new trim, new tables, and pictures of Nepal on the walls.
Prabhu Thapa said the building was gutted down to the beams.
The entrance has a new ramp which makes it handicap accessible, but Prabhu Thapa noted it’s also a benefit to the large amount of parents pushing strollers around the neighborhood. Himalayan House is next door to The Baltimore Montessori and across the street from Latrobe Park.
The exterior brick was redone, and a new LED Himalayan House sign was added.
The building was expanded from two stories to three to build the larger apartment upstairs. It also has a new deck overlooking the park.
Prabhu Thapa said the renovation has led to a large increase of dine-in customers and they hope to lure more. The restaurant still fulfills many carry-out and delivery orders.
Some of the most popular dishes at Himalayan House are the Chicken Momo, a Nepali-style dumpling; the Chicken Tikka Masala; and vegetarian dishes Saag Paneer and Bhindi Masala. The menu offers a variety of dishes from Himalayan House’s Tandoori clay oven, as well as fresh breads, rice dishes, and chicken, seafood, and lamb meals.
Drinks include Mango Lassi and Nepali tea, as well as sodas.
Himalayan House is now open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am to 10pm; Friday and Saturday from 10am to 1030pm; and Sunday from 11am to 10pm.
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
