Kirola Restaurant - One of the Best Restaurants in Bhowali Range, Kainch, Uttarakhand - Popular for delicious mutton meal and also serves vegetarian food
We missed stopping at this restaurant back in 2015 when we were travelling to Binsar. It's not that we hadn't heard of the place, it was just that if you do not know how unobvious this small, yet insanely famous, eatery is, you will most likely miss noticing it as you pass the otherwise crowded road near Kainchi Dham.
Though the restaurant has great food options for vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians, the restaurant is most talked about for two things - its mutton curry which they serve with Tandoori roti, and also the pakode, which are prepared by the shop next door and are served with a spicy green chutney.
We were at this place again in July this year (2021) post the lockdown when we went visiting Firdaus with friends. But this time the difference was that we were with people who are well familiar with the area and we had specifically planned to have lunch at Kirola restaurant.
So we parked the car at the side of the road, as is practice here, at considerable distance from the restaurant because the place was absolutely jam packed with cars even with considerably reduced number of tourists. And then we walked back to the restaurant. The streets were difficult to walk because of the amount of mixed traffic but we saw some adorable puppies en-route, so that kind of made up for this slight inconvenience.
The restaurant itself is a very humble-looking place and is actually more of a dhaba. However, as of today, it has 90 google reviews (honestly this number sounds very low compared to how many people talk about it) and is rated 4.1. In happier (pre-covid) times, the restaurant used to stay open 24 hours a day, but now it is open from 10am to 11pm.
We ordered the standard fare of 3 mutton curries for the 4 of us and tandoori rotis. We also ordered pakode from the small shop next to the Kirola restaurant (though you can pay for those too at the restaurant itself). The advantage of ordering the most popular items at a restaurant is that the service is usually prompt. However, this time it was lightning fast and the food was on our table almost as soon as we ordered it. As most of the reviews as well commend the restaurant for its awesome service, I assume the experience is acceptable even for non-standard orders.
The server who was assigned to us was efficient and warm and that is not a priceless combination when it comes to restaurant business. For example, he was quick and smooth in delivering our order, and at the same time kept a watch at when our rotis were getting over. He even did that typically Indian thing of "ek aur to chalegi" with a broad smile. And that makes hell of a difference to the experience.
Now coming to the most important aspect of the experience - the food itself. The mutton was tender and very optimally spiced and the curry was good too. The roti was hot and fresh and crisp where it should be crisp. However, the usual serving is one plate of curry per person. Unless you are extremely hungry, you may find it difficult to finish, because yes, the curry is heavy. So you can do what we did, order 3 portions for 4 people. The pakode were okay too.
Next time when you are visiting Bhimtal or Almora, Ranikhet, or Binsar, we definitely recommend a stop here especially if you are fond of non-veg food. Use google maps otherwise you may miss it and with the crowded roads, may not be motivated to turn back. Hope you enjoy the place as much as we did.
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