Almost every house on Pokhara’s Lakeside has a restaurant. Sometimes there are two or more in the same building. The abundance of eateries was killing our appetite, so we settled for the closest one which happened to be Lemon Tree at Central Lakeside.
The two storey restaurant, which was recently renovated, has bright orange walls, a spacious sitting area on the top floor with the bustling lakeside below and fragmented view of the Phewa lake across.
Like most restaurants in Lakeside, the four page menu offers everything from Chinese to Indian to Continental, Italian and Newari delicacies.
Since we dropped by for a quick afternoon bite, we first ordered chips chili (Rs 160). Although the thick wedges of potatoes with few capsicums thrown over didn’t look tempting, it turned out to be surprisingly good. Unlike most places the potatoes are just perfectly crispy and the red chili sauce isn’t too overpowering. The large pieces make it enough for two to get the appetite rolling.
After the spicy starter we ordered vegetable mushroom enchilada (Rs 230, pic right). Covered generously with mozzarella cheese, the enchilada tasted every bit good as it looked. As you bite into the crispy corn tortilla, the sauteed mushroom and beans with melted cheese burst with flavours in your mouth. Even the most hardcore meat and potato lovers wouldn’t mind turning vegetarian for this cheesy delight.
Hoping to end our meal on a sweet note, we ordered chocolate cake (Rs 150) that was encased in a glass right at the entrance. The fluffy white cream whipped only made it further tempting. However, what came on our table was a major disappointment. Instead of light buttery texture, the cream on top was too sweet and tasted rather soapy. Despite a lackluster start, I dug into it only to be further disappointed. The pastry had a coconut flavour with excessive sugar oozing in every bite. There was no freshness whatsoever and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a trace of anything close to a chocolate cake.
While the meal started on tasty note the end was a bit tragic. But you can always skip the dessert and try Lemon’s mind boggling variety of delicacies while admiring the lake outside and the traditional Newari style decor inside.
GOOGLE MAPS
How to get there: a few steps from Hotel Mountain Top at centre point in Lakeside you will find Lemon Tree on your left.