After midnight in Thamel, a handful of bars and a few kitchens run on, the shops are shut, and by around 1 AM the lanes are quiet. Lazimpat goes quiet considerably earlier — it is hotels and apartments, not a nightlife strip. What stays available in both is delivery, and in Thamel’s case a taxi. Almost nothing else.
The two sit fifteen minutes apart and behave nothing alike after dark, which is worth knowing before you plan a night around either.
Thamel, hour by hour
Until around 11 PM. Most of the strip is still going. Shops on Thamel Marg are closing or closed.
11 PM to around 1 AM. The live music venues and the later bars. This is the busiest window for us too — if you know you will want something at midnight, message at 10:30 rather than at 12:05.
After 1 AM. Shutters down, lanes narrow and dark, and the last stretch of any delivery here is on foot because a bike cannot get down them. Give us a guest house or restaurant name rather than a street number; that is what our riders navigate by. Full detail on the Thamel delivery page.
Getting out. Taxis wait at the edges of Thamel later than anywhere else in the city, and the ride apps still run. This is the one part of Kathmandu where leaving at 3 AM is a solved problem — getting home safely has the current picture.
Lazimpat, which is a different night entirely
Lazimpat is embassies, hotels and long-stay serviced flats. There is no strip and there is no crowd. What that means in practice:
- It empties early. By midnight it is residential quiet.
- Hotel bars are the exception, and they are for guests more often than not.
- Deliveries are fast. It is a short run from the centre, so Lazimpat is usually at the quick end of our window. Details on the Lazimpat delivery page.
- The rider calls from the gate. Most buildings here are gated with a guard. Tell us the building name and floor and it goes to the door.
What to order, and when
The useful rule for both areas is order before the thing you want it for, not during. A room that is out of mixers at 1:40 AM waits for a run; a room that ordered at 11:30 does not.
Most-asked-for by name: Gorkha Strong, Tuborg Gold, Old Durbar and Khukuri. The thing most often forgotten is the mixers, sodas and water. The full list is on the menu.
If you are between the two
Naxal, Hattisar, Panipokhari and Chhetrapati all fall on one or other of these runs, and the surrounding areas are on the delivery page with their own landmarks and timings.
The rules, plainly
18 or over for alcohol and tobacco, photo ID may be requested at the door, and we refuse any order we believe is for a minor or for someone who has had enough for one night. Never drink and drive — if you are out in Thamel, get a ride home.