Sonam's Kitchen: The Best Restaurant for Breakfast In Darjeeling

   So I have been reading various reviews about places to eat in Darjeeling and as being a local, I had never actually got around Darjeeling like a tourist so thought why not spend a day as a tourist in my own hometown. When I checked for good restaurant ratings and rankings in TripAdvisor, this restaurant, Sonam's Kitchen, happened to top the list of the best restaurant in Darjeeling so thought of trying.

The menu at Sonam's Kitchen, Darjeeling.

       This place isn't hard to locate and is located in quite a familiar place for tourists. It is quite close from Chowrasta, taking a two minutes walk from there via the stable and a little up hill and there you are. There are two restaurants with the name Sonam's Kitchen, but basically both situated on opposite sides, belong to the same owner and serve the same food. As I walked in, I saw various guests enjoying their breakfast, all of whom were white folks from Europe, and we managed to squeeze in on a table.

      The restaurant was a small one but was quite fascinating. The walls and tables had small sheets of paper, which had hand written comments about the restaurant from people who had visited the place from around the world. A corner of the restaurant had a small book shelf with some novels and magazines stacked. A gentleman walked in and handed me the menu and a scribbling pad for me to write my order. The menu was basically an exclusive breakfast menu, with set breakfasts, pan cakes, pastas, etc. After scanning briefly through the menu, we ordered a set breakfast menu for one, which consisted of hash browns. toasts, scrambled eggs and cheese; pancakes with banana and chocolate for another. We ordered coffee and hot chocolate for drinks.

Delicious Hot Chocolate

      In a couple of minutes, we were served the hot chocolate and coffee. The menu said 'Coffee, The Real Thing' so was wondering how it would be and it was exactly the way I like. Strong Americano with little milk on side seemed perfect. The owner of the place who seem to run the restaurant seemed really friendly and conversant. We was quite friendly with the guests around and to me as well, which was really welcoming. We quickly even got our meals on the table. 

They call this coffee, 'the real thing' and I totally agree.

     The set breakfast menu seemed perfect. Delicious scrambled eggs, with toast and cheese. It was the first time I actually had hash browns in Darjeeling and with a set breakfast like this, the hash brown seemed to be an awesome addiction, crisp and not too oily. The pan cakes was another 'wow' factor. It was very smooth and soft, with those fresh ingredients easily felt on the palate and the combo of chocolate and bananas couldn't get better.

The Perfect Set Breakfast

Pancake with chocolate and bananas

     Overall, I had gone to the place with really high expectations and it didn't disappoint me. The reviews online for Sonam's Kitchen were great and experiencing it myself, I say I totally agree with what people say. It is amazing. Plus it isn't even expensive. A set breakfast consisting of hash browns, cheese, scrambled eggs and cheese, pancake with chocolate and banana, coffee (the real thing), hot chocolate and fruit juice, and the bill amount was Rs. 350. So it is totally worth it and I guess this place is totally gonna be my favorite place for breakfast.