Chef Bikash Adhikari with a Nepali-style spicy stir fry. Photo by Adam Finkle
Surya and his wife, Calli, have been bringing the cuisine of Kathmandu and the world’s tallest mountains to us for 30 years. As panelist Ali Vallarta aptly points out. “That’s an unbelievable success story in a city where only the strongest survive downtown,” she says. “It still feels like the ’90s for me in this restaurant, and I think that’s amazing. What a valuable sense of place in a city that is gentrifying at a rapid pace and losing some of its authenticity to chains and overpriced, sterile vibes under Edison lightbulbs.” Surya discovered Utah after being raised in the Himalayas. “He’s a paraglider,” Ali says. “In a city known for the outdoors, Surya brings together two worlds: the faces of adventure and of the immigrant-owned businesses that sustain us.” himalayankitchen.com
Side Dish
Surya is famous in Nepal for introducing paragliding. He first came to SLC not to open a restaurant but to learn how to teach paragliding in Kathmandu.
This year’s 2026 Dining Awards is a showcase of the best experiences across Utah’s foodscape, and a reminder that each recommendation is a promise. A human-to-human promise. An assurance that a restaurant we say is amazing, is amazing. As you consider your next celebratory meal or casual weeknight outing, here’s your menu of Salt Lake’s 2026 gustatory darlings. The food is thoughtful, the hospitality is warm and the chefs care deeply about the dishes on your table.We promise.
