Tempo Shack DC location_on 804 13th St., NE language Website Nanglo location_on 1301 H St., NE language Website “The H Street Corridor.” “The Atlas District.” At this point, one of DC’s most storied nightlife strips may have earned itself an unlikely third title: Litt le Nepal. The neighborhood now boasts four places to eat Himalayan dishes such as momo dumplings and choila (spicy grilled meat), including the celebrated Daru and Tapori—primarily Indian restaurants—which Nepalese American chef Suresh Sundas opened in 2021 and last spring, respectively. Then, in September, two Nepalese spots opened near the corner of 13th and H streets, Northeast, within a week of each other—by coincidence, their owners say. First came Tempo Shack DC, the only takeout window in the District where you can order water-buffalo dumplings. Tempo Shack began as the pet project of Kathmandu-born IT specialist Dipesh Acharya, who started a momo business at a Dallas farmers market before relocating inside a Nepali grocery store in Ashburn two years ago. His new iteration on H Street represents his vision for how to turn Himalayan street food into late-night-drinking fare for US diners. There’s tasty chow mein and grilled-meat sekuwa on a stick, but the dumplings here—hand-wrapped and filled with chicken, vegetables, or water buffalo—are some of the best around. Simply steamed and served with a peanut-spiked tomato chutney might be best for the uninitiated, but you can also order your momos bathed in a reddish jhol sauce or stir-fried in chili sauce, Indo-Chinese style. The filling is up to you, but Acharya says, “When you say momo, every Nepali thinks of water-buffalo momo.” Tempo Shack doesn’t compromise on Nepalese cuisine, but it’s a pared-down snack bar. To get a feel for the breadth of Nepal’s stews, pickles, and pan-fries, you can cross the street to Nanglo, which Tikaram Paudel—a native of Dang, Nepal—opened a week after Tempo Shack. Paudel has owned a series of Indian kitchens around the area, but Nanglo is his most Nepalese. Huge thali platters let you sample various curries alongside flavorful lentils, mustard greens, fermented radish pickle, and rice. Or opt for a Nanglo set for two (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), which gets you a selection of steamed and fried chili momos, grilled meats or paneer, and mustang aloo, a standout side dish of garlic-chili potatoes. When I asked about the relationship between the two new Nepali neighbors, Acharya laughed. The Nepalese American community is small, so he and Paudel knew each other a bit, but neither realized the other was preparing to open a restaurant on the same corner within the span of a week. Two Himalayan restaurants that are a momo’s throw from each other might be in competition, but economies of scale also help: Acharya now provides the Pennsylvania-raised water buffalo for both places through his wholesale business. “We help each other out whenever necessary, so it’s always good to have a fellow Nepali across the street,” Acharya says. “Maybe not so much business-wise, but as a community.” This article appears in the December 2025 issue of Washingtonian.The post Two New Nepalese Restaurants Are Transforming H Street Into “Little Nepal” first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less