In the lakeside city of Pokhara, a culinary fusion is gaining recognition as the French Crêperie offers a unique blend of French recipes crafted with local Nepali ingredients. Founded by chef Hari Gurung in 2015, the restaurant introduces traditional French dishes such as buckwheat galettes and raclette, adapted to the produce and flavors available from nearby farms and markets.
Gurung’s journey began years before the restaurant’s opening, shaped by his personal experiences growing up in the hills of Gorkha and spending time abroad. After leaving his family at age eight to live in Kathmandu, he developed a passion for cooking through early work in restaurant kitchens. His exposure to French cuisine deepened during travels in Brittany, where he was drawn to the region’s emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients and straightforward techniques. Noticing parallels in the vegetables and spices used there and those grown in Nepal, Gurung saw an opportunity to reinterpret French country cooking with Nepali produce.
His initial venture in Nepal was a pizzeria launched in 2008, which proved commercially successful but revealed a saturated market. Seeking a distinctive niche, Gurung embarked on creating the French Crêperie close to Phewa Lake in Pokhara. The restaurant’s early days were marked by challenges in sourcing specialty ingredients, resulting in frequent trips to Kathmandu. However, as Nepal’s food industry advanced, access to local dairy, herbs, and vegetables improved, allowing the restaurant to rely predominantly on domestic products, importing only a few essentials.
The French Crêperie serves a varied clientele, including locals, trekkers, university students, former migrant workers, expatriates, diplomats, and aid workers. It has become a culinary meeting point where Nepali and French cultures intersect over dishes like naturally gluten-free galettes, quiches, croque-monsieurs, and crêpes accompanied by local coffee, Himalayan honey, and regional beverages such as apple wine from Manang or homemade chyang.
Colette, a Paris native who first visited in 2018, now plays a key role in the restaurant’s daily operations alongside Gurung and his wife. Their partnership embodies the ethos behind the venture—a blend of cultural exchange and commitment to Nepal’s development. According to Colette, the decision to operate a French restaurant in Nepal carries a political dimension, reflecting a belief in fostering economic growth and job creation from within the country rather than through emigration.
Over more than a decade, the French Crêperie has transcended being merely a restaurant. It stands as a social hub where diverse communities gather to share food and stories, bridging cultural divides. For Gurung, the establishment represents the fulfillment of a vision rooted in the idea that Nepal already possesses the resources and talent necessary to create something meaningful, requiring only the willingness to recognize and cultivate that potential.