Cafe Tibet

This place offers authentic hand-made food, great service & has a unique vibe to it. The momos are just great. I’ll be back soon!👍🏻

Very special restaurant in Berkeley. Recently just turned into Vegetarian Restaurant. The service is great and the food is delicious.

Comfortable, friendly atmosphere, and the whole menu is vegan. We got the curry with Himalayan rice and veg momos. Everything was delicious. I plan to visit this place whenever I'm in the area.

Great place. Unique menu choices. I only visit the area but this place has been around forever. Glad to see it survived covid, and thus far the gentrification of the area in general. Sometime in the last year, they switched over to all vegan, which is not required by me, but absolutely fine by me. However the on‐line menus have not been updated. If you a you have a hankering for Lamb, either look somewhere else, or... rather, open up your gastronomic horizons and take a random menu pick!

The owners are incredibly passionate about food and the quality of produce they use is very high. Everything tastes amazing and the flavors are perfectly balanced. We also had the pleasure of talking to them for an extended amount of time during our dinner and learned so much about Tibetan culture! I can clearly see the restaurant becoming one of those iconic Berkeley institutions in the coming days.

Amazing amazing amazing food. The owner is so calm and prepared the food so lovingly! Lovely music and again - INCREDIBLE FOOD!!! We had momos, noodle soup, fried noodles, curry and rice. Food was all whole, natural foods, no chemicals and had oodles of flavour.

Family owned and freshly prepared dishes with good vegan ingredients. Combination momo plate was great! We very much appreciated the care and kindness showcased. Will visit again :)

Cafe Tibet is in my top 5 restaurants in the East Bay. I love their Ngoe-thuk pan friend sweet potato noodles with tofu and vegetables, which tastes so delicious and the portion so generous it makes me supremely happy! With their Himalayan seasonings, vegetables choices and take on fried rice, noodles, soups, and organic veggie dishes make unique and some of the healthiest Asian food around. I am gluten free so I can't eat the Momos (Tibetan dumplings), but every person I have brought to Cafe Tibet orders them and says they are scrumptious. There is an influence of Indian cuisine in some of the dishes and appetizers and their macrobiotic plates are also generously portioned and super tasty. No boring, bland vegetarian food here. I have been eating at Cafe Tibet for 6 years and the change to vegan was an enviromental choice on the part of the relative who inherited the restaurant from his Aunt who retired, but it hasn't effected the yumminess of their offerings. I have spent the past 3 years between NYC, LA, SF and the East Bay and there is a bit of a foodie revolution going on in the later, surpassing everywhere else. I read a list recently that put Oakland as number one on a list as best city to eat out nationally. I am lumping all of the East Bay into that category, but I would agree, Oakland, Berkeley and Albany have it going on. It's probably the influence of Berkeley's Chez Panisse which started the whole farm to table revolution using quality ingredients to make delicious healthy food. In any case Cafe Tibet is part of that community worth keeping on your Best of the Bay list.

A great vegan restaurant with friendly and kind people. I tried the tofu pink rice curry and loved it.

Went here for the first time with 3 other people. The food was incredible and the service was top notch. We ordered family style and shared 3 Entrés and 4 Starters. The food was all very fresh, flavorful and cooked to perfection. The woman who served us was kind and attentive. It is a cozy and intimate environment and I am excited to go back again specifically for the Tsel Bhak-Leb and Broccoli Chip dishes. We all ate so fast I only got pictures of the Momos and the Tsel Bhak-Leb. ✨️

Delicious comforting food with very well balanced flavors. The ambience was extremely relaxing and the service was fantastic too! Will be going back again when I'm in Berkeley next time. Hope they expand to SoCal!

Absolutely delicious, traditional and wonderful food. Different from the usual places and mediocre tastes. Dholooma Kamngoe is a breaded eggplant chips lightly deep fried snack. Very soft, different from usual fried stuff and awesome taste. You must check it out. Tsel-Khasa is a seasoned vegetables freely more like a Curry than a snack. Tingmo is a homemade steamed Tibean bread that is so delicious. Definitely not your usual bread for sure. The Momo's, Ngotsel Momo and Kar-sha Momo, are very good - a bit on the raw side - but if you are a fan them you just can't pass it up. The entry, Tofu with Mushroom and Spinach, is very good, tasty and not something that I ever had before. Ended up taking it home as well. The traditional desserts, Bhaktsa Marku and Dress, are not too sweet and very much for of fresh tastes all over. It is good to know they don't use powders, pre made or frozen items. They use every thing fresh and made by themselves from raw food materials - including the spices themselves. Very refreshing and mouthful of tastes is what we walked out with.

+6

I revisited this restaurant after a year, the ownership changed (within the family) and the menu has gone all vegan. The twist is it’s vegan with a heavy influence from Tibetian Medicinal Values. It was a lovely dinner. Husband and wife duo spent time speaking with me. It’s fun to connect with other cultures and learning from each other. Food was delicious and yay - more veg/vegan places.

Quiet little Tibet / Himalayan cuisine. Friendly and beautiful place. Food was good and tasty. Reasonably priced and good portion size. Lot of Vegetarian / Vegan options available.

+6

With 20 years of history, cafe Tibet is a true gem. The owners were super friendly and prepared the food with love. The atmosphere felt like home (so don’t come to eat with a rush). Lentil soup was warm and comforting, and vegetarian momo soup was colorful with such a variety of vegetables. The melted cheese inside the momo was such a pleasant surprise.

Vegetarian and vegan Tibetan foods made with care. Just a great meatless small cool space. Great before theater or music nearby. Not a chain.

Can I give more than a five star rating? I wasn’t sure if dining here was a dream ( come true) or it really happened. Right after a long day driving from the Marley show at Stern Grove, we had another concert to attend at The Greek. But little poor me with my broken arm, I needed comfort food! I was wishing for a healing porridge, Konji, kitchari type dish, vegan of course. Then I see this all Vegan Tibetan, Restaurant. Normally, I pre-order everything and then just pick it up but this time something told me to sit down, dine in and let their healing foods make me feel better. The staff was so gracious, even though it was close to closing time, they treated me so well and without rushing me. In fact I kept offering to hurry and they wouldn’t hear of it. So sweet. Talking with the owner, he told me about how, when he took over this restaurant, he made the conscious decision to do things right. he did not want to participate in anything that had to do with animal cruelty. he also cares about the planet and environmentalism and knew how much water it takes just make one steak & how many suffer in the process of serving non vegan entrees. This is truly my kind of restaurant. I have never had mango lassi this good and I’m desi so that is saying a LoT!! Some of it spilled and you can bet I cried on the side lol. They have another blended drink that is definitely from heaven. It has fruits, healing herbs, dates, and made me feel so much better. I drank it as I waited for the food. I might have even went into a state of nirvana. The soup reminded me of healing soup my mom would make for me, for strength and comfort. It had barley and veggies, etc. and with their chili sauce I think it’s the only soup ever had where I drank it to the very last drop! Now I wasn’t sure if I should order their Momos because everywhere else that we’ve had Momos it hasn’t been that great of an experience, but can I tell you about these Momos? They are better than even any samosas or Momos I’ve had, anywhere! Honestly, it was so hard for me to not just finish them all. I had to control myself and only have two! Perfect potatoes perfect spices, perfect dough. All homemade and they make a homemade green chutney just like my parents would make from our garden. OMG is this place real or did I enter a Himalayan cloud of bliss?? This restaurant, the staff and the compassionate owner deserve lots of love and support from the vegan community. Their menu is full of thought and rare real foods with healing ingredients. The owner even makes all of his meat substitutes for the dishes where people prefer to have that option. He also won’t sell out to corporations that unhealthy drinks like soda and doesn’t offer those items. So rare to step into such a caring establishment. This is the kind of place. I would send my family and friends too because I care about them and would trust that they would get the best meal served to them. I wish I could come more often!

I was craving some healthy food after traveling, so I came here. the ambiance was relaxing, and I had a hot, filling, and healthy meal. I ordered the momo soup, and the momos were good and the soup had lots of fresh vegetables.

Easily my favorite restaurant in Berkeley, super warm service by the waitress. The food is as authentic as you can get, their dhaal tastes just like how it would taste back home in South Asia. Overall a homey experience both with the food and service. Can’t wait to be back!

Advertising over 50 vegan dishes Cute interior. Really like the full open windows in front and got a window seat. Traditional meditative music Friendly service but a tad slow with only one wait person. Early dinner just after opening, so very few people. More arrived before I left. Sho-ko Momo, potato version. Very wet filling. A few of them feel apart before I could get into my mouth. The mint is a nice accompaniment. Wolfed down all nine of them! Ngoe-thuk organic version +$4. She wasn't sure what the differences from one on the front page were other than being organic. Hope it's the version everyone raved about in reviews. Red Hot sauce and tamari condiments. Great hand made noodles, broccoli, carrots, left greens, tofu, celery, scallions, pumpkin seeds, mildly spiced. Didn't often get vegan lassi option do mango was refreshing Normally might have fed two lite appetites if shared but this guy was hungry and polished it all off! Bhaktsa-Marku, pasta brown sugar with butter. Whipped cream topping added! Want sure what to expect but nice tasty finishing touch. Chewy and sweet small pellets of pasta.

The absolute best food by far. Four of us out walking around Shattuck looking for a place to eat on a Saturday when we happened by Cafe Tibet (the jazz band brought us down this street). This is a full vegan restaurant with the absolute best food I have tasted in a long time! Rich and full of flavor and you can be served either family style or order individually, this cafe will do it any way you like. I highly recommend Cafe Tibet to anyone, vegan or not, for food that is delicious and rich in flavors. And definitely try the desserts. So good!

My wife and I had an awesome experience here for lunch. We both got the combination Momos plate and shared it. I really liked the spinach ones. My wife really liked the potato ones. For the mains, my wife got the fried rice (Shen-dea Ngoe-ma) and I got a tofu curry (Tsel-chu Tsel-Nezom). Everything was so tasty. Felt very nourishing and healthy. This place reminds me of if Shangri-La had more of a menu with choices.

The food was tasteful. The tofu curry had slightly more turmeric but overall the dish was really nice. The platter Momos were on point, would have tasted much better had there been an orange sauce/chutney.

The food here is delicate and restorative. The service is kind. Not to be missed. We had the momos in mint sauce and a hand-pulled noodle dish that had delicate, subtle flavors. Generous, reasonable portions. We’ll be back again and again. Including in our next lives! I’d be happy to not break the cycle of rebirth to eat this food.

Amazing momo!! I would come here every day if I lived here. The food is healthy and delicious. The atmosphere is a quiet and peaceful place to eat alone or with a friend. Highly recommend!!

Food was really tasty and beautifully presented. Highly recommend trying the 3 momo combination, and my favorite of the 3 was the Kar-Sha momo. I also got the Trama Chura (fried tofu) appetizer and Bod-Jha (savory/nonsweet tea with vegan butter). The whole menu is vegan which is amazing!

Visited twice in 24 hours 😭 that’s how good this place is!! This place is completely vegan, and even the non vegetarians in our group were blown away! The flavors are incredible and the atmosphere was calming and friendly. Pricing is very fair. The momo’s with the special mint sauce was incredible.

I've often lamented the fact that vegan restaurants are either huge portions of fried foods and fake meats, or expensive meager portions of healthy food that leave you hungry again in an hour. Cafe Tiber is exactly what I was looking for: wholesome, delicious food in good portions at reasonable prices. I've been here twice and the experience was great both times. Service is very fast. Portion sizes are exactly right for me. I'm especially happy that they have so many vegan drinks and desserts. I love their chai, but am still looking forward to trying the desserts. In fact, I'm planning to come here once a week until I've tried everything!

Very healthy and delicious dishes. Cosy atmosphere. Kind people. I went to this restaurant every evening in one week in February and tried most of the dishes on the menu.

Cafe Tibet first opened in 1999. It had always been a popular restaurant as one of the earliest Tibetan restaurants in the area. A lot happened in the past decades. When the original owner retired in 2024, her nephew and niece took over the restaurant and decided to go 100% vegan. I have also become vegan in the last 3 years. It makes me so happy now I can go back to Cafe Tibet and order anything on the menu and support a vegan restaurant. Many of the same dishes are still on the menu just veganized including chai and mango lassi. Everything is still delicious now cruelty free. 💚💚💚🌱🌱🌱🌱🥰🥰🥰🥰.

THIS IS THE BEST TIBETAN FOOD IN BERKELEY! Three flavors of momos, delicious soups and fluffy breads. The only Authentic Tibetan food in the East Bay. Everything cooked from scratch. No processed foods.

I love this place. I have been coming here for 10 years- and each time I’m in town I make sure to give a visit. The food is fresh and doesn’t leave one feeling heavy. I got the spinach momos and #37 rice dish. Great quality and price. Will continue to come back.

Rare to see such great vegetarian options! Loved the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant. The owners were very attentive and it was clear that they put a lot of care into the meal. The dumplings I ordered were full of flavor. I found myself savoring every bite. I was a little disappointed when I finished my entire plate because I knew I wanted more. The portion was perfect though and I managed to fill up and feel great and energized after the meal. Highly recommend!

Stephen H

Advertising over 50 vegan dishes Cute interior. Really like the full open windows in front and got a window seat. Traditional meditative music Friendly service but a tad slow with only one wait person. Early dinner just after opening, so very few people. More arrived before I left. Sho-ko Momo, potato version. Very wet filling. A few of them feel apart before I could get into my mouth. The mint is a nice accompaniment. Wolfed down all nine of them! Ngoe-thuk organic version +$4. She wasn't sure what the differences from one on the front page were other than being organic. Hope it's the version everyone raved about in reviews. Red Hot sauce and tamari condiments. Great hand made noodles, broccoli, carrots, left greens, tofu, celery, scallions, pumpkin seeds, mildly spiced. Didn't often get vegan lassi option do mango was refreshing Normally might have fed two lite appetites if shared but this guy was hungry and polished it all off! Bhaktsa-Marku, pasta brown sugar with butter. Whipped cream topping added! Want sure what to expect but nice tasty finishing touch. Chewy and sweet small pellets of pasta.

S.M.L.

The absolute best food by far. Four of us out walking around Shattuck looking for a place to eat on a Saturday when we happened by Cafe Tibet (the jazz band brought us down this street). This is a full vegan restaurant with the absolute best food I have tasted in a long time! Rich and full of flavor and you can be served either family style or order individually, this cafe will do it any way you like. I highly recommend Cafe Tibet to anyone, vegan or not, for food that is delicious and rich in flavors. And definitely try the desserts. So good!

Karthik Sekar

My wife and I had an awesome experience here for lunch. We both got the combination Momos plate and shared it. I really liked the spinach ones. My wife really liked the potato ones. For the mains, my wife got the fried rice (Shen-dea Ngoe-ma) and I got a tofu curry (Tsel-chu Tsel-Nezom). Everything was so tasty. Felt very nourishing and healthy. This place reminds me of if Shangri-La had more of a menu with choices.

Siddhesh Rumde

The food was tasteful. The tofu curry had slightly more turmeric but overall the dish was really nice. The platter Momos were on point, would have tasted much better had there been an orange sauce/chutney.

Subodh Chandra

The food here is delicate and restorative. The service is kind. Not to be missed. We had the momos in mint sauce and a hand-pulled noodle dish that had delicate, subtle flavors. Generous, reasonable portions. We’ll be back again and again. Including in our next lives! I’d be happy to not break the cycle of rebirth to eat this food.

Keiko Sanders

Amazing momo!! I would come here every day if I lived here. The food is healthy and delicious. The atmosphere is a quiet and peaceful place to eat alone or with a friend. Highly recommend!!

Ariel Sanders

Visited twice in 24 hours 😭 that’s how good this place is!! This place is completely vegan, and even the non vegetarians in our group were blown away! The flavors are incredible and the atmosphere was calming and friendly. Pricing is very fair. The momo’s with the special mint sauce was incredible.

Naveen Arun

Food was really tasty and beautifully presented. Highly recommend trying the 3 momo combination, and my favorite of the 3 was the Kar-Sha momo. I also got the Trama Chura (fried tofu) appetizer and Bod-Jha (savory/nonsweet tea with vegan butter). The whole menu is vegan which is amazing!

Minh-Quan Vo

Very healthy and delicious dishes. Cosy atmosphere. Kind people. I went to this restaurant every evening in one week in February and tried most of the dishes on the menu.

Luz Venegas

I love this place. I have been coming here for 10 years- and each time I’m in town I make sure to give a visit. The food is fresh and doesn’t leave one feeling heavy. I got the spinach momos and #37 rice dish. Great quality and price. Will continue to come back.

Emily Jones

I've often lamented the fact that vegan restaurants are either huge portions of fried foods and fake meats, or expensive meager portions of healthy food that leave you hungry again in an hour. Cafe Tiber is exactly what I was looking for: wholesome, delicious food in good portions at reasonable prices. I've been here twice and the experience was great both times. Service is very fast. Portion sizes are exactly right for me. I'm especially happy that they have so many vegan drinks and desserts. I love their chai, but am still looking forward to trying the desserts. In fact, I'm planning to come here once a week until I've tried everything!

Lina

Cafe Tibet first opened in 1999. It had always been a popular restaurant as one of the earliest Tibetan restaurants in the area. A lot happened in the past decades. When the original owner retired in 2024, her nephew and niece took over the restaurant and decided to go 100% vegan. I have also become vegan in the last 3 years. It makes me so happy now I can go back to Cafe Tibet and order anything on the menu and support a vegan restaurant. Many of the same dishes are still on the menu just veganized including chai and mango lassi. Everything is still delicious now cruelty free. 💚💚💚🌱🌱🌱🌱🥰🥰🥰🥰.

Elizabeth Grace

THIS IS THE BEST TIBETAN FOOD IN BERKELEY! Three flavors of momos, delicious soups and fluffy breads. The only Authentic Tibetan food in the East Bay. Everything cooked from scratch. No processed foods.

Fish Nekonome

Went here for the first time with 3 other people. The food was incredible and the service was top notch. We ordered family style and shared 3 Entrés and 4 Starters. The food was all very fresh, flavorful and cooked to perfection. The woman who served us was kind and attentive. It is a cozy and intimate environment and I am excited to go back again specifically for the Tsel Bhak-Leb and Broccoli Chip dishes. We all ate so fast I only got pictures of the Momos and the Tsel Bhak-Leb. ✨️

Sunjay Varma

Rare to see such great vegetarian options! Loved the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant. The owners were very attentive and it was clear that they put a lot of care into the meal. The dumplings I ordered were full of flavor. I found myself savoring every bite. I was a little disappointed when I finished my entire plate because I knew I wanted more. The portion was perfect though and I managed to fill up and feel great and energized after the meal. Highly recommend!

What an excellent place to discover, food, service, and atmosphere are all delightful, the momos are excellent. Hard to find good vegan/ vegetarian food and this place exceeded all our expectations, will definitely return soon

Keep it light and tasty for the upcoming new year! Delicious Tibetan-style momos and truly hand made buckwheat noodles (good soup selection too) What more can us lowlanders ask for? For someone who has spent such considerable time in Himalayas - it’s a real delight to find this gem in the heart of Berkeley. I would bring all my family and friends here. Thousand Blessings and spread the word:)

Comfort food galore. The food was delicious, flavorful, and light. Their soups were also great. The highlight was the dumplings and a must try. Even if you aren’t vegan come try this place! The staff was very friendly as well :)

Great service, great food. Was my first time eating Tibetan and I was so excited about it. Had the broth with pulled noodles, veggies and tofu. Absolutely recommended :)

This dinning experience was amazing! My son exclaimed that Tibetan food is now his favorite and he wants to eat here again next time we are in Berkeley. I was so excited to eat at this restaurant. I never had Tibetan food before this. I didn't realize that this restaurant didnt open up until 5pm on Saturdays, our event ended at 3pm but we explored Berkeley until they opened. My group ended up buying so many dishes to eat family style because we wanted to try everything. Some of the things that we ordered were- Ngoe-thuk (noodles) , Shea-thuk (soup), combination plate of momos, Trama Chura (tofu chips), Dhooloma Tsel-chu (eggplant), Tingmo (Tibetan bread), and Tofu curry. My personal favorite was the eggplant and tofu chips! The sauce the Dhooloma Tsel-chu is just fabulous!! We will be back

Astrid N.

Great service, great food. Was my first time eating Tibetan and I was so excited about it. Had the broth with pulled noodles, veggies and tofu. Absolutely recommended :)

Bonom Bohanec

Keep it light and tasty for the upcoming new year! Delicious Tibetan-style momos and truly hand made buckwheat noodles (good soup selection too) What more can us lowlanders ask for? For someone who has spent such considerable time in Himalayas - it’s a real delight to find this gem in the heart of Berkeley. I would bring all my family and friends here. Thousand Blessings and spread the word:)

Asian_foodie

Comfort food galore. The food was delicious, flavorful, and light. Their soups were also great. The highlight was the dumplings and a must try. Even if you aren’t vegan come try this place! The staff was very friendly as well :)

Monisa Ramesh

Delicious comforting food with very well balanced flavors. The ambience was extremely relaxing and the service was fantastic too! Will be going back again when I'm in Berkeley next time. Hope they expand to SoCal!

Destiny Elmo

This dinning experience was amazing! My son exclaimed that Tibetan food is now his favorite and he wants to eat here again next time we are in Berkeley. I was so excited to eat at this restaurant. I never had Tibetan food before this. I didn't realize that this restaurant didnt open up until 5pm on Saturdays, our event ended at 3pm but we explored Berkeley until they opened. My group ended up buying so many dishes to eat family style because we wanted to try everything. Some of the things that we ordered were- Ngoe-thuk (noodles) , Shea-thuk (soup), combination plate of momos, Trama Chura (tofu chips), Dhooloma Tsel-chu (eggplant), Tingmo (Tibetan bread), and Tofu curry. My personal favorite was the eggplant and tofu chips! The sauce the Dhooloma Tsel-chu is just fabulous!! We will be back

This sweet gem of a restaurant felt like I was eating at my mom's kitchen! 🥰 We tried the combination momo (potato was the best) and tsel bhak-leb (crispy goodness 🤤). The momo's were not for me, but would recommend the tsel bhak-leb. The staff was attentive and kind! It is worth going back to explore the rest of the menu.

Momos were delicate and flavorful! The yogurt sauce could have been a little thicker and richer to elevate the dish further.