New captains at The Ship in Thamel seem keen to stir their restaurant, bar and lounge to a new, better direction. Those familiar with the eatery near House of Music can already sense the slight changes and, so far, it does seem to be for the better.

Ramesh Kumar Shrestha, the new manager at The Ship, greets us at their garden and sweeps us into their coffee section behind their deck bar. You can tell they have tried to infuse the ‘ship’ theme in their décor as well. Starting with the windows to the faint blue shimmering lights, Shrestha says they are trying to have fun with the concept.

He and the new management have been in charge since February this year. The entire group is apparently former workers at Kilroy’s of Kathmandu. They have a decade plus experience from Kilroy and speak of it quite fondly. But since the establishment was closed and they had to move on, they took on the responsibility to manage The Ship. 

The restaurant has two flats complete with garden, balcony, and terrace arrangements. We would recommend you to move to the first floor or as they call it, ‘The Mid Ship’.  Decked with wooden panel floors and big windows, here you will find a cozy dining hall as well as two separate rooms that are perfect to host a party of five to six people. The sliding doors offer utmost privacy and you can even use personal bells to place your orders. 

Those who like to make the most of the winter sun though can also choose to have their lunch whilst basking under the warmth of the noon December sun at their top terrace or the adjacent balcony. These have been allocated as smoking areas as well. 

By the looks of it, The Ship dinner options seem to be the most popular. Shrestha talks about how they want to attract both the Thamel’s tourists as well as the valley’s locals. Thus from the design of their menu to the flavors of their food, they have all been decided upon accordingly.

Shrestha elaborates, “For instance, we noticed that Nepali families don’t like being confused with too many menu items, so we have different sections for fish, meat, vegetarian, Indian, and snacks. They also all end in one page. Similarly, the taste from hot and spicy to mild, it was important to have all the options to cater to the foreign palate.”  

So, Chef Deepak Thapa Magar starts off with their spicy seafood broth. He recommends this for who like their food to pack a punch. The broth has prawns as well as boneless white fish with diced vegetables and some homemade noodles and is a little spicy and a little sour. The broth that is said to be a Thai and Chinese fusion has a rich orange color. Chef Magar shares they boil the broth for about an hour to bring out its flavor and the effort surely delivers. It proves to be the perfect start for a winter lunch or dinner. We bet it could even help relieve your cold.

However, you can’t come to The Ship and not taste their seafood offerings in all its glory. Again, fit for the season, they have the ship special seafood soup. This is a mild dish but each spoonful does bring out the best of the sea because the soup is made of a variety of diced fishes.

Octopuses, crabs, prawns, boneless white fish, you name it and you will find it in that bowl and that too for a reasonable price of Rs 350. Even if you are a seafood novice, we think you might be able to enjoy it. Not only is the taste mild, that octopus you are squeamish about is diced well with a lot of expertise so you can take it.

Where the mains are concerned, we would highly recommend the Cajun spices grilled fish. The Ship champions the Nepali trout throughout their menu and this might as well as be the highlight. Here you get four generous portions of trout that is marinated in paprika, garlic powder, chilly powder, and mango powder and then seared in a pan. 

You can tell that the saffron rice too has been treated with a lot of care because when the Chef unwrapped it from the butter paper bringing forth wafts of fragrant steam, you can practically smell the lemongrass, rosemary, and garlic. We were told they even add white wine to it. 

Still despite all that, we would say the star element on the plate is the saffron sauce. Its creamy texture and taste help balance as well as brings out the richness of the fish and rice. You are bound to feel more than well fed by the last bite.

In this manner, The Ship has certainly been able to keep their marine theme alive. However, it’s not like they lack in other departments. Those looking to pack on their red meat can turn to equally sumptuous menu options like Kathmandu chicken, seared breast chicken, or their equally popular steaks. 

Even vegetarians are spoilt for choice. In fact, Chef Magar shares he is planning on introducing new items to the vegetarian menu. He has apparently been playing with the recipes of a South East Asian inspired dish he plans to call the laughing Buddha bowl. 

“It’s for those health conscious people who want a light lunch of sorts,” says Magar, “We grill and sauté seasonal vegetables then lightly spice them. It’s usually plated with soy sauce but that depends on your taste as well.” The plan is to bring it to the menu in December. 

 
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