Nepalese eatery 14 Peaks opened in January in a space that has experienced quite a few past lives. It was Buttermilk Southern Kitchen for a few years, and I seem to remember at some point in the pandemic it housed a Korean spot. So, stepping inside, there was a feeling of discombobulation.
The restaurant feels simultaneously like a rustic coffee shop combined with a sports bar. An open service counter hides the kitchen, and it has long-planked wood floors and walls, 49ers and Giants posters over the beer taps, and a mural of a stack of pancakes. Nonetheless, the food is decidedly Nepalese, heavily influenced by Nepal’s surrounding neighbors of India, Tibet, and China while still maintaining its own distinct character.
A friend and I started out with wai wai sadheko noodles from the appetizer menu.
Wai wai sadheko are crunchy, curly noodles marinated in onions, mustard oil, green chilies, lime juice and “special spices.” These were a puzzle to us. They tasted exactly like uncooked ramen noodles topped with salsa. We asked the server what the story was behind this dish. With a smile, he explained that it was good snacking food to have with a beer. While that made more sense, I still could not see how you would eat it without a spoon and, for both of us, the crunchy noodles had that uncooked-flour flavor. Perhaps it’s something you had to grow up eating.
Next, because it is the law, we got the steamed chicken momos:
A momo is a thing of beauty in the world of dumplings, and one of the most enticing morsels of the Dumpling Universe. While I am a die-hard porkist, I usually find chicken is my preferred protein in a momo, as ground chicken tends to be more tender than pork. While the flavor of these was lovely, I found the skins a tad thick and chewy, though my friend had no problem with the texture. Different strokes! My issues with them notwithstanding, we ate them all.
Next: Palak paneer.
Always one of my favorite Indian dishes, the paneer (white, unflavored cheese) here it is homemade and very tender, such a difference from the store-bought stuff that can be tough and waxy. The spinach puree was silky-smooth and redolent of lovely, aromatic spices.
My friend wanted the okra masala.
To be honest, this was not something I would have ordered on my own, but it ended up being the best dish of the evening. Cooked with tomatoes, onion, and ginger-garlic paste, the okra was firm, with no sign of the infamous sliminess. Zingy and assertively flavored, with great textures, I would definitely get this again.
We also had some coconut rice.
Good for sopping up all the juices and spices of the other dishes, albeit lacking in overall coconut flavor. Still, it was well-prepared, with each grain nicely distinct.
I thought we had ordered too much; in fact, our server looked at us in disbelief, laughing, as did the customer at the next table upon hearing our order go on and on. I finally made the executive decision that butter chicken was a dish too far and had the server take it off the order.
Instead, we finished with the lamb sekuwa.
The grilled lamb came sizzling on a hot plate with charred bell peppers and onions. The flavor of the meat was fantastic; smoky and with a lovely char, but we found the lamb dry and a bit tough. Too bad, but I couldn’t stop nibbling on the onions and pepper, with their blackened tips.
Funnily enough, once we were eating, I felt that we perhaps should have gotten the chicken after all. In the end, I was completely over-sated, and the leftovers went home with my friend.
There is an abundance of dishes to try at 14 Peaks, many of which I’ve never even heard of, such as peanuts sadheko (another beer-snacking dish, presumably), the Himalayan shabhaley (chicken), and sukuti, a dried bison dish. Indeed, the menu is dizzying in its expansiveness: Dal, curries, chow mein, momos, tandoori, thali, kabobs, fried fish, mutton, goat, biryanis, breads, chutneys, and a bevy of desserts. There are plenty of vegetarian options as well. They offer mimosas at brunch, pale ales to cool the heat of the spicier dishes, red and white wine and, surprisingly, micheladas!
The service is warm and friendly. Our server checked in with us and inquired if we liked the dishes, wanting to report back to the chef. And, while not everything we tried was a success, you can feel that owner Suman Gautam is intent on bringing more of the warming flavors of Nepal to the Mission.
14 Peaks
2848 23rd St.
San Francisco, CA 94110