Spice Mountain is the first authentic Nepalese restaurant to open in Tauranga, run by a team of three women bringing the flavours of Nepal to Wharf Street in the CBD. The kitchen turns out the country's best-loved dishes: mo:mo dumplings filled with veg, chicken, pork, lamb or beef and prepared steamed, kothay (pan-fried), sadeko or chilli style; sekuwa BBQ meats with handmade achar; and the traditional Nepali thali with unlimited rice and daal top-ups.
Street-food favourites like chowmein, thukpa and crunchy Mustang Aaloo sit alongside sitans, salads, chilli-and-garlic stir-fries, fried rice, share platters and freshly made house desserts, with dhido — a buckwheat-flour Nepali superfood — available by pre-order. Everything is built on fresh ingredients, and the kitchen happily guides first-timers through the menu.
The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor dining plus event hosting space, is fully licensed with a variety of New Zealand wines, and is open seven days a week. Weekly highlights include a thali offer every Friday and a student night combo with beer every Thursday. If you can't make it in, Spice Mountain delivers through Uber Eats, DoorDash, Ordermeal and Love Eatery.
On Wharf Street in the heart of Tauranga's CBD, Spice Mountain is doing something no one else in the city has done: serving authentic Nepalese cuisine. It's the first Nepalese restaurant Tauranga has had, opened by a team of three women who carried all their love for Nepal's food with them and set out to share it with the Bay of Plenty.
The kitchen is led by Bel Pun, an executive chef whose years in food and hospitality shaped a menu built on meals made with love and passion — traditional recipes learned over time, alongside newer ideas like edamame sadeko, dhido and New Zealand-made wine.
Start with mo:mo, Nepal's much-loved dumplings and the dish most first-timers come for. They're filled with veg, chicken, pork, lamb or beef, and cooked four ways: steamed, kothay (pan-fried), or tossed sadeko or chilli style. Reviewers consistently mention how well the staff explain the menu, so there's no need to feel lost if it's your first Nepalese meal.
Meat lovers should head straight for the sekuwa — lamb, pork, chicken or beef marinated Nepali-style and finished on the smoker, served with handmade achar. It's the kind of dish that had one reviewer saying the food felt like being back in her home country.
The centrepiece of the menu is the Nepali Thali: a complete set meal with your choice of chicken, goat or pork, and — the best part — unlimited rice and daal top-ups (conditions apply). It's a generous, homestyle way to eat, and every Friday the restaurant runs a special thali offer with discounted beer to match.
Beyond the classics, the menu reads like a tour of Nepalese street food: chowmein, thukpa noodle soup, and Mustang Aaloo — crunchy potato wedges tossed with Nepalese herbs and Sichuan pepper. Add entrees like peanut salsa, spicy chicken wings and spring rolls, fresh salads, chilli-and-garlic stir-fries, fried rice in six styles, and a big platter built for sharing, and there's genuinely something for every palate.
Curious eaters should watch for dhido, a traditional dough made from buckwheat flour that's prized as a Nepali superfood. It must be pre-ordered, so plan ahead. Finish with house-made desserts — tiramisu cup, cheesecake or fruit salad with yogurt.
The dining space is one of the things reviewers comment on most: it's genuinely spacious, with both indoor and outdoor seating and room to host events. That makes it an easy pick for everything from a work dinner to a celebration — the team invites people to drop in any day of the week, whether to eat, chill out, celebrate an occasion or simply wind down.
Spice Mountain is fully licensed, with a variety of New Zealand wines to choose from, and it opens seven days a week from 11:30am to 9pm. Lunch works even on the busiest days, while dinner is the time to settle in.
The weekly rhythm has its own traditions: Thursday is student night, with a combo deal that includes beer, and Friday belongs to the thali offer. Both are popular with locals after an affordable night out.
Reviews paint a consistent picture: tasty food, friendly and knowledgeable service, and thoughtful touches like spicy sauces served on the side so everyone at the table can build their own heat level. One diner noted the team's careful handling of gluten-free requests, preparing the dish separately to be safe.
If you'd rather eat at home, Spice Mountain delivers through Uber Eats, DoorDash, Ordermeal and Love Eatery, or you can order for pickup. To reserve a table, call 07 571 0323 — or simply turn up on Wharf Street and follow the scent of Sichuan pepper and smoked sekuwa. Either way, you'll be tasting a piece of Nepal that Tauranga is lucky to have.