LHASA · FOOD GUIDE
Eating in Lhasa
Lhasa's food reflects the Tibetan plateau — high altitude, cold climate, and a nomadic pastoral tradition that centres on barley, yak, and dairy. The city also has Sichuan-style restaurants popular with Han Chinese migrants and a scattering of restaurants near Barkhor Square catering to travellers.
糌粑
Tsampa
Roasted barley flour mixed with yak butter tea and kneaded by hand into a dough ball; the foundational Tibetan staple, eaten at every meal.
Where to try: Tibetan family guesthouses and traditional teahouses around Barkhor Street.
酥油茶
Yak Butter Tea
Strong black tea churned with yak butter and salt; warming and calorie-dense at high altitude; an acquired taste but culturally central.
Where to try: Traditional Tibetan teahouses on Barkhor Square and throughout the old city.
藏式饺子
Momo
Tibetan steamed dumplings filled with yak meat, vegetables, or cheese; thicker-skinned than Chinese jiaozi with a more robust filling.
Where to try: Restaurants around Barkhor Street; stalls near the Jokhang Temple entrance.
藏面
Thukpa
Tibetan noodle soup — hand-pulled wheat noodles in a clear meat broth with yak or lamb and dried vegetables.
Where to try: Traditional Tibetan restaurants on and near Barkhor Street; local noodle shops throughout the old city.
牦牛肉串
Yak Meat Skewers
Yak meat threaded on skewers and grilled with cumin and chilli; a street-food staple unique to Tibet.
Where to try: Evening stalls around Barkhor Square; outside the Jokhang Temple until around 20:00.
Barkhor area / Old City
Tibetan teahouses on Barkhor Street
- Address
- Barkhor Street circuit, Chengguan
- Hours
- 07:00–21:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro; on foot from Jokhang
- Order
- Yak butter tea, tsampa, sweet milk tea
Momo restaurants near Jokhang
- Address
- Side streets off Barkhor Square, Chengguan
- Hours
- 09:00–21:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro
- Order
- Steamed yak momo, thukpa, stewed yak meat
Makye Ame Restaurant
玛吉阿米
- Address
- Barkhor Square southeast corner, Chengguan
- Hours
- 10:00–22:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro
- Order
- Tibetan set plate, yak yoghurt, momo, Tibetan bread
Beijing Road / new city area
Sichuan restaurants on Beijing Road
- Address
- Beijing Middle Road, Chengguan
- Hours
- 11:00–22:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro; taxi from old city
- Order
- Sichuan-style noodles, mapo tofu (pork version), hotpot
Traveller cafes near Potala Square
- Address
- Lingkuo Road area, near Potala Palace
- Hours
- 09:00–22:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro
- Order
- Yak burger, Tibetan vegetable soup, banana pancake
Local canteen restaurants
- Address
- Residential streets, Chengguan district
- Hours
- 07:00–20:00 daily
- Metro
- No metro
- Order
- Fried rice with yak egg, vegetable noodles, milk tea
Barkhor Street is both a pilgrimage circuit and a street market — vendors sell dried yak meat, butter lamps, juniper incense, and traditional foods along its circumference. The morning market inside the old city near Barkhor opens before 07:00 with fresh yak dairy, dried barley, and highland vegetables. Evening skewer vendors around the Jokhang offer yak meat and sheep intestine on skewers from around 18:00.