About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Restaurateur Keshar Jarga Magar, along with his brother Dip Jarga Magar and business partner Tuk Prasad Gurung, opened Himalayan Wild Yak in Ashburn in 2022 with the mission of introducing diners to Nepalese cooking. Three years later, the trio’s second location, stationed in Ballston, is open with the same goal.
The Magar brothers, who previously worked at Alexandria’s Royal Nepal restaurant, have made their family history a central tenet of the new location. Each colorful, patterned napkin has been hand-sewn by their father, a tailor based in Nepal, from fabric used for formal attire. Meanwhile, menu items like pani puri and chatpate (a Nepalese snack with puffed rice, seasoned potatoes, and chopped vegetables) are favorite family recipes.
“Whatever I cook here is the same thing I cook at home,” says Keshar. “It’s very simple dishes, and that’s what people are loving about it.”
Also a focal point of both the menu and the decor, is, of course, the yak. You’ll find morsels of this lean, beef-adjacent protein stewed in creamy, cashew-based korma and ground up in momos. Yak is also featured in a massive central photograph — and, soon, in life-sized taxidermy form (the team is still waiting on its delivery).
While the brothers did not grow up eating yak meat, they’ve always been aware of its popularity across northern Nepal and in Mongolia. When they discovered American yak farms in Colorado and Pennsylvania, they knew that they wanted it to be the star of their concept.
“I don’t see any other restaurant doing yak,” says Dip. “We thought it would be very unique name and unique meat to provide for the customers.”
Many of the restaurant’s dishes, say the Magar brothers, are also influenced by Nepal’s surrounding geography. As a result, menu highlights include rich, tomato-forward butter chicken, chow mein street noodles, and a masala chiya with the same fragrant and warming flavors you might expect from an Indian chai.
“There’s influence from both China and India on the menu,” says Dip. “You can find this history in every corner of Nepal.”
While the new Himalayan Wild Yak opened nearly a month ago in March, Keshar says that guests can expect a menu expansion in the coming weeks. The team will be adding more favorites from the restaurant’s original location, like crispy yak with house-made chili sauce, as well as all-new entrées like wild boar curry.
