I spent weeks in Kathmandu trying all the little hole-in-the-wall khaja ghars (snack houses) and all the top-rated restaurants to bring you this list of the most authentic cheap eats. I found that most food blogs focused on the tourist traps in Kathmandu. So I spent a lot of time looking for authentic alternatives (some aren’t even on Google Maps!). I also have the considerable benefit of being able to read Nepali. Some of the places in this list a foreign tourist would never enter because their signs are in Nepali. Those stores are where you find authentic homecooked Nepali food.