Photo by Neidy Gutierrez / SOC Images.
Nepal is over 7,500 miles away from New Jersey, but at 3623 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in the Jersey City Heights, for a few moments, it doesn’t feel so far away.
Namaste Momo Cottage has been serving the Jersey City community and beyond since February 2021, and was recently awarded the 2026 Small Business Award for “Pioneer Business” from the City of Jersey City and Jersey City Economic Development Corporation. Co-founders Nirmala Kumal and Deepa Uprety told Slice of Culture that though they didn’t go to culinary school or have any professional food training, everything they make is from their own recipes, handmade fresh daily, healthy and is meant to make you feel at home—even if you’ve never been to Nepal before.
“This is the place [where] they can feel [at] home… This is our own recipe[s]. That’s why everybody likes it… We write down everything [the recipes], one by one,” Kumal smiled.
“Mostly we’re doing [everything] for 14-hour [or] 12-hour [days],” Uprety laughed.
Kumal nodded her head and laughed, “[Still] we did it.”
Namaste Momo Cottage is offering lunch specials in celebration of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, which ends on July 19. From now until then, you can get a traditional Nepalese meal that comes with chicken, salad, yogurt and free soda for $19.99. If you like noodles, momo or a crispy dish, you can get the combo special that comes with chicken, beans and rice, salad and a free soda for $18.99.
Namaste! Enjoy The Nepal Experience
Whether you’re walking up to the Boulevard or driving along it, just look for the bright red awning with white lettering: “NAMASTE MOMO COTTAGE,” and you’ve reached your destination.
Walking inside, you’re welcomed by more red—which is recognized as good luck and fortune in Nepalese culture, and is used in the Nepali flag—and a swirling scent filled with different sauteing spices floats in from the kitchen. Either Kumal or Uprety will greet you and invite you to read their extensive menu.
Looking back, Kumal and Uprety came to know each other because they used to be nannies and rode the same train frequently. Soon enough, they built a bond—and today it’s strong enough to call each other “sister.”
Kumal has a background in volunteering for nonprofits and finance while Uprety was a practicing lawyer in Nepal. Together, they realized they wanted to do more; though Uprety jokes that she “brainwashed” Kumal into becoming an entrepreneur.
“America made us chefs,” Uprety laughed.
And so around Feb. 10, 2021, Namaste Momo Cottage became Jersey City’s first Nepalese eatery. The name stems from the Sanskrit greeting “Namaste” and “momo” is a type of steamed or fried dumpling filled with meat or vegetables, which is a staple in Nepal, Tibet and other South Asian countries.
“‘Namaste is about respect. We respect all customers. Customers can come here and taste our food… Customers [are] our god,” Uprety laughed as Kumal giggled beside her.
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Coming Together For Food, Games And Entrepreneurship
After taking some time browsing through the appetizers, momo, thukpa (noodle soup) or Nepali Thali (a large platter with rice, meat soup and more), many customers land on the chicken steamed momo, chicken chili momo or chicken thukpa.
Kumal and Uprety take pride in creating their own “authentic” recipes, and they’re grateful that so many of their customers enjoy it. They said they get a lot of visits from people of Indian, Chinese and Nepal backgrounds, but everyone is welcome to indulge in their flavors.
While their dishes with chicken are customer favorites, the Jersey City Heights eatery also has vegetable and vegan options for many of them, including momo, paneer chili, thukpa and Thali, to name a few, and they’re handmade in a separate pot daily.
As you eat your meal and embrace the contrasting—yet complementing—flavors, you can take a seat at a long, shared table or sit by the window, where a large photo of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, hangs, which is located just south of Nepal.
Whether it be the plate of food or hanging photos around the space, Kumal and Uprety help drop you into their homeland.
Namaste Momo Cottage are open seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. during the World Cup and are showing the games on a projector in their backyard. You can find a full schedule of the games here.
“You guys [can] enjoy [the World Cup] with the food and the game[s] together,” Kumal smiled.
Looking ahead, the co-founders said they want to help encourage more people to become entrepreneurs.
“We want to make [more] entrepreneurs,” Uprety said.
Kumal added, “Many people they’re afraid to do it because there is a risk and they don’t wanna take the risks. But we already [took] the risks and then we know how to do it and how we can succeed. So we can sort our roadmap… for the community, for the national… We can make more employee[s] and provide the job for them so it’s gonna be economic impact for all over the society and then obviously Jersey City…
We have a mindset to do more… If somebody wants to join us, we wanna talk and then we can do it. Let’s do it. This is the goal!”
