You don’t need directions to find Tibetan Kitchen (well, sometimes you might). Just follow the smell of sizzling garlic, ginger, and toasted spice drifting over Chorlton Water Park, and the trail of regulars who’ll happily tell you: “You’ve got to try the momos.” Because you really have.
At the centre of it all is Sonny, co-founder, chef, momo master and general vibesman of Tibetan Kitchen. He’s been running it since 2006, but it’s not just the longevity or the food that makes him recognisable. It’s the hat. That wide-brimmed, Tibetan-style rancher’s hat that’s become almost as memorable as his dumplings.
You can’t manage more than a few minutes without someone waving to, shouting over at or stopping for a chat with him. “They know my hat!” Sonny says, beaming, but it’s really not just his headwear. In Manchester food circles, Sonny’s face is as familiar as his festival truck, his Chorlton parkside kitchens, and his steaming bamboo baskets of dumplings.
Tibetan Kitchen started small, sparked by a shared vision between Sonny and wife Jane to bring Tibetan flavours to the UK in a way that felt grounded and generous. What began as a single catering stall has grown into a fleet of handmade venues, unlike anything else: the tented outdoor kitchen at Chorlton Water Park, the peaceful wooden structure in Chorlton Park, a compact, travelling horse box, a bricks-and-mortar café on the Whalley Range border, and a food truck that’s done the full festival circuit — Green Man, Boomtown, Kendal Calling, End of the Road and, the daddy of them all, Glastonbury.
There’s even a double decker bus decked out for dumplings, which provides a base for kids’ summer camps, where they teach everything from gardening to mural painting to yoga and mindfulness.
But the food is still the heart of it. These are warming, deeply spiced curries and stir-fries with Indo-Tibetan roots. Think garlicky pork stir-fried with pak choi, delicate steamed momo dumplings filled with chicken or vegetables, and rich lentil daals served with rice and spiced greens. Everything is handmade, and always has been.
Sonny’s is food built on comfort and tradition. He learned to cook at home and on the road, drawing influences from the Tibetan diaspora across India and Nepal, so his dishes are a melting pot of the region’s flavours. It’s why Tibetan Kitchen has such a loyal following — people don’t just come for lunch or dinner, they come to feel like they’ve been taken away somewhere.
And it’s not just the food that’s handmade. Each of the spaces they serve from has been built by Sonny and his crew, crafted to reflect the calm of Tibetan monasteries — timber walls, prayer flags, incense, soft music, and a sense of peace that feels a million miles from the city centre, even though you’re barely 20 minutes from Piccadilly.
The Whalley Range café doubles as a quiet hangout spot, with a set menu, chai on tap, and a fridge of homemade pickles. But there’s something particularly special about sitting outside the Chorlton huts — the natural setting, the warmth of the team, and the steady rhythm of regulars arriving, chatting, and digging into plates of food that rarely cost more than a tenner.
Sonny’s still out there most days, either cooking, fixing stuff or talking to just about everyone who passes. The food truck still hits the road in summer, and the dumplings are still pinched by hand every morning.
And the best bit? Sonny says it most succinctly. “There’s no dodgy stuff in there.” Indeed not.
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