We tried the momos with beef which come with a pickled side and a sauce - really good! Also tried spicy lamb curry to eat with rice and it didn't disappoint! read more

I'd never tried Tibetan food before going to Martsa, but I have to say, I'm impressed. It's reminiscent of both Indian and Thai; there are a lot of curries, coconut, lime, and peanut flavoring. I wasn't a huge fan of the lime-mint tea, but then again, I'm not a huge fan of cilantro. The food, however, was excellent. We got several dishes, both vegetarian and chicken, and all were tasty. There was a bit of a wait on a Friday night, and the staff wasn't as attentive as I might have expected, but service wasn't unnecessarily slow, and the food is well worth the wait. read more

I've been waiting for the longest time to check out this place, but I didn't want to venture out on my own, and I couldn't find someone with enough culinary adventure in them to try a new cuisine. That was, until last weekend when a friend was in the area to hang out for dinner and a movie and actually recommended we eat here...score! In spite of the long wait and buildup of anticipation to try this place out, it was just okay. I didn't know what Tibetan food would taste like, and I ordered the coconut curry. It tasted just like Indian food to my untrained palate, and I was overall unimpressed. The food wasn't bad, but I definitely didn't taste any coconut, and even though I took the leftovers home, I couldn't motivate myself to eat them. The mango lassi was the best part of my meal! read more

I did not find the long wait for my food quite worth it. My okra dish was a little bland, and the meat curry didn't have the depth that I was hoping for. It was a flat toned-decent kind of taste. I give props to the 2 ladies that were functioning as the hostesses, waitresses, food expeditors, and busing tables as well. Not sure if it was an off night or not, but I overall give this place an.. a-okay. Not something to write home about, but not terrible. The date you go out once or twice and they're really nice and they tried really hard.. but.. well, now it's awkward, see? It's okay. read more

I'd been in here twice pre-renovation and was never too impressed with my meal, though I did enjoy the lunch buffet better than the dinner. So imagine my surprise on a recent trip there post-renovation to find that I loved every single thing I ate. Are we sure this was only a renovation of the physical space? They seem to have undergone a culinary renovation as well and the results are delicious. Beef momos receive rave reviews all over Yelp so we got some of those. Definitely tasty but a little heavy for someone like me who doesn't eat alot of ground beef. I'd get them again if I was with a bigger group and didn't have to split a serving with only one other person. The beverage I ordered was some kind of fizzy minty spicy lime drink. I've never had a savory drink before but it was so good, a perfect pairing with the flavorful main dishes. We got one tofu dish with an almond sauce and one chicken dish with a pumpkin sauce and both were incredible. The flavors are really complex and interesting. It's not Chinese, it's not Indian. Though similar to both Tibetan food is an entirely unique and delicious cuisine. The two-person tables are really close together, what's up with that? read more

I came here once before their remodel and I didn't love it. It wasn't bad food, but I just didn't love the flavors/spices in it for some reason. I wanted to love it- really I did! Yesterday a friend suggested we go there for their Saturday brunch - which he said was quite good. So we decided to give it another shot. First the renovation turned out nice - it's a much larger restaurant - I think double the space of the previous incarnation of this restaurant. And it feels cozy in there. There were several choices for the buffet so I tried a little of each thing. I don't know the names of the dishes - but one looked like saag paneer (which I love). This dish contained spinach and tofu - and it was ok, but I was surprised that it was sweet - I wasn't expecting it to be a sweet tasting dish. I love sweet tasting things, but for me this was too sweet. The chicken curry was pretty good and had a decent amount of spice. I didn't love the flavor of the potato / eggplant dish - I can't put my finger on why - it was just ok. Overall I felt this was a better meal than we had the first time, but I'm still not in love with the style of food. Price is very inexpensive with tip it was $11 per person. read more

I liked this place. It's so cheerfully orange, and the menu's first page of Real Food (as opposed to appetizers and soups) was "Vegetarian Specialties". So I peeked at the next couple of pages and told my husband, "Don't worry, there's meat, too." He got the shapta, which was tasty and likened to Chinese stir fry but healthier-tasting. I wanted something different, so I tried the drukpa tse, and I enjoyed it but had to think hard about what it was like before deciding on "nothing I've ever had before". The prices are pretty decent, but they would be better if rice was included. I think in the future I might do take out and cook my own rice! I will offer a contrasting opinion to people who didn't like the service. Our waiter wasn't super speedy but reasonably quick enough and very good about refilling my water. They definitely seemed friendly enough to me, but maybe it's not quite fair, since my husband is such a charmer. read more

I live in Central and my friend lives in Medford, so we split the difference and met up in Davis for Tibetan eats! My friend has traveled extensively in Tibet and I've traveled extensively on the Indo-Tibetan border, so we hoped we'd get a little taste of the food we missed so much! We split an order of the fried vegetable momos and were pleasant surprised. "Veggie" really meant something like "spinach and potato," but they were quite tasty, and the two hot sauces that came with it tasted really fresh and bright. My friend found a fly in the soy sauce bottle, but I'm not necessaryil sure that's Martsa's fault. For my entree, I had the thukpa (noodle soup) with spicy beef. It was pleasantly spicy, redolent with cilantro, and the noodles were perfectly chewy. Portions were huge, and it made me sweat on the hot August evening, but this would be something really comforting about it in the middle of winter. My friend, citing a tender stomach, had stir-fried veggies with garlic (pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini, and carrot I think) but noted she'd like to come back try their selection of Tibetan breads, which was something she said she really missed. They also have a wide variety of typically Chinese (kung pao chicken, sweet and sour chicken) and Indian (murgh mughlai, chili chicken) dishes to go along with the Tibetan specialties. I still haven't been to Rangzen, which is closer to me, but Martsa is a nice place to reminisce about my time traveling through India and Tibet! read more

This place is kind of innocuous, since there are quite a few options which surround it. However, if you do decide to visit, you'll definitely be intruged. These guys have a buffet option for lunch, which is really what you should be going for, because if you order individually it can get kinda expensive. In general, the food is okay here, though some options are a little bit strange. Would recommend for lunch because of the buffet deal, but not sure about dinner options. read more

Shouldn't be your choice for a late dinner on a Saturday night. Too bright, no liquor license, wall-to-wall carpets. Service was nothing special. The food was great and arrived almost instantly. Suspiciously quickly. A little pricey for what you get. The veggies momos are just spinach wrapped up. All of this adds up to a restaurant that wanted us in and out quick, though we arrived 45 minutes before closing time. I've been there for lunch - great all-you-can-eat buffet and nice and sunny. Rangzen in Central is way better. read more

I've only tried this place once with my now-husband, around the time it opened. While the cuisine was slightly different from other Indian places I've been to, I didn't notice a significant difference between the Tibetan food and Indian food. Then again, we came for the buffet rather than the individual dishes. Overall, it wasn't bad. read more

I'd really like to give Martsa 3.5 stars, darn you Yelp! We shlepped to Martsa because my friend was having a chicken momo craving... Were surprised to discover they were offering a buffet, yay! We went over to see what the options were, and were informed they were shutting the buffet down right that moment.. Oh... It was 10 minutes to 2, and there was still a lot of food left, but I guess the universe wanted us to stick to our original plan! We ordered the chicken momos immediately, and were informed they were out of them. At 2 o'clock on a Saturday. So, so disappointed. The waiter repeatedly pushed us to order the pork or beef versions, though we told him we ate neither meat... We opted for the vegetarian (spinach) version. We also ordered the crispy chicken spring rolls, chola bhatura, and chili chicken. We both had chai, and my companion had aloo paratha. One of the things I was most surprised and pleased about was how different some of the seemingly familiar items were. The spring roll was wrapped with a long, puffed piece of fry-bread, with a rough-chopped filling with a delicious savory flavor and the accompanying sauce was sweet and yummy. The chola bhatura was spiced a bit differently than the indian version, it was very flavorful, tangier and perhaps slightly sweeter. My companion went for the paratha as ever single one I've ever ordered in the US has been a dry, bland disappointment, but Martsa's was very flavorful with green onions cooked into the bread and a bit more oil or butter than the Indian versions I've had locally. Yay! The vegetarian momos were... meh.. spinach and potato, steamed in a wrapper.. as bland as it sounds. The chili chicken was shockingly bad, due to the poor quality of the meat (more cartilage, fat and gristle than meat). But I enjoyed the other items, including the (scalding!) chai so much, I would've overlooked the entree altogether had the service not annoyed me so much. Our waiter kept grabbing dishes off of our table without asking if we were done, and he'd grab them so quickly and walk away before I could stop him; plates we were still eating off of, dishes with our dipping sauces on them leaving us to eat bland momos sans sauce.... He took my chai away while it was half-full, and I told him "I wasn't done with that," too which he responded, "ohhh, there was just a little bit left." Look, so-and-so, if I'm paying for it, you shouldn't be worrying about how much of it is left unless you plan to reimburse me for the difference. Not cool. Since the majority of the dishes were so delicious, I definitely want to go back to Martsa and try some of the others, will just be more forceful with the waiter from the start, and avoid the chili chicken! read more

Martsa On Elm - Chili chicken. Looked so pretty when it arrived. Did not taste good. - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Everything is great! It's always great, and is unbelievably delicious! There's a great argument for this to be the best Indian food in Boston too :) It's BYOB and you can take advantage of the beer and wine shop across the road. Parking is a little tricky but I recommend trying the lot behind the rite aid. read more

So disappointing! First they changed the online menu in what they offer and increased the price significantly. Second, I was looking on their online menu and looking forward to having curry chicken but when I got to the restaurant the item was no longer offered. The alternative I chose was yogurt curry chicken at almost double the online price and when it came the portion size was small the chicken was dry and did not taste like curry. Service was slow. No going back and would not recommend this restaurant. read more

So good. Never have had a bad meal here. the food is amazing. BYOB! Great quality food for reasonable prices

Worst service ever! The wait times are way too long, and they tend to ignore your requests. The guy was extremely rude! It took us 1 hour and 13 mins to get our food. And he yelled at us to 'finish fast, because it is closing time' when he handed the food to us! Extremely disappointed read more

I just went there for lunch. The place looks great, simple yet neat with pictures of Tibet on the wall, and some traditional items displayed in the back. The atmosphere was very tranquil even though the place was almost full. The buffet was small but nice, with 5 different main dishes (some with chicken, some vegetarian), plus rice, buns, salad, and rice pudding with raisins. Overall rather good and tasty. For a $7.50 all-you-can-it buffet, this was rather better than many other options around (typically Indian or Chinese) that are heavy on the grease and where vegetables can be really bad. Service was efficient but not uber-friendly. I'll definitely go back, since it seems that the items on the buffet change everyday! Their take-out menu is pretty long and looks appealing, too. Last tips: they're closed on Mondays, and there is a $10 minimum for credit cards. read more

I would give 3.5 stars to Martsa if I could. Went with my boyfriend and we had some veggie momos, chili chicken, and an order of tofu and mushrooms in mango sauce. The veggie momos were tasty in my opinion, although I have no idea what an authentic momo should taste like. I expected frozen spinach would be used inside, but they clearly used fresh which was a nice surprise. The dumplings were served with a really good spicy tomato and onion chutney on the side. I totally recommend trying this stuff, it was really addicting. The tofu was easily the star of the night, in a light brown sauce with a hint of mango. It wasn't cloyingly sweet as I expected, and both the mushrooms and broccoli were fresh and cooked nicely. The chili chicken was a letdown. The sauce had absolutely no flavor of chilies, no heat, and was essentially a bowl of chopped bell peppers with onions and chicken chunks. I should have known not to order that dish, in retrospect. I suffered from that weird state of panic when the waiter arrives and you order the first thing your eyes hit on the menu. Big mistake, I will definitely stick to the tofu and momos next time. Overall, while the place lacks some ambiance and friendliness from the staff, it is compensated for by the "bang for your buck factor". Entrees are roughly 11 bucks each, which is pretty affordable for a sit down restaurant, in my opinion. Be warned though - the menu is way too big for every option to possibly be good. A sign of a great restaurant is one with a reasonably sized menu where every appetizer and entree is refined. This is not the case at Martsa - you will get some things that are absolute crap (chili chicken). However, there are some things that are tasty for the price. It is worth taking your chances for some quick and cheap eats in Davis. read more

Seriously the only thing worth ordering here is the soup. Any of the soups are great, especially on a cold New England night. All else, including the Almond Chicken is a waste of time and money! By the way, this place is also way over-priced. read more

Great food. Though service can leave a little to be desired at busy times. Momos are excellent. Recently had the Roasted Aubergine and Almond Chicken. Both excellent, side of rice could have been larger/fresher, but over all quite a tasty meal. Do like House of Tibet in Teele a bit better, in terms of ambiance, food, and service. read more

Excellent food. Great service. Was greeted with smiles and warmth. Everything we ordered was perfect. read more

Martsa On Elm - Jeff in a state of bliss. - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

A daunting selection of Tibetan entrees VS. quality ingredients and kitchen expertise Who gains the victory in my eyes but not my palate? the nicely bound menu and pretty dining room but not the food Beef momos = C = disappointing plate of steamed or fried dumpling stuffed with nondescript ground beef, similarly shaped as shu-mei or xiao long bao soup dumplings but without the delicate tender skin Drukpa-tse = D = Asian version of Thanksgiving green bean casserole, unappealing concoction of string beans, straw mushrooms and chestnuts (all of the canned variety - totally unacceptable for this type of restaurant) mixed in a watery cheese sauce that congealed into an unappetizing curdle because we couldn't finish it Lamb curry = B = tender chunks of simmered lamb in a sweet but not spicy enough yogurt sauce Overall = C = everything tasted homemade, which can be good (like a traditional recipe passed on for generations) or bad (canned or frozen ingredients combined with mom or dad's well meaning but ill-fated attempt at cooking something out of their range of expertise) read more

I hadn't been to Martsa's since they remodeled, but used to be a frequent diner. I had friends in from out of town who are vegetarians, so decided to take them there. We were not disappointed. I called 20 minutes before our arrival to let them know we were coming; they had our table waiting for us when we arrived. We ordered 4 appetizers and 4 mains - which was way to much food, but it was very good. And as everyone else has said, the fried momos are great! They don't have a liquor license, so don't expect drinks. And the days of BYOB (before the remodel) are over. No worries - they still have great lassis. We weren't a fan of the chai, though. Service is a bit slow when they are busy, bu the food makes up for it. read more

It looks like everyone's already said what needs to be said about this place, but I'll throw in my two cents. The service is slow, but the food is delicious! My husband and I split a delicious appetizer whose name escapes me. It was dough stuffed with tofu, mushrooms, and... cheese, I think? It turned out to be a great combination. We gorged ourselves on the crispy eggplant in sweet garlic sauce, and also enjoyed the tofu in pumpkin curry. If you like Chinese food and/or Indian food, you'll enjoy this cuisine. I like that there are a lot of vegetarian options, and the location is pretty convenient, too. read more

I was completely surprised and delighted by my experience here. Four of us ordered three soups, three lassis and a slew of appetizers to share (tapas style) and wound up with a 51$ dollar bill. We were absolutely stuffed, too. That's the best part. Of course, the food itself was incredible. The sha-bhale and the spicy chicken (with cilantro mint sauce that will blow your mind) were the highligts for me. Of course the veggie momos were perfect, too. The service was pleasant and prompt, the restaurant was clean and quiet, and we felt very cozy. To boot, the lassis tasted like fresh fruit - the best I've ever had. My only critique was the soup. I had the vegetable curry which fell flat. Some curry might have helped it, or at least supported the name... some curry and pineapple to pump up the flavor. Otherwise, perfect. read more

I absolutely love this restaurant. Why do people fight to get tables at restaurants that are twice as expensive and half as good? read more

We got really lucky in beating the dinner rush because I am not sure how the service can keep up when the restaurant is full (which it normally is). We were one of two tables in the restaurant when we dined, but the waiter switched our orders. When we complained the waiter half-heatedly offered to take our meals back and bring us what we ordered, but proceeded to try to convince us what we were serviced was good. Fortunately, our meal was still delicious and we left full, but very disappointed with the quality of service. read more

Yum.... I've been here twice. It was good the first time... I had a chicken curry that my gf ate a lot of because she got a dry noodle dish that she never likes, but orders anyway. We went to go back... and it was closed for renovations. I just ate there again, and it was delicious. We had lady fingers (okra), a chicken Marsala stir fry, squash curry, and some beef noodles. Everything was great, except for the beef noodles which were predictably a bit bland, and merely good. ------ edit: I have now been here about 10 more times. The lunch buffet is OK (I usually don't like buffets though - food made to order always tastes so much better). We almost always order the same thing (Ladyfingers and Dry Chicken Marsala). And they have been consistently tasty, as have everything else we or friends have ordered. And their lime soda is good, too. read more

I've enjoyed Martsa on Elm quite a few times in the last three years. It was a great place for a nice, light meal--they have a bunch of soup options, and some interesting breads, and it was great to be able to eat a restaurant meal without staggering around stuffed afterward. Thus, I should be thrilled as heck about the changes since they reopened (but I'm not). I ate there on Friday night for the first time since the remodeling. I ordered my favorite soup, guzarelthuk (sp? it's little dumplings, beef, daikon, spinach, etc.) and some bread. And? Not only was the soup more than 25% more expensive than before (and the bread 20%), but the portion size of each of the items was maybe half, at most, of its previous size. The new, larger space is gorgeous. But really, I only went there for the cheap soup, and I probably won't be doing that again for what is barely a mouthful these days. (I'm not too impressed with the rest of the food, as it's pretty standard, rather greasy, generic Chinesesqueness, and like another reviewer I had hair in my food on one occasion.) read more

Great place to go for a vegetarian/vegan lunch buffet spot, especially on the weekends. The buffet line is usually the same dishes every time, but the vegetarian dishes are so good I come to think of it now as comfort food. And the tingmos are scrumptious, every time! read more

This is a small quiet place that is a great place for a delicious dinner. I came here with my boyfriend because we were both curious what Tibetan food was like. We asked the waiters for recommendations and they were really helpful. We ended up getting the momo, which are great dumplings (had the beef and veggie - the beef were better in my opinion.) We had a really good coconut curry soup that had tofu, mushrooms, and a few other things. We shared Shamday, which was a beef and potato dish in a curried sauce. That was really delicious and we ended up wiping the bowl clean with the bread. The sautéed veggies were good, not great. We tried the Tibetan butter tea, which we told is an acquired taste (it's salty and really thick, probably good in the Himalayan mountains.) Overall, it was a really great place for dinner or take out right near the T. read more

Six of us came here for dinner on Thursday night. The place was pretty empty when we arrived. We ordered a variety of dishes, mostly vegetarian. The food arrived and we enjoyed most of the dishes. The problem came in with the service. First, I ordered my dish with no mushrooms. It arrived with mushrooms; luckily it wasn't an allergy issue but I do think they should be more careful about such things. And then there was the "dragging of chairs" incident - they were setting up a table and proceeded to drag 6 chairs around for what seemed to be a crazy amount of time. It was very loud and disruptive and the solution was easy - pick up the chairs. By the time we were finishing, the place was filling up. The waiter told us that we needed to leave to free up the table. We were dining with 4 people that we hadn't seen in years and we had barely finished our dinner. While the food was good, the Dining experience was not. I will not dine there again. read more

We love this place especially the lunch buffet. Although small, there is a great variety. The buffet is frequenty replenished with quality food. Not to mention the host is wonderfully friendly and attentive. One of the few remaining family-run restaurants! read more

Martsa On Elm - Lunch buffet: rice, lemon chicken, beans, veggie stir fry noodles - Himalayan/Nepalese Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

I love trying new restaurants and different types of food. As a vegetarian, I was so excited when I initially came across the menu at Martsa. Unfortunately when I first tried to go it was closed for new management, so I was thrilled to see it open up recently! I tried a starter that was basically a combo of potato, cinnamon, apple sauce and goat cheese. At first glance on the menu I thought it was going to be more like a latke. It wasn't, but it was seriously good. I also had vegetarian croquettes with tofu which was really good, but a bit salty for me. Either way I definitely plan on going back. Really nice and attentive service, mellow, pretty inexpensive and good food! read more

Incredible. Spicy pumpkin curry was the perfect blend of spicy and sweet. All the server for recs! Wonderful service and food. read more

Really tasty food, vegetarian friendly, interesting menu and pretty affordable! Never disappointed with the food here, could improve service though. read more

I'm a vegetarian and usually I don't have that many options when it comes to what to eat. I loved the selection and there was such a wide variety of veg dishes. We got the vegetarian momo which were tender and very flavorful (amazing spicy chutneys and sauces on the side as well), and I got the almond tofu which was creamy and well cooked and seasoned. All in all VERY pleased with the food even if the service was a little slower and I had to flag down the waiter a couple of times. Would definitely eat here again read more

We just had a wonderful dinner at Martsa tonight. The restaurant was packed on a Tuesday night and there were only two guys working the front but they were kind, helpful, and attentive. The food was fantastic - so many vegetarian options and everything was fresh and expertly spiced. We tried three appetizers and three entrees among 4 people and it was the perfect amount and variety. As some other reviewers have referenced, there was a disgruntled customer in the restaurant tonight. It seems he ordered a special dish that takes awhile to come out, and when other diners in the restaurant we're receiving food before him, he stood up, made an absolute scene, and stormed out, leaving a woman he was with behind at the table. She quietly waited for him to stomp down the block before talking quietly with the staff, who had just tried to follow him out to talk to him as he made his dramatic exit. It's a small, family friendly restaurant. You can expect great food to come out hot and fresh and as quickly as they can make it. If you're the type to storm out of casual local restaurants for no reason, it's probably for the best you keep stomping...otherwise, enjoy Martsa - a true Davis Square gem! read more

Just go here. Food is consistently incredible (try the Goan Fish), service is on point, and surprisingly cheap. Definitely one of the best places I've eaten in Boston. Also you must try the Momo, I could taste the love put into this dish. read more

Amazing Mughlai Chicken, idli sambhar and chat. Quantity was a little less though.