In a town where heritage cafés are as much a part of memory as misty mornings, Glenary’s continues to stand not just as a restaurant, but as an idea. For Glenary’s Manager Ashok Tamang, that idea can be summed up in a single word — hope.
“No matter what happens, there is always hope,” Tamang said in an exclusive conversation with News Ei Samay. “Hope for better days. Hope for the coming generations.”
At a time when rumours of Glenary’s shutting down circulated widely, Tamang chose reassurance over rhetoric. He made it clear that the bakery and restaurant are functioning as usual, even if the bar remains temporarily closed. Yet, beyond the operational clarifications, his emphasis remained firmly on continuity: emotional, cultural and culinary.
Hope, served daily
Founded in 1885, Glenary’s has lived through generations, political shifts and changing tastes. Tamang believes its relevance today lies in its ability to make people feel connected, not nostalgic alone, but reassured.
“People who walk in here make us feel young,” he said. “Even though it’s a colonial-era business, we keep trying new things, adding something, removing something if it doesn’t work.”
For Tamang, customers themselves are the institution’s real strength. Celebrities or not, he treats everyone equally. “Everyone who comes here is a celebrity for me,” he said, dismissing the idea of star culture. “People from Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, South India, they all come here. Some just want a cup of coffee, some a pot of tea, some our bakery items.”
That everyday loyalty, he believes, is what sustains Glenary’s far more than headlines or social media trends.
The dish that speaks for the place
When asked to choose just one dish that represents Glenary’s today, Tamang didn’t hesitate.
Sizzler.
“We specialise in continental food, and our sizzlers are selling like hot buns,” he said.
In many ways, the choice is telling. The sizzler, hot, theatrical, hearty, reflects Glenary’s own approach: rooted in tradition, yet alive to modern appetite. While the bakery remains iconic, Tamang sees the sizzler as a symbol of how the kitchen has evolved with time, without losing its identity.
The dish, much like the establishment itself, continues to draw people in, cutting across age, geography and expectation.
‘Darjeeling is incomplete without Glenary’s’
Asked what truly sets Glenary’s apart from everything else in Darjeeling, Tamang returned to what he hears most often from patrons.
“Visiting Darjeeling is incomplete without visiting Glenary’s,” he said.
For him, the most meaningful moments are not celebrity visits or film shoots, but human reactions. “Sometimes people hug me after their meal. They thank me. They want to take pictures,” he said. “That makes me proud. That makes me satisfied.”
More than survival
In defining Glenary’s as hope, Tamang isn’t merely speaking about business survival. He is speaking about belief, that institutions rooted in trust can outlast rumours, setbacks and change.
“Hope is always there,” he said simply.
In Darjeeling, where the past often competes with the present, Glenary’s continues to do something rare: serve reassurance on a plate, sometimes with a sizzler, sometimes with a cup of coffee, but always with the quiet confidence of history still breathing.
