About Us
Our beginning,
My desire to own a restaurant was not spontaneous, it came little by little. It started back in Nepal in my late teens and early 20s when i was spending most of my evenings with friends at cafes and bars in Kathmandu.
Growing up in Nepal during a civil war, when the government went from a monarchy to being run by the communist party, with up to 14 hours a day of power outages, the future felt uncertain. It was hanging out in those cafes, in the little serpentine alleys of Kathmandu that kept me and my friends sane.
We would meet at our spots to talk about our options to move abroad, searching universities in America, Australia, Europe, and Canada. When a friend would get a visa, we would have farewells in the same cafes. It must have been in one of those cafes tugged in the vibrant alleyways of Kathmandu. Amidst the mash of wires, shop sign and overhanging balconies during my late teens that i must have made up my mind to own a restaurant
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
In 2013, I was able to move to the United States and it was a fresh start. I started working in the restaurant industry because it was where I felt most connected and comfortable.
First, as a busser at Skates on the Bay in Berkeley, then as a cashier at Tad’s Steak House on Powell Street. Later I worked as a server at Fieldwork Brewing Co. and got a chance to learn to bartend at Zaytoon in Albany. After four years of working in Bay Area restaurants, I decided I was ready for my big move.
In 2018, I opened Dancing Yak at 280 Valencia St., and the rest is history. At Dancing Yak, the mountains of the Nepal have come together to inspire a wonderful dining experience and I’m so proud to share it with you all.
– Suraksha
Suraksha Basnet
Owner
