Bright orange traffic cones and freshly-paved concrete outline a modern, glass-paneled hotel near the upper edge of Lower Allston. Inside, customers, consisting of families, students, business workers and more, gather at Ama, the new Nepali-inspired restaurant that opened just last month inside The Atlas Hotel.
The restaurant’s design reflects its roots in Nepali heritage and comfort. Nepali prayer flags gently sway on the restaurant’s ceiling. Gray curtains between dining areas allow privacy for guests. A small corner fit with couches and coffee tables offers guests a casual lounging spot. Fuzzy, curving red and gold walls bring warmth to every area of the restaurant.
Ama’s bar is plastered with multi-textured red and gold material, designed by architects at Marlon Blackwell. Photo by Joe Farfan.
On a recent Monday, Nyacko Pearl Perry and Biplaw Rai, co-founders of Ama, sit at a wooden table in the warmly lit “Living Room,” a free third space between the hotel and the restaurant. Perry and Rai, who currently own one other restaurant Comfort Kitchen, are not only business partners but spouses with a three-year-old son. Perry’s family has lived in Allston for three generations, and she says that she wants the restaurant to align with the community’s needs.
“What we’re hoping for is that everybody feels like this is their space,” Perry said.
Both her and Rai have been working closely with local businesses and artists to bring their vision to life. Above the tall potted plants hang abstract paintings by Allston-based artists — works that Perry herself has handpicked.
“This is literally a family business,” Perry says. “We really want to be a space where someone wants to bring that caregiver who needs to be cared for once.”
The restaurant’s name is the Nepali word for “mother” and is named after Rai’s own mother.
“I think out of everyone in our family, my mom is the person who cooks,” Rai says. He smiles behind a goatee and takes out his ponytail. He’s laid-back and approachable, a supportive leader who gives his workers freedom and guidance, Renato Rodriguez, Ama’s food and beverage director, says.
Rai’s parents work in the kitchen at Ama. Almost everyone calls them “Ama” and “Papa”. The restaurant’s culinary director, Shelley Nason, describes Ama as a “tough mom who cares about you and will put you in your place.”
Papa makes momo — Nepali dumplings — in the kitchen. Nason, who develops almost every dish, has left the momo untouched.
“[Papa] is very passionate about those momo,” Nason said. “It’s the way their family makes it, which is important.”
The Pork Momo comes with six momos and a tomato achaar sauce for 14 dollars. Hearty ginger and scallion dominate each two-bite snack. Every momo is carefully wrapped in a stretchy, translucent, almost buttery skin. The subtle mala kick in the tomato achaar sauce adds a heavenly vibrance to this earthy dish. Those front-of-the-tongue flavors are familiar to me — just a little taste of my parents’ Chinese dumplings in each bite.
Left: The Pozole Verde, part of Ama’s soup series “She Knows the Way”. Right: Papa’s Pork Momo with tomato achaar sauce on the lunch menu. Photo by Joe Farfan.
The restaurant differentiates itself from others by sticking to the classics, Rai says. Instead of rushing service, he wants guests to enjoy a full experience.
“Our tagline is, ‘Let it Linger,’” Rai says. “You don’t have to have a white tablecloth and three suits to have that service. You can still have that service by being kind and really listening attentively to the guest.”
Part of Rai and Perry’s effort to offer a slow, comfortable experience is reintroducing soups to the restaurant industry.
“If you go to most restaurants these days, you will not find soup on the menu at all,” Rai said, “But [soup is important to] every culture and every family.”
The Pozole Verde is one of two soups on Ama’s menu. It’s a green, earthy stew with vegetables and braised pork inside a poblano pepper and tomatillo broth base. Each flavor feels controlled — you can taste the spice underneath that herbal soup and the sweetness from the pork. The crispy tortilla served on the side adds a nice crunch. It’s kind of a hot, savory cereal.
One of the most recommended menu items on the lunch menu is the duck fried rice. It’s a comforting hodgepodge of their sweet, crispy duck confit, garlicky greens and egg topped with sunflower sprouts. It’s another playful experiment with texture. The crispy duck and bits of crispy rice complement the fluffy egg and springy sprouts. Small hints of spice from the chili oil bind this hardy dish.
Each item on the menu is crafted with story and relatability in mind, Rai said.
Perry lights up as she recalls fond memories of her grandmother’s pineapple upside-down cake, which inspired the menu’s Brown Butter Pineapple Cake. For 12 dollars, it could easily be a two-bite dessert. The vegan cake is fluffy and slightly moist, topped with coconut cream and maraschino cherries that brighten the taste. The salted pineapple caramel sauce drapes every flavor in buttery, savory richness.
A behind-the-scenes look at Ama’s back-of-house team. The restaurant’s open kitchen design allows diners a glimpse at the people preparing their meals. Photo by Joe Farfan.
In the future, Rai said he plans to “take more breaks.” His partner laughs, but it’s true. The pair has two restaurants and a son to care for. Despite this, the couple is already thinking about ways to expand. For instance, diners can expect new menu items and a new art installation in one of the restaurant’s spaces in the next six months, Perry said.
Another restaurant is also already in the works, Perry and Rai said. Fox Club, opening in April 2026, will be a rooftop bar in The Atlas. Perry is excited to install more local art in the space.
Photo by Joe Farfan.
The first six months of opening a restaurant can be stressful, Perry said. Rai and Pearl said they wanted to elevate the comfort of the guest experience at Ama by including a coat check and three meals, seven days a week.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s like, can we show up for each other in 2026?” Perry said, “We need spaces where we’re doing that, and we hope to be one of those spaces for folks.”
