32 editor picks in Delhi.
32 cheap eats places in Delhi, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Delhi: the places editors actually return to. All Delhi food.
Kuremal Mohan Lal Kulfi Wale freezes kulfi inside hollowed fruit shells near Chawri Bazar metro, a family trade in Old Delhi that dates back to 1906.
OrderStuffed mango or pomegranate kulfi.
TipThe stuffed kulfi is set back inside the real fruit, using its own pulp; the shop opens every day from 11:00 to 23:00.
Chaina Ram Sindhi Halwai, founded in Lahore's Anarkali Market in 1901, has sold Karachi halwa and namkeen at Fatehpuri Chowk since moving at Partition.
OrderA box of Karachi halwa and a bag of moong dal namkeen.
TipClosed Sundays; the shop also sells its sweets, namkeen and halwa through its own online store if you want more later.
Old Famous Jalebi Wala has fried jalebi in desi ghee at the Dariba corner of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi since 1884, sold hot by weight with rabri or samosa.
OrderA hot plate of jalebi straight off the kadhai.
TipBuy by weight and eat standing at the counter; the jalebi cools fast.
Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala tops soaked lentil dumplings with sweet and tangy chutneys on Chandni Chowk's main road in Old Delhi, running since the 1940s.
OrderA plate of dahi bhalla, then the aloo tikki with both chutneys.
TipThis corner shop sells only two things, dahi bhalla and aloo tikki; expect a crowd outside at most hours, and note it closes at 21:30.
Dolma Aunty Momos has steamed chicken and vegetable momos in Lajpat Nagar's Central Market since 1994, a Delhi momo stall with a fiery chilli chutney.
OrderChicken momos with the red chutney on the side.
TipLook for Shop D 44; closed Mondays, and the chutney runs hot, so ask for less if you want it milder.
Aslam Chicken grills butter chicken and seekh kebabs on charcoal in Bazaar Matia Mahal by Jama Masjid, Delhi, staying open past 00:00 most nights of the week.
OrderButter chicken with a chicken seekh kebab and rumali roti.
TipThe butter chicken here is charcoal-grilled chicken tikka swimming in butter and cream, served in a tasla, not a tomato gravy.
Sita Ram Diwan Chand fries chole bhature on Chuna Mandi in Paharganj, Delhi, a standing-room counter where the one plate is the reason to come.
OrderChole bhature with the pickled carrots and green chillies on the side.
TipThe kitchen closes at 17:30, so go for breakfast or lunch; people eat standing at waist-high tables outside.
Pt. Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan Paranthe Wale has fried stuffed parathas in Gali Paranthe Wali, Old Delhi, a fixed stop on the Chandni Chowk food lane.
OrderMixed paratha with a plate of aloo and a lassi.
TipThe shop descends from one of the first families to fry parathas in the lane, now in its sixth generation; ask for the khoya paratha.
Andhra Bhavan runs a canteen near India Gate in Delhi, serving an unlimited Andhra thali of rice, sambar, rasam and curries to any walk-in visitor.
OrderThe unlimited vegetarian thali with a side of chicken fry.
TipParking is scarce around Ashoka Road, so come by cab or two-wheeler; try the tamarind pickle kept on the tables.
Roshan Di Kulfi has served kulfi faluda and chole bhature on Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh, Delhi, since 1951, with a dine-in room behind the counter.
OrderKulfi faluda and a plate of chole bhature.
TipThe dine-in room gets crowded at meal times; kulfi faluda is the draw, with chole bhature and bhalla papdi for a fuller meal.
Diamond Bakery has twice baked its rusk in Old Delhi for more than a century, a Jama Masjid counter that bakes in a wood fired bhatti, not an oven.
TipBuy a bag of rusk for the morning chai; the wood fired bake is what keeps it so crisp.
Bengali Sweet House, opened by a Bikaner family who reached Delhi in 1936, runs a chaat, chole and mithai counter in Bengali Market near Mandi House.
OrderA plate of chaat and chole bhature, then a rasgulla from the sweet counter.
TipThe shop, one of the first to bring rasgulla to Delhi, opened in Bengali Market in 1937; finish the chaat with one.
Giani's Di Hatti scoops rabri faluda and kulfi from a Fatehpuri counter at the western end of Chandni Chowk, a Delhi dessert stop that closes before dinner.
OrderRabri faluda topped with a scoop of kulfi.
TipShuts by 19:00, earlier than most Chandni Chowk food stops, so go before evening.
Qureshi Kabab Corner skewers seekh kebabs in Delhi across from Jama Masjid's Gate 1, one of the counters that keeps the lane fed after evening prayers thin.
OrderMutton seekh kebab rolled with onions and green chutney.
TipThe grill starts at 17:00 and runs until 00:30, so it works for a late supper after the Jama Masjid lanes.
Moolchand Parantha has fried stuffed parathas by Moolchand metro in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, since 1975, a mostly takeaway counter with a few tall tables.
OrderAn aloo pyaz paratha, served with a cube of Amul butter, chutney and salad.
TipSeating is a few tall tables beside the counter, so most people take their parathas away; one paratha is a meal for one.
Rajinder Da Dhaba began as a fish fry stall in 1968 and now fronts Safdarjung Enclave Market in Delhi, serving butter chicken and dal makhani from 15:00.
OrderButter chicken with dal makhani and tandoori roti.
TipIt opens at 15:00, not for lunch; there is outdoor seating along the market front, and portions are generous.
Saravana Bhavan on Atul Grove Road off Janpath in Delhi serves South Indian vegetarian food from 07:00: ghee roast dosas, idli, vada and filter coffee.
OrderThe ghee paper roast masala dosa with a pot of filter coffee.
TipIt opens at 07:00 for dosa breakfasts; at lunch the thalis are the way to try several dishes in one order.
Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Connaught Place, Delhi, runs a free community langar where anyone can sit on the floor to eat dal, roti and kheer with worshippers.
OrderWhatever the langar is serving: dal, roti and kheer.
TipCover your head at the entrance (scarves are free) and leave a small donation if you can; there is no charge either way.
Maa Tara has cooked home-style Bengali food in Chittaranjan Park, Delhi since 1994, known citywide for its mustard hilsa and mutton kosha curry.
OrderThe mutton kosha with steamed rice, followed by mishti doi.
TipThere's no reservation line; expect a short queue at the door on weekend evenings and Durga Puja season.
Delhi Darbar Dhaba cooks butter chicken, chicken biryani and dal makhani at a Gole Market restaurant near Connaught Place, Delhi, open until about 01:00.
OrderButter chicken with a side of dal makhani and tandoori roti.
TipLook for Shop 10 in Baird Line Market; the kitchen runs from 11:00 to about 01:00, so it covers a late dinner after Connaught Place.
Haji Shabrati Nihari Wale has cooked only nihari since 1957 in a lane behind Chitli Qabar in Old Delhi, open for two short windows in the morning and evening.
OrderA plate of nihari with khameeri roti, as early as you can.
TipExpect a queue outside at both sittings: it serves from 06:00 to 10:00 and again from 18:00, with khamiri roti on the side.
Indian Coffee House on the second floor of Mohan Singh Place in Delhi is a cooperative-run canteen with fading hand-painted signs, filter coffee and pakoras.
OrderFilter coffee with a plate of pakoras or an omelette.
TipDo not expect speed: the waiters take their time, which is the point; it closes at 20:30, so come for coffee rather than dinner.
Carnatic Cafe plates dosa, idli and filter coffee from a Meherchand Market corner, a South Indian breakfast counter in Delhi's Lodhi Colony.
TipThe Malleshwaram 18th Cross and ghee roast dosas draw the biggest crowd, so expect a wait of about thirty minutes.
Khan Chacha rolls chicken and mutton tikka into rumali roti at its Khan Market counter, the roll stall Delhi's tourism board calls the market's landmark.
OrderMutton seekh roll and a chicken tikka roll.
TipIt began as a Khan Market kiosk in 1972; order the tikka and seekh rolls the tourism board singles out by name.
Bishan Swaroop Chaat Bhandar has sold a short menu of chaat on Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi since 1923, led by aloo chaat, aloo ke kulle and fruit chaat.
OrderThe aloo chaat first, then aloo ke kulle or the fruit chaat.
TipOrder the aloo chaat first, then aloo ke kulle or the fruit chaat; the stall trades every day from 10:00 to 21:00.
Kake Di Hatti has baked stuffed tandoori naans and dal makhani on Church Mission Road in Old Delhi since 1942, a vegetarian kitchen open until 01:00.
OrderA stuffed paneer naan shared with a bowl of dal makhani.
TipOver 100 naan varieties are listed, in sizes from Nikka and Baby up to the house Kake size; the family dining room is upstairs.
Tee Dee has served Tibetan momos, thukpa and breakfast shabalay in Delhi's Majnu ka Tilla colony since 1991, a fixture for the neighborhood.
OrderA plate of pork momos with a bowl of thukpa.
TipIt opens at 09:00 for breakfast bowls of thukpa; later in the day the menu runs to shabaley, tingmo, double fried pork and devil momos.
Prabhu Chaat Bhandar sells aloo tikki, gol gappe and papdi chaat in the UPSC lane on Shahjahan Road, Delhi, a chaat stop known locally as UPSC ki chaat.
OrderAloo tikki chaat with pani puri on the side.
TipIt runs on a token system, so pay first; if the tikki is too hot, cool down with the pista kulfi topped with faluda.
Kerala House Samridhi Canteen on Jantar Mantar Road in Delhi is the Kerala guest house canteen, open to walk-ins for breakfast, a matta rice lunch and dinner.
OrderThe lunch meal of matta rice, sambar, thoran and parippu, with fish curry or dry fish on the side.
TipBuy a coupon at the counter before you order, and reach about 15 minutes before lunch opens at 12:30 to beat the rush.
Kake Da Hotel is a dhaba-style Punjabi kitchen in Connaught Place, New Delhi, tucked into a market lane and best known for its mutton saag gosht.
OrderThe saag gosht, mutton simmered into a mustard-greens curry.
TipSeating is tight across two small floors, so expect a short wait at lunch; the mutton dishes are the reason to come.
Gulfam Kashmiri Wazwan has served Kashmiri meat dishes near Nizamuddin, in Delhi, since 1987, with rogan josh and tabakh maaz as the draw here.
OrderThe tabakh maaz followed by rogan josh with steamed rice.
TipThere is indoor and outdoor seating as well as takeaway; start with the tabakh maaz, then rogan josh with steamed rice.
Appus Hotel has served Kerala food by INA Market in Delhi since 1998: appam, idiyappam, puttu and kappa at breakfast, then biryani and fish dishes.
OrderAppam and idiyappam with the chicken roast, plus a Kerala fish fry served with gravy.
TipIt is a few paces from the INA metro exit on the market side; there is more seating up on the first floor.
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