33 editor picks in Delhi.
33 mid-range places in Delhi, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Delhi, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Delhi food.
Karim's has served Mughlai kebabs and curries in Gali Kababian by Jama Masjid in Old Delhi since 1913, cooking from recipes passed down through generations.
OrderThe mutton burra, then mutton qorma with sheermal to mop up the gravy.
TipThe lane is narrow and busiest in the evening; the kitchen runs from 09:00 until 01:00, so a late lunch is the calm window.
Al Jawahar faces Gate 1 of Jama Masjid on Matia Mahal Road in Old Delhi, a Mughlai room known for mutton qorma, badam pasanda and yeasted khameeri roti.
OrderThe badam pasanda in almond gravy, or mutton qorma with khameeri roti.
TipIt stays open until midnight; during Ramzan the Matia Mahal lane outside fills with haleem pots and kebab grills after sunset.
Chor Bizarre on Asaf Ali Road in Delhi serves Kashmiri wazwan in a thieves-market room of antique tables and 1950s Hindi songs, near Delhi Gate.
OrderThe wazwan, or a plate of mutton yakhni with haaq and rice.
TipReserve ahead for dinner and order the full wazwan for the table; the kitchen also runs Kashmiri specials such as aloo bukhara korma.
Cafe Lota sits inside the National Crafts Museum near Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, reworking regional Indian recipes for an open-air courtyard menu.
OrderThe Pondicherry fish curry, a coconut-based curry from the kitchen's regional rotation.
TipStart with palak patta chaat and a filter coffee, and pair lunch with a walk through the Crafts Museum galleries next door.
Quick Brown Fox, a New Delhi specialty roaster, pours its own single-estate coffees alongside pizza and cookies at a third-floor cafe in Hauz Khas, Delhi.
TipA note on the tables says laptops are not allowed at weekends; on weekdays, ask which single-estate coffee is on filter.
Devan's, founded in New Delhi in 1962 by D. Vasudevan, sells its filter coffee from Khanna Market in Lodhi Colony, and his grandson is now in the business.
TipAsk for a filter coffee at the counter before buying beans; the shop is set up to teach brewing before you buy.
Naivedyam serves crisp dosas and filter coffee from a temple-themed room in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi, the vegetarian chain's original branch, since 1994.
OrderMysore masala dosa with a filter coffee.
TipLook for Shop 1; weekend mornings open an hour earlier than weekdays, at 09:00.
Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, Old Delhi, is where Punjabi refugees from Peshawar made butter chicken famous after Partition; the room still serves it daily.
OrderButter chicken with a butter garlic naan, plus a plate of tandoori chicken.
TipAsk for a courtyard table, where live music plays on some evenings, and order breads to share across the table.
Gulati is one of the Punjabi dining rooms of Pandara Road Market in Delhi, open until midnight for butter chicken, murgh malai tikka and handi gosht.
OrderButter chicken and murgh malai tikka, with dal makhani and garlic naan.
TipThe kitchen runs until midnight, so it suits a late dinner after India Gate; expect a wait at peak weekend hours.
Naivedyam in Connaught Place, Delhi, is a South Indian vegetarian room for dosas, uttapam, dahi vada and vegetable korma with Malabar parotta from 09:00.
OrderA masala dosa, or vegetable korma with flaky Malabar parotta.
TipIt opens at 09:00, so it works for a South Indian breakfast before a day in Connaught Place and Janpath.
Chef Amninder Sandhu's Kikli in Connaught Place, Delhi, cooks village Punjabi food, including dal slow-cooked overnight on a cow-dung-fired hara.
OrderThe hara dal with toonhi roti, plus kathal takatak and a glass of lassi.
TipDal, chana and winter saag cook overnight on the hara in the courtyard; the kadahi section covers Lahori dishes such as kadahi chicken.
Sagar Ratna, the South Indian vegetarian chain Jayaram Banan founded in Delhi in 1986, runs this Outer Circle branch in Connaught Place from 08:00 daily.
OrderThe ghee roast masala dosa, with idli chaat to share.
TipGroups can order the four-foot dosa from the menu; it opens at 08:00, early enough for a South Indian breakfast in Connaught Place.
The Big Chill in Khan Market, Delhi, is a busy Italian cafe known for penne vodka, chicken cacciatore and a dessert list led by Mississippi mudpie.
OrderThe Mississippi mudpie, a dense chocolate pie that anchors the dessert counter.
TipBook before a weekend visit, or expect a wait with the Khan Market crowds; save room for the dessert counter.
AMA Cafe serves a Himalayan breakfast of eggs, aloo khatsa and Tibetan bread from a first floor room in Majnu ka Tilla, Delhi's Tibetan colony.
TipIt opens at 07:30 for the Himalayan or an English breakfast; the pancakes and carrot cinnamon cake are the reviewed favourites.
The Cavalry Bar sits inside the Maidens Hotel in Civil Lines, Delhi, a colonial-era bar that dates to 1903, with high ceilings and a finger food menu.
OrderA classic cocktail with a plate from the finger food menu.
TipThe hotel dates to 1903; the bar's colonial architecture is worth a look even outside happy hour.
Effingut in Saket's MGF Metropolitan Mall brews its own beers, meads and ciders on site across 16 taps, calling itself Delhi's largest craft brewery.
OrderA cider and one of the 16 house beers, with the Rainbow Ball from the menu.
TipIt runs pub quizzes, pours 16 house beers, meads and ciders, and the mall's own parking saves hunting for a spot outside.
Diggin runs an all-day menu in a garden courtyard on Race Course Road, Delhi, best known for pastas such as penne picante, sandwiches and its milkshakes.
OrderThe penne picante and a Ferrero Rocher milkshake.
Pindi has served Punjabi food on Pandara Road in Delhi since 1948, founded by a family with roots in Rawalpindi and known for its kebabs and Pindi chana.
OrderA mutton seekh kebab and the Pindi chana, with butter chicken and tandoori roti for the table.
TipThe name comes from Rawalpindi, where the founders came from before Partition; order the namesake Pindi chana alongside the kebabs.
Hornbill serves Naga food from a basement kitchen in Humayunpur, south Delhi, known across the city for its smoked pork dishes and Naga thalis.
OrderThe Naga thali with smoked pork and bamboo shoot.
TipIt's a basement room near the NCC Gate in Humayunpur; inside, bamboo-mat walls and Naga artefacts set the tone.
Defence Bakery opened as a wholesale bakery in Defence Colony in 1962 under Jagdish Mitra Dhingra, and his family's third generation runs it in Delhi today.
TipShop 34 sits inside Block A Market; order a custom cake a day ahead for a specific size or flavour.
Rossette Coffee Lab roasts small batches on a Probat drum in Subhash Nagar, running West Delhi's own coffee tastings and barista training sessions.
TipThe lab is on the 2nd floor of Ajay Enclave; cuppings and workshops are paid sessions, so ask the price first.
Bhansaghar sits at the tip of Humayunpur, Delhi's Northeastern food pocket, cooking Nepali food: a Thakali thali, duck curry, kothey momo and jhol momo.
OrderThe Thakali thali with a plate of jhol momo on the side.
TipOrder the jhol momo alongside the Thakali thali; there are two levels of seating in the small room, and ordering is done online.
Rajasthali serves an unlimited Rajasthani thali from a small dining room in Connaught Place, Delhi, built around dal baati churma and gatte ki sabzi.
OrderThe unlimited Rajasthani thali with gatte ki sabzi and dal baati churma.
TipCome hungry and skip breakfast; the thali is refilled on request until you wave the server off.
Jugmug Thela strings fairy lights over indoor and outdoor tables in Champa Gali, pouring Vietnamese coffee and plating pasta in this lane of Delhi.
TipParking near the lane costs about ₹50 an hour, so walk the five minutes from Saket metro station instead.
Blue Tokai sells beans roasted in Gurugram from this Defence Colony cafe in Delhi, part of what it calls India's largest specialty coffee company.
TipTry the Vietnamese-style iced coffee made with the dark Dhak blend, then pick up a bag of single-estate beans to take home.
Banga Bhawan Canteen on Hailey Road in Delhi is West Bengal's guest house kitchen, run by the caterer Bijoli Grill and open to the public for Bengali meals.
OrderKosha mangsho with luchi, then mishti doi to finish.
TipPair the kosha mangsho and luchi with a fish dish such as pabda or ilish; vegetarians get aloo posto, and mishti doi ends the meal.
Swagath has served South Indian and coastal seafood dishes in Delhi's Defence Colony Market since 2001, built around Chettinad chicken and fish curry.
OrderThe Chettinad chicken with a Malabar parotta.
TipWeekday lunch is quieter than the dinner rush that starts around 20:00.
Faarsi serves Lebanese and Persian food from a ground floor room in Hauz Khas Village, south Delhi, known for its shawarma wraps and fresh falafel.
OrderThe shawarma wrap with a side of falafel and hummus.
TipIt stays open until 01:00, so it works as a late bite after the Hauz Khas Village bars.
Wenger's has baked hot dogs, patties and pastries in Connaught Place since the 1930s, a Swiss-founded bakery often called New Delhi's oldest.
TipHot dogs and burgers sit on the separate Wenger's Deli menu; the bakery counter handles patties, pastries and cakes.
Govinda's is the restaurant inside the ISKCON temple at East of Kailash in Delhi, cooking sattvik vegetarian food without onion or garlic for a buffet.
OrderThe vegetarian buffet, cooked without onion or garlic.
TipThe food is sattvik prasadam, offered at the temple first; the kitchen cooks without onion, garlic or ginger, from 08:00 to 22:00 daily.
Andhra Canteen in M Block of Connaught Place, Delhi, serves Andhra-style biryani, dosas and masala uttapam, the biryani plated thali-style with salan.
OrderThe masala uttapam, a thick lentil-and-rice pancake topped with onion and chilli.
TipOrder the biryani, which comes on a thali with salan, raita and salad; a short wait at peak lunch is normal.
Dhaba - A Punjabi Theme serves Punjabi food in Rajouri Garden, west Delhi, in a room built as a village dhaba kitchen with a truck parked in front.
OrderThe sarewan ki roti, a dhaba bread stuffed with spiced onion, with butter chicken.
TipThe room recreates a village dhaba, with rope-strung wooden furniture, pickle jars on the wall and waiters in Punjabi dress.
Theobroma stocks its brownie counter and celebration cakes at this Defence Colony market outlet, one stop in the bakery chain's wider Delhi run.
TipThe counter is on the ground floor of Main Market; the range runs from brownies and cookies to tea cakes and eggless celebration cakes.
Day trip · 14 hours
Discover the beauty and culture of Jaipur on a full-day tour from Delhi. Visit iconic landmarks like the Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, and Jantar Mantar, all wi...
3 hours
Join an Indian home chef in her unique culinary oasis to explore a local market and create a delicious traditional meal, blending modern techniques with age-old recipe...
Guided tour · 3h 30m
Explore Delhi on Two Wheels! Join our early morning cycle tours through New Delhi, discovering culture and history at your own pace. Gear up and pedal into adventure!