The restaurants worth a reservation in Delhi, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
Where to eat in Delhi starts in the old city. Karim's has cooked Mughlai kebabs and curries in Gali Kababian, by Jama Masjid, since 1913, and Al Jawahar faces the mosque's Gate 1 on Matia Mahal Road with mutton qorma, badam pasanda and yeasted khameeri roti. A short ride south, the Daryaganj address of Moti Mahal is where Punjabi refugees from Peshawar made butter chicken famous after Partition, and Chor Bizarre on Asaf Ali Road serves a Kashmiri wazwan.
New Delhi eats differently. Connaught Place holds United Coffee House, open since 1942, and the cooperative-run Indian Coffee House on the second floor of Mohan Singh Place, with Saravana Bhavan, Sagar Ratna and Naivedyam running South Indian vegetarian kitchens around the same circles. Pandara Road Market, near India Gate, keeps Gulati's Punjabi grills going until midnight.
At ITC Maurya in Chanakyapuri, Bukhara has served the same North-West Frontier menu since 1978, and Dum Pukht cooks Awadhi dishes by the sealed-handi method. Newer rooms push regional Indian cooking forward: chef Amninder Sandhu's Kikli slow-cooks dal overnight on a cow-dung-fired hara, and Cafe Lota at the National Crafts Museum rotates regional dishes such as Pondicherry fish curry.
Outside Indian food, Ritu Dalmia's Diva has cooked Italian in Greater Kailash 2 since 2000, Olive Bar & Kitchen serves Mediterranean plates in a tree-lined courtyard near the Qutub, and The Big Chill in Khan Market is the city's busy Italian cafe. This guide lists every room with its address, hours and what to order, so you can plan a Delhi day around one neighbourhood at a time.
The lanes around Jama Masjid are the place to start. Karim's, in Gali Kababian since 1913, cooks mutton burra, chicken jahangiri and mutton qorma from recipes handed down through generations, and stays open until 01:00. Al Jawahar, opposite Gate 1 on Matia Mahal Road, is the room for badam pasanda and qorma with khameeri roti, and during Ramzan the lane outside fills with haleem pots and kebab grills after sunset. Moti Mahal in Daryaganj and Chor Bizarre on Asaf Ali Road, near Delhi Gate, sit a short ride away.
Connaught Place mixes two old coffee houses with South Indian kitchens. United Coffee House has run its dining room since 1942, the year of the Quit India movement, and Indian Coffee House, part of a worker-owned cooperative, pours filter coffee on the second floor of Mohan Singh Place. For breakfast, Saravana Bhavan opens at 07:00 off Janpath, Sagar Ratna, founded in Delhi in 1986, opens at 08:00 on the Outer Circle, and Naivedyam serves dosas and Malabar parotta from 09:00. Kake Da Hotel and Andhra Canteen add Punjabi mutton dishes and Andhra biryani nearby.
ITC Maurya holds two of the city's longest-running restaurants. Bukhara has kept its North-West Frontier menu since 1978: tandoor kebabs, naan as wide as the table and Dal Bukhara, simmered for close to 24 hours, all eaten with your hands. Dum Pukht, in the same hotel, cooks kakori kebabs, its namesake biryani and baghare baingan by the sealed dum method. Both appear on Condé Nast Traveller India's 2025 Top 50 list. Book either for dinner, which runs from 19:00.
Delhi's best-known non-Indian rooms are long-runners. Ritu Dalmia's Diva in the M Block market of Greater Kailash 2 marked 25 years in 2025 with an anniversary menu of dishes such as duck carpaccio. Olive Bar & Kitchen in Mehrauli serves pizza, gnocchi and a cheese souffle in a tree-lined courtyard, and runs a Sunday brunch. In Khan Market, The Big Chill draws crowds for penne vodka and Mississippi mudpie, so book before a weekend visit. For modern Indian cooking, see Kikli in Connaught Place and Cafe Lota at the Crafts Museum.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bukhara has served the same North-West Frontier menu at ITC Maurya in Delhi since 1978: tandoor kebabs, table-wide naan and a black dal simmered for 24 hours.
OrderDal Bukhara, the black dal simmered close to 24 hours, with a tandoori kebab and naan.
TipEating with your hands is part of the ritual, and the naan arrives as wide as the table; book ahead for dinner.
Dum Pukht at ITC Maurya in Delhi cooks Awadhi court dishes by the sealed-handi dum method: kakori kebabs, a fragrant biryani and baghare baingan.
OrderThe kakori kebab, then the Dum Pukht biryani cooked under a sealed lid.
TipBook ahead; the room is part of ITC Maurya with Bukhara, so the two make an easy pair for a Delhi food weekend.
Chef Ritu Dalmia's Diva has cooked Italian food in Greater Kailash 2, Delhi, since 2000 and marked 25 years in 2025 with a menu of its best-loved plates.
OrderDuck carpaccio, or the warm salad of prawns poached in Marsala and orange.
TipBook ahead for dinner in the M Block market; ask which dishes from the 25th-anniversary menu are still running.
Olive Bar & Kitchen serves Mediterranean plates and pizza in a tree-lined courtyard near the Qutub in Mehrauli, Delhi, with a Sunday brunch.
OrderThe cheese souffle, then a pizza or gnocchi from the Mediterranean menu.
TipThe Sunday brunch is the draw; book the courtyard for it, and come at dusk on weekdays for dinner under the trees.
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.
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.
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.
United Coffee House has served coffee and a long continental and North Indian menu in Connaught Place, Delhi, since 1942, the year of the Quit India movement.
OrderThe lamb kebab platter or the badshahi kofta, with a pot of coffee.
TipThe dining room runs from 10:00 to about 23:45, so it works for a late-morning coffee between Connaught Place errands.
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.
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.
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Start with Karim's in Gali Kababian by Jama Masjid, open since 1913, for mutton burra and qorma, then try Al Jawahar opposite Gate 1 on Matia Mahal Road for badam pasanda with khameeri roti.
At Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, where cooks who had come from Peshawar after Partition popularised butter chicken and tandoori chicken. The Daryaganj room on Netaji Subhash Marg still serves both.
Saravana Bhavan off Janpath opens at 07:00, Sagar Ratna on the Outer Circle of Connaught Place at 08:00, and Naivedyam in Connaught Place at 09:00. All three are vegetarian and serve dosas and filter coffee.
Book ahead. Bukhara at ITC Maurya serves dinner from 19:00; order the Dal Bukhara, simmered for close to 24 hours, with tandoor kebabs and naan, and expect to eat with your hands.
Chor Bizarre on Asaf Ali Road, near Delhi Gate, serves a Kashmiri wazwan along with dishes such as mutton yakhni, haaq and aloo bukhara korma, in a room of antique tables and 1950s Hindi film music.