Restaurants

Delhi's dining scene is booming, and when you ask locals to name their favorite restaurant, you're sure to get more than a simple response. You'll hear fierce criticism of Bukhara (Delhi's long-reigning restaurant champion) and high praise for some modest hole-in-the-wall. The point is that the culinary revolution is finally in full swing, and it's no longer necessary to hide out in the overpriced hotel eateries for fear of contracting a bellyache or being swindled by fly-by-night "restaurateurs." More likely, you'll experience a dent in your budget if you choose to eat in the hotels, and you'll miss out on a highly recommended opportunity to see where the city's innumerable foodies are feasting these days. To help you make the leap of faith, we're discussing five-star hotel restaurants in a separate box, and hope you'll find your way to at least one of the stand-alone choices we've reviewed below. For many more options (thousands, in fact), you'd do worse than to consult the annual Times Food Guide, written by opinionated Times of India food critic Sabina Sehgal Saikia; it's available at booksellers and magazine vendors (Rs 100/$2.45/£1.25).

Five-Star Culinary Flagships Where You Can't Go Wrong

Delhiites love to discover that a world-renowned establishment is not up to scratch and then report their findings to anyone who will listen. Whatever you're told, it's unlikely that you'll be disappointed if you reserve a table at one of our top hotel choices. The advantages of settling on a meal at one of the city's five-star hotels include relative consistency and refined service; you'll find addresses under their hotel listings. Needless to say, reservations are essential. Expect to fork out substantially for the opportunity to dine with the elite.

Staff at Bukhara (tel. 011/2611-2233), the Maurya Sheraton's Indian restaurant, are immensely proud that Bill Clinton apparently chose to stay at the hotel "because of our restaurant." In a busy display kitchen, where meat and vegetables hang from swordlike kebab spears, chefs slave to produce delicacies from a menu that hasn't changed in 30 years and continues to earn accolades as one of the world's finest Asian restaurants. Start by ordering an assorted kebab platter (there's even one named in Clinton's honor), and follow that up with any of the classic lamb (raan) dishes, best savored with thin butter naans. Finish off with a traditional rice-based phirni pudding or one of their amazing kulfis (ice cream). Next door to the Sheraton is the glitzy Taj Palace Hotel, where the city's elite line up (sometimes literally) to get a table at Masala Art (tel. 011/2611-0202), which makes a very conscious (usually successful) attempt to dazzle. The chefs turn cooking into performance art, putting on engaging food demonstrations at mealtimes; spectators eat whatever delicacies are produced. Of the daily a la carte specials, look for achari jhinga (prawns flavored with raw mango), and galouti kebabs prepared with finely minced lamb and 126 different herbs. If you're up for sharing a small feast, order khushk raan, a whole leg of lamb pot-roasted in a secret, heavenly marinade. Be sure to have a glass of fresh sugar-cane juice or bhune jeere ki chaas, buttermilk seasoned with roasted cumin. Taj Palace also does old-school dining pretty well, so if you prefer a stiff, formal (and potentially very romantic) evening in the company of exquisite French cuisine, dress smart for Orient Express (tel. 011/2611-0202), where you dine in a posh replica of a Pullman train carriage. Enjoy pre-boarding drinks on the "platform," as the bar area is called, and scan the humidor for an expensive cigar. Your four-course journey is inspired by the countries through which the Orient Express passes on its Paris-to-Istanbul run, and is likely to include items such as Camembert soufflé with paprika sauce, pan-seared reef cod with raw papaya salad, and the extremely popular oven-roasted New Zealand rack of lamb, encrusted with herbs and almonds and served with lamb jus. Fish is flown in fresh daily -- from France. Although the menu changes three or four times a year, one item will never be replaced: the sinful but wonderful warm chocolate pudding with a liquid chocolate center.

If you need a good excuse to swan through the lobby of The Imperial, why not reserve at The Spice Route (tel. 011/2334-1234)? Voted one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, it's still living up to its promise with a vast menu that makes the mouth water at the variety of flavors and ingredients. The decor alone is worth a visit -- every nook and cranny is hand-painted by temple artists flown in from Kerala. If the evening is balmy, sit in the tranquil courtyard and be prepared to be blown away by the food, which, as the name suggests, takes you on a complex culinary journey, from the Malabar Coast to Sri Lanka, Malaysia to Indonesia, Thailand to Vietnam. Certainly, it has the best ever tom kha kai (classic Thai soup, made with spicy chicken and coconut milk, flavored with lemon grass and kafir leaves) and mouthwatering chemeen thoren (Kerala-style prawns, stir-fried with coconut, curry leaves, and black tamarind, and flavored with mustard seeds). Kung nang phad khing is stir-fried lobster with ginger and Thai black mushrooms, and malu miris contains vegetables, coral mushrooms, and water chestnuts cooked in a Sri Lankan curry.

There's a veritable war going on among supporters of Delhi's top Chinese restaurants. Many lean toward Taipan at The Oberoi (tel. 011/2436-3030), where you can fill up on amazing dim sum (tiny dumplings filled with an assortment of tasty morsels, steamed, and served in bamboo baskets), best enjoyed at lunchtime with fantastic views over Delhi Golf Course. But these days our Delhi connections say they're far more satisfied with the range of Oriental dishes served at the Shangri-La's beautiful 19 Oriental Avenue (tel. 011/4119-1919), where you can savor close-to-perfect Thai, Japanese, and Chinese cuisine. Thai chicken soup (flavored with galangal and lemon grass), Cantonese-style steamed red snapper (green spring onions and top-notch soy sauce bring out the flavor), Peking duck, and silky-smooth teppanyaki tofu steak are just a handful of recommendations from a diverse menu. There's also an exquisite sushi bar (arguably the finest in town). The Taj Mahal Hotel boasts the excellent House of Ming, which is gorgeously decorated and, thanks to a recent revolution in the kitchen, has emerged as a formidable culinary force focusing on Cantonese and Szechuan cooking; it now also offers delectable dim sum and seafood selections and has an enviable tea menu.

If you want to focus on Japanese, you could head straight to Sakura at The Metropolitan Hotel Nikko (Bangla Sahib Rd.; tel. 011/2334-2000), where the sushi is fresh, authentic, and award-winning, but we prefer TK's Oriental Grill (Hyatt Regency) for great teppanyaki grills and remarkable sashimi. If you're too nervous to dive headlong into the region's heavily spiced cuisine, the Hyatt is also where you'll find the best pizzas in town, at La Piazza (tel. 011/2679-1234). Chef Mitele Sbardellini from Milan dishes out authentic Italian cuisine; an extensive wine list includes superb vintages from around the world, though the prices may have you gagging into your glass.

Finally, if you simply want to sit back and relax with a good bottle of wine and a choice of pretty much anything from anywhere around the world, the flavor of the moment has got to be The Oberoi's smart, contemporary Threesixtydegrees (tel. 011/2436-3030), open all day and somehow almost always buzzing. Sure, it's a smart place to impress business associates, but the buffet spread is legendary, and the attached enoteca is stellar.

Where to Dine in Delhi

Expensive -- An irritating trend (at least for voyeurs) among the moneyed crowd is to eat at "members only" restaurants. The most popular of these very hip joints is Oriental Octopus (Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Rd.; tel. 011/2468-2222 or 011/5122-0000, ext. 2512), where you dine at curved, meandering tables shared by gorgeous designer-clad Delhiites -- a million miles from the streets of Shahjahanabad. See if your concierge can arrange a reservation, or find a member and tag along. The food isn't bad either -- start with Singaporean steamed spring rolls, and move on to Malaysian black-pepper prawns tossed in garlic and crushed pepper. It also has an interesting bargain-priced buffet spread.

Even more irritating (especially for restaurateurs) has been the city's recent clampdown on health and safety regulations, which saw the closure of numerous venues in 2006, usually because of unsound architecture (a problem in some of the city's more ancient structures). In mid-2007, for example, the sublime and wonderful Olive Bar and Kitchen (Haveli No. 6-8, One Style Mile, Kalka Das Marg, Mehrauli; tel. 011/2664-2552) had been closed for several months and was awaiting an imminent comeback.

For superb Italian by one of Delhi's most celebrated restaurateurs, Ritu Dalmia (who's also responsible for Vama, in London), try to get a table at Diva (M-8, M Block Market, Greater Kailash I; tel. 011/2921-5673), which has drawn countless accolades despite fever-pitch prices. You simply can't go wrong here; any of the seafood starters are recommended, and the lamb chops in red wine are superb.

Moderate -- One Connaught Place institution you certainly shouldn't pass up is United Coffee House, which began 5 decades ago as a coffeehouse and is now also a multi-cuisine restaurant where we can sit for hours ogling the fantastic array of people who come here to feast, drink, strike deals, play cards, and pass the time. Interesting Art Deco interiors, lit by chandeliers, make this more about nostalgia than particularly inspiring cuisine, but the reasonable Indian food, and prolonged two-for-one happy hours make this a favorite with locals and travelers alike. And, yes, the coffee is freshly brewed and brought to your table in a French press. Reserve for dinner, just in case (E-15, Inner Circle; tel. 011/2341-1697 or -6075). A popular lunchtime venue is Basil and Thyme (Santushti Shopping Complex, New Wellington Camp; tel. 011/2467-3322), where you can sample playful experiments with healthy Eurocentric fare from the kitchen of octogenarian gourmand Bhicoo Manekshaw. The day's special and other healthy selections rarely fail to please, and the fabulous homemade cheesecakes and ice creams should be declared illegal. Reserve ahead.

If you fancy a theme restaurant that goes quite over the top in its attempts to be more Indian than is perhaps necessary, head for the Garden of Five Senses and grab a table at Baujee ka Dhaba (Saed Ul Ajab; tel. 011/3261-6707). Folk art decorates the mud-effect walls, and even the waitstaff is in traditional getup. The food is distinctively Mughlai and Punjabi fare, rich and heavy, but unquestionably well-made and delicious. Get the ever-popular shammi kebab or dum pukht chicken. Or just nibble on assorted kebabs while you enjoy a reasonably priced chilled beer. A fairly recent addition to a Delhi dining scene is Oh! Calcutta (E Block, International Trade Towers, Nehru Place; tel. 011/2646-4180), which is obsessed with just one thing: authentic, excellent Bengali cuisine. A visit here should be prefaced with a warning, though: Don't come for the decor, service, or even the slightest hint of romantic atmosphere. The only thing you get by way of entertainment is the opportunity to watch dozens of local middle-class families making a right royal night of it. They, like you, are here for reliable, reasonably priced meals. And the food really is scrumptious, no doubt necessary to take the bite out of the surly demeanor of the waiters, who make very competent recommendations, so go with them.

Inexpensive -- Sagar is one of Delhi's favorite restaurant chains, serving reliable vegetarian South Indian food at reasonable prices till 11pm. Have one of the South Indian thali platters, and eat with your hands. End your meal with Madrasi filter coffee, or you can start your day the same way -- the restaurant opens at 8am, which is the best time for traditional idli (South India's favorite breakfast dumplings) and chutney. You'll battle to spend more than Rs 90 ($2.20/£1.10) on food here. There's a good outlet at 18 Defence Colony Market (tel. 011/2433-3110 or 011/5565-0961), just 10 minutes from India Gate. When in Old Delhi, one must-see eatery is Haldiram's, always bustling with frenetic activity as locals flock to pick up the city's most legendary range of Indian sweets. Another legendary stop, even if only to bask in the historic glow of a place that served both Nehru and Indira Gandhi (not to mention other Indian prime ministers), is a paratha shop recognizable by the sign reading THE POWER OF PRANTHAS -- PT. GAYA PRASAD SHIV CHARAN (tel. 98-1126-3137), which you'll probably need your guide to help you seek out (it's at 34 Gali Pranthe Wail, Chandni Chowk). This shouldn't be too difficult, as the little eatery has been satisfying locals since 1872 and any guide worth his salt should know it. There are 20 different varieties of paratha available, and each comes with a thali-like plate filled with sambals, vegetables, lentils, and sauces to make a more substantial meal out of the popular street food. Grab a seat and join the Old Delhi locals.

Saucy Fingers

One of our absolute favorite eating experiences in Delhi has got to be Khan Chacha Kabab Corner (tel. 98-1067-1103; Mon-Sat noon-10pm, Sun 4-10pm), a hole-in-the-wall kebab counter in Khan Market serving legendary mutton seekh kababs, wrapped in light roomali rotis (Rs 55/$1.35/70p), from a tiny kitchen manned by a squadron of brothers who've continued what their father started back in 1972. These delicious, juicy meat-filled rolls are prepared while you wait and served as a take-away snack; you can hang around and munch them on the spot, or smuggle a batch into your hotel room and sit down to a feast. But be warned: They're utterly addictive. Ask for onions and green chutney if you'd like to add a spicy edge, and be prepared for a deliciously decadent sauce to dribble down your chin. To get there, seek out the crowd of devotees that inevitably forms (at 75 Middle Lane); it's right next to The Kitchen, a pretentious and anonymous neon-lit cafe.