38 Best Restaurants in Rajasthan, India

Considered one of the city's best (and most expensive) restaurants, Peshwari entices with melt-in-your-mouth, exquisitely spiced and marinated kebabs and other North-West Frontier foods; menu highlights include paneer tikka, chicken makhani, and the dal bukhara, served with an assortment of rotis and naans. The dining area has an outdoorsy, dhaba look—wood beams, shining copper platters, and pots hanging on the walls, with seating at log tables matched with stools. Part of ITC, a luxury hotel chain known for its excellent cuisine, Peshawri has branches in other cities in India.

Once the maharaja's throne room in the original palace, this grand hall within the Taj's Rambagh Palace Hotel---easily one of India's most elegant restaurants---has a soaring, frescoed ceiling,tapestry-covered walls, gold-plated silverware, and a staff eager to serve. It serves dishes from royal kitchens across India, from Punjab to Rajasthan, including both meat and vegetarian entrées; alcohol is available.

Named after the year when Udaipur was founded, 1559 occupies an elegant colonial bungalow, with indoor dining as well as alfresco dining in the large garden. Specialties include Rajasthani game birds (farmed, not hunted), prepared in traditional Indian and European styles, as well as salmon or rack of lamb; the menu also features pasta, pizza, and vegetarian specials such as malai kofta and paneer dishes. There's a café with an authentic espresso machine and a bar with a decent selection of wines.

Right on the shore of Lake Pichola opposite Lal Ghat, this lively outdoor restaurant with a pleasant bar has a hidden approach via narrow lanes and stunning views of the City Palace complex and the Lake Palace. It serves Rajasthani standards along with decent continental and Chinese dishes, though the views outshine the food.

If you're here at dinner, ask that a mosquito repellent coil is placed under your table.

About half an hour's drive out of the center of town, and an upward climb on a hilltop, the restaurant offers traditional-style vegetarian Rajasthani thali. The local delicacies—dal baati (unleavened wheat bread eaten with lentils), bajra roti (millet rotis), garlic chutney, sangri (a desert vegetable)—are tasty. Service is warm, but this is more about the throwback experience of sitting in a rural roadside setting where amenities are basic. There's a puppet show, Rajasthani folk dancing, and a handicraft shop.

This four-story, family-run restaurant is a good choice for continental cuisine (think veggie burgers and Israeli salads) as well as Indian classics, with spice levels suited to the Western palate; the pizzas and pastas are popular, too. It's also a good place for breakfast, as it usually stocks a few pastries from a nearby bakery, makes paranthas (potato-stuffed flatbreads) that are fresh and not too oily. The café also serves "real" filter coffee. For views of Pushkar and the surrounding desert, sit on the rooftop terrace.

This little bakery and café in the Hotel Gangaur Palace, with courtyard or rooftop seating, sells fresh pastries and cakes, as well as delicious, real espresso. If you come for breakfast, try the baked beans on toast or the soft cinnamon rolls (not always available during summer months), apple crumble, or date-and-walnut pie. The café is on a busy thoroughfare, but you can take your coffee and pastry upstairs to its sister venue Natural City View (same menu). It also serves international dishes at lunch and dinner.

This small café and bakery offers a range of healthy, light food, be it a tofu stir-fry or one of the interesting salads—all prepared to order. If you have had one too many naans or paneer-butter-ghee packed lunches, head here for a sandwich with homemade bread, cheesecake, or a healthy vegetarian or vegan meal.

Sip a chilled beer or wine and enjoy spectacular views of Jodhpur city at this romantically lit restaurant high up within the royal Mehrangarh Fort. This touristy outdoor eatery is notable more for its ambience than the food, but if you're dining here, try the traditional Rajasthani food or standard tandoori favorites like mutton kebab and paneer tikka.

The mood in the evenings at this twinkling, partly open-air haveli restaurant, located in the shadow of the lit Mehrangarh Fort, is memorably romantic. Using as many locally sourced ingredients and spices as possible, Darikhana serves both Indian and international food, including pastas, Mediterranean, and Thai dishes; popular Indian dishes are the traditional Rajasthani laal maas (spiced, well-marinated mutton), chicken curry, dahi kebab, and the paneer dishes.

The glass- and wood-dominated environment of this regional chain is the best place to tuck into South Indian specialties such as dosas, idlis, upma, and vadas.

A great spot for groups, this garden restaurant offers Indian, Chinese, and international cuisine as well as alcoholic drinks; crowds tend to be thin for lunch, but dinner is more crowded during high tourist winter months. The restaurant attracts tourists more for its open-air ambience and Rajasthani dances (nightly at 7 pm) than for the food, though the lal maas (spicy mutton) is a favorite.

After a long day of sightseeing, stop at this recently renovated rooftop hangout at the Pal Haveli hotel in the Old City, where the ambience exceeds the quality of the food, which is slightly overpriced (though perfectly okay). Go for a sundown drink or dinner (kebabs and thalis are highlights) and take in stunning views of the nearby lake, the fort, the clock tower, and the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The mostly Indian menu includes a couple of continental dishes and some Chinese food, plus there's a decent list of drinks on the bar menu.

In a converted haveli at the end of one of Lal Ghat's labyrinthine lanes, this restaurant has retained the mansion's lovely design and has spectacular views of the Lake Palace, especially at night, when the vistas capture the incredibly romantic essence of the city. There is a decently good range of continental, Chinese, and Indian food; wine, cocktails, and beer available—fish à la Jagat is a highlight during fishing season; otherwise try the laal maas (red meat curry) or subz galouti kabab (vegetarian kebabs). Service can be slow, but to see the brilliantly illuminated palace seemingly float on the water from a cushioned alcove is a signature Udaipur experience. There's nightly live music during peak season. It's a great place for a cup of afternoon chai or lassi, too.

At the base of the fort, this little Italian restaurant has a lovely vibe, an interior that is simple yet far from rustic, and an open rooftop area that is perfect for people-watching. It also has a huge advantage: it is one of the only restaurants in town with an indoor area with a/c comfort. The menu focuses on vegetarian Italian pasta dishes and pizza as well as good espresso and tiramisu---just don't expect it to taste the same as a cafe in Italy. Beer is available.

For a break after a morning of sightseeing at Jaipur's fortresses, go to this pretty restaurant in the Trident hotel to sample a mix of Indian and European fare—pastas, kebabs, salads, sandwiches—washed down with cold Indian beer, or try the grilled red snapper or the Rajasthani thali (traditional laal maas or spiced mutton), two of the best dishes on the menu. It also offers a sizeable breakfast buffet.

Jodhpur's most famous sweet shop buzzes till 11 pm, so consider stopping here for dessert. It's a good place to sample regional delicacies; test your chilli tolerance level with the spicy mirchi bada, a huge pepper that's been breaded and deep-fried or, for something sweeter, try the local specialty: mawa kachori (a pastry filled with nut-based milk solid), ghevar (disc-shape sweet), rabri laddu (milk balls). The place Indianized vegetarian versions of American-style fast food—think pizzas and burgers—are also available, though they are just okay at best. There's another branch of Janta near the railway station, but you are best off hitting the main branch at Nai Sarak.

Join fellow travelers at this happening spot for a cup of masala chai or a meal in the garden courtyard oasis in the city. The restaurant, which also offers rooftop dining with fort views or indoor dining with a/c, is strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free, but even meat eaters will marvel at the Indian house specialties, which are well priced. Pizzas and western dishes are on the menu, but the Indian entrées shine; go for a thali, vegetable biryani, or some perfectly spiced curries. Jhankar is at its best after dark, when tiny twinkling lights strung through the trees lend a whimsical air to the setting.

Rajasthani vegetarian food is the specialty at this small family-owned rooftop restaurant, but don't expect the palate-burning dishes that Rajasthan is known for—the spice levels here are significantly toned down to suit Westerners. If you haven't yet tried quintessentially Rajasthani dishes dal bati churma (lentils, rolls, and sweetened wheat and butter paste—sort of the Rajasthani equivalent of bread and butter) or ker saangri (desert vegetable), this is the place to do so. For a taste of something local, try the Marwari Thali, an assortment of regional vegetarian dishes served with rice and chapatis.

Next door to Gehrilal Goverdhan Singh Choudhary, near the Clock Tower, is a sweet stall, Lala Misthan Bhandar, where you can satisfy your sweet tooth and refuel with the best gulab jamun (fried milk balls in syrup) and imarti (pretzel-shaped pastries dipped in sugary syrup) in town, its open late till 10 pm.

One of the better attempts at all-day, upscale cuisine in Jodhpur, the neo-Mughal-style restaurant serves continental and Indian food, with a few Rajasthani specialties, and there is a buffet (evenings) as well as à la carte options. Try Jodhpuri gatteki subz curry (steamed chickpea flour dumplings in yogurt-base gravy) or the spicy Jodhpuri laal maas (lamb) curry, both typical of this region. There are also pasta dishes, north Indian and Rajasthani thalis, and desserts such as tiramisu and kulfi (Indian ice cream). On most nights live Indian classical music is performed.

Most of the restaurants within the fort are vegetarian for historical reasons (mainly vegetarian Brahmin families lived in the fort), but a small section, where Rajput families live, have a few nonvegetarian restaurants—Little Tibet is one of them. It serves a mix of Tibetan (momos, vegetable and meat, great thukpa soups), Chinese, and Indian, with a few global items thrown in. The Indian nonvegetarian food is competently cooked if not hugely exciting; Tibetan fare is better. You can either eat at the main level or climb up to the rooftop, lit with fairy lights, and eat under the stars. It stays open later than most places inside the fort.

The house specialties at this terrific place for Indian tea and dessert are bundi ki laddu (sugary, deep-fried chickpea-flour balls) and the rasgulla (cheese balls in a sugary syrup); other sweets include ras malai (sweet cheese dumplings smothered in cream), which melt in your mouth. Popular with locals for the thalis, this all-vegetarian restaurant is also one of the few places open for breakfast—if you're in the mood for stuffed paranthas (whole-wheat flatbread) or idlis (South Indian steamed rice cakes). The decor is bland, but the sweets make up for it. No alcohol is served.