india restaurants---delhi and jaipur
 

i have read such conflicting reviews of some of the "famous" restaurants that i thought i would ask fodorites opinions so that we do not miss trully interesting or great experiences.....of primary interest are delhi and jaipur restaurants, but agra also...

on my current list are:

bukhara @ sheraton delhi
spice route @ the imperial delhi
esphanhan at amarvilas in agra
pershawri at sheraton jaipur
pershawri at sheraton agra
suvarna mahal at rambagh palace jaipur
cinnamon at jai mahal jaipur


rajvilas has notified me that no non-guests will be served during november---way too busy---odd i thought!!

possibilities: corbetts at claridges in delhi
dum pukht at sheraton delhi


thanks for any and all suggestions

bob and karen

Are you only planning to eat in hotels???

PLEASE get out of the hotels! There are local places that are nice. There is a little local place in Jaipur called Indiana's.

Have someone show you.

waynehazle DOT com/india/Day11/Photos2/018_15.JPG

A nice place for lunch in Delhi is Basil and Thyme at Santushti market.

Spice Route is one of my favorites. Also the 1911 cafe at the Imperial has great breakfast and lunch. Fabulous , fresh buffet and also ala carte for you non-buffet eaters!

we are a bit nervous about eating outside hotels as our time is quite short and we would not any delhi belly if we can avoid it....

i have heard of indiana's...thanks

\thursday....that is why i posted here....do you have suggestions???

lcuy....planned on basil for lunch one day...

In one of Jim Roger's travel books (Investment Biker or Adventure Capitalist) he wrote that his travel companion only got sick a couple of times during their round the world trip, but each time it was after eating in a high end restaurant, so I don't think eating in a hotel is any guarantee you'll stay healthy.

I was reluctant to recommend restaurants as it's been five years since I was India and they are perishable, and I think I was eating rather more cheaply than you planning for. Plus, I stayed with an Indian family in Delhi and didn't eat out so much.

But I dug out my notes and I see that ironically one place I ate at in Delhi was in a hotel.... Chor Bizarre
in the 3-star Broadway Hotel (http://www.chorbizarrerestaurant.com/delhi.asp),
which was quite good. I also enjoyed a meal at the United Coffee House in the Connaught Place area. My notes on Jaipur and Agra aren't very useful for food (all about the sights), but it looks like you should avoid a place called Priya in Agra.

thank you

Having lived in Asia for so long, I have no issues at all with eating in hotels, that is just the way it is. Many people who have not traveled much in Asia aren't used to it, as good restaurants aren't typically found in hotels in the US, but in Asia it is still the norm. It is changing, but is still pretty much the case. Here in Hong Kong, I eat in hotel restaurants probably half the time. In India, 9 times out of 10 when I get taken out by INDIAN clients, we go to hotels. I don't think it is because they are worried about what I want or my hygiene concerns, because we eat lunch in pretty much any old place, I think we go to hotel restaurants because they want to.....

Anyway, some places in Delhi to try:

Olive
6-8, Qutub Haveli
Sarai Kalkadass Marg
New Delhi, 110030
Phone: +91 11 2664 2552

Italian/Med food with a nice ambience in an old courtyard house with a garden. Lots of trendy Delhi types. Would be nice for lunch as well. This is near the Qutab Minar.

Top of the Village
Bistro, 12, Hauz Khas Village,
New Delhi
Tel : 26853857, 26522227

Good biryanis, and other Indian food. Has outdoor covered terraces with great views over Deer Park. Coal braziers in winter lend charm. Often has Indian musicians or dancers in the evening. Hauz Khas is kind of the Greenwich Village of New Delhi, lots of trendy little boutiques, and a rustic feel, as it is out of the main tourist and shopping areas. Near the Qutab Minar, so could be good place for lunch or dinner before or after a visit to the Qutab Minar.

The Oberoi has a very good Indian restaurant as well. I know you are already going to Bukhara at the Sheraton, but there is another good Indian restaurant there called Dumpukth, which has a different style of cooking. This is slow-cooked food which is sealed in pots with pastry lids and cooked over hot coals. Very different from Bukhara. Worth a trip as well.

you may try 'spice court' in Jaipur, a multi-cuisine restaurant in the civil lines area (Achrol House), just a stone throw from the Sheraton.The food is good & very reasonably priced. Their phone no. is 2220202.
Best wishes.

Interesting. There seemed to be plenty of Indians eating at the non-hotel restaurants I ate at in India.

Bob - when are you leaving? I'm looking forward to the trip report...

You have done your research well. Here are my comments -

bukhara @ sheraton delhi - One of its own kind. Unbeatable. The Peshawaris mentioned later are mere copy cats. If go here, ignore those.
spice route @ the imperial delhi. Again a great choce.
esphanhan at amarvilas in agra. No choice anyway in Agra.
pershawri at sheraton jaipur. See above. Id second Spice Court in Jaipur recommended by VP Singh
pershawri at sheraton agra
suvarna mahal at rambagh palace jaipur. You want to eb eating alone? Great place with wonderful gold-plated corckery but where are the people? The cover charge is an issue.
cinnamon at jai mahal jaipur. Italian in Jaipur??

we leave boston on oct 27 and will arrive delhi on nov 7...watch for a trip report starting around nov 23, but probably not a full report until dec 10 or so when we return home...

thanks for the restaurant suggestions....i have heard of olive but long since forgot it...will check it out and the spice rest. in jaipur sounds interesting as does the "top of.." place in delhi...

For a decent lunch and an interesting visit, try the Chor Bizarre in Old Delhi. Former thieves' market area, the place is full of odd items, including a 1932 Fiat open-top car for the salad bar!

What is that really famous tandori place in Delhi where Clinton ate when he visited India? I remember the review in FT Weekend sounded really good, but I didn't save that article.

bukhara at the sheraton i think

That was Bukhara, which is at the Sheraton, where the President also stayed:

Bukhara
ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers
Diplomatic Enclave , Sadar Patel Marg
New Delhi
Phone (91) (11) 2611 2233
Fax (91) (11) 2611 3333
Starwood.com

JC98, there is also an outlet at the Sheraton in Hyderabad if you don't have time to get to the one in New Delhi, it is exactly the same, and just as good...

Try the Banjara Restaurant in Delhi.
A bit touristy but the chicken dishes were wonderful.
enjoy

bob...i am looking forward to your trip report and photos...
where are you going in india???
how long is your trip?
are you only staying and eating in nicer hotels???

we are planning india for fall 2007 and
appreciate all your notes.

thursdayd....i am listening to the audio book jim rogers adventure capitalist...
great so far...lots of history and adventure....

hi dive...hello from pattaya...

we will have an introductory look at india for 11 days only and just doing the golden triangle....we leave on tuesday from bangkok and will return to bkk afterwards....looking forward to it and to future trips to india if we like it....

i will have a detailed report....not sure if i will get to it on the road but maybe

we plan mostly to eat in the upscale hotels as the warnings have scared us from local restaurants...

Hello all/Namaste and greetings from Varanasi!
Some of the best resturants in India are surely in the big Hotels! In Delhi the list is endless, and of those mentioned on Bob's list i surely can reccom the Buhhara in the Sheraton and the Spice Route in the Imperial. But just to note that almost all the five stars in Delhi have a great selection of three plus resturants, so u will find great choice really at anyone..

Most of the five star Hotels will have a Indian speciality, a Chinese or other Asian Specialty and then a Continental resturant, perhaps a French or even a Italian. For example, both the Imperial, the Sheraton and the Hyatt, and even the GRand out at VAsan Kunj have very good Italian resturants.

Great places to eat can be found in the Intercontinental, the Taj Mahal, the Taj Palace, The Sheraton, The Grand at Vasant KUnj, the Oberoi and even the Radisson out at the airport!

Some Indian resturants at the Hotels that come to mind in Delhi are Masala Art at the Taj Palace, Agni at the Park, Dum Pukt and Bukhara at the Sheraton, Haveli at the Taj Mahal and still there are ALSO good Indian resturants at the Oberoi, and the Intercontinental and the Grand, but the names are eluding me this second.

If u want to eat out of the hotels, a favorite of mine is Park Baluchi in Hauz Khas Village or even karims in Old Delhi or Chor Bizzare also almost in Old Delhi in the old hotel Broadway..

There are also a few good Thai resturants in Delhi, u can try the Blue elephant in the Intercontinetal or Baan Thai at the Oberoi, or of course Spice route in the Imperial which is South East Asian..

Another area with a few good resturants and a good place to stop for lunch is PandARA road Market located near India Gate! This market has about five resturants and is very busy with govt folks, and the diplomat crowd for lunch..There is Indian, Chinese and Japanese resturants here..

Alright, that is it for now, will write on jaipur in another post..I need to get to sleep, as 5:00 wake up to take my group to see sunrise on the Ganges in Varanasi..namaste/..

We did not like the food at Cinnamon at all. Overpriced, overspiced, and generally not tasty. Spice Route was very good and the decor is beautiful. I agree with the others, though --- the best food we ate in India was out of the hotels and in little locally run restaurants (just like in the U.S. or in Europe). I can't remember the places of the restaurants we want to in Delhi for whatever reason but we ate at an awesome Gujarati restaurant and a chaat place that was excellent. In Jaipur, we loved Indiana. We ate at one of the restaurants in the Amarvilas (can't remember which one) and thought it was okay. Even though every tourist goes there, we thought the food at Okay Restaurant in Agra was very good.