Indian Restaurant suggestions:
Jun 17th, 2011, 11:34 AM
#1
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Indian Restaurant suggestions:
We are looking for reliable restaurants in the following places:
Delhi--2nd visit--- south delhi
Gurgaon area of delhi
Varanasi
Jaipur--2nd visit
Udaipur
Jodhpur
Jaisalmer
Bikaner
Kathmandu and surrounds
we prefer those with "western standards" of hygiene, upscale at moderate price, combo meat and veggie, center city mostly, and ones simply not to be missed.
specific dishes you found memorable would be welcome as well.... we love indian food of all kinds except lamb.
Delhi--2nd visit--- south delhi
Gurgaon area of delhi
Varanasi
Jaipur--2nd visit
Udaipur
Jodhpur
Jaisalmer
Bikaner
Kathmandu and surrounds
we prefer those with "western standards" of hygiene, upscale at moderate price, combo meat and veggie, center city mostly, and ones simply not to be missed.
specific dishes you found memorable would be welcome as well.... we love indian food of all kinds except lamb.
Jun 17th, 2011, 11:59 AM
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For the Kathmandu area:
There is a lovely courtyard cafe at the museum at Patan's Durbar Square. We had excellent Thali there. Don't miss the museum, as many consider it the "best" museum on the subcontinent.
In Kathmandu: Ghar-E-Kebab on the Durbar Marg inside the Everest Hotel. Only open for dinner.
There is a cafe inside the Garden of Dreams. It's a lovely setting and the menu looked good. We wished we could have tried it.
Bawarchi, an Indian restaurant in the Lazimat area of Kathmandu.
1905 on the edge of Thamel is located in an old house and garden. We had a table on the bridge over the pond – a beautiful setting. The service was slow, the food was pretty good. They serve a wide variety of foods, but the emphasis at lunch seemed to be Mediterranean cuisines.
The Hyatt has an Italian restaurant - excellent, but pricey by Kathmandu standards.
There is a lovely courtyard cafe at the museum at Patan's Durbar Square. We had excellent Thali there. Don't miss the museum, as many consider it the "best" museum on the subcontinent.
In Kathmandu: Ghar-E-Kebab on the Durbar Marg inside the Everest Hotel. Only open for dinner.
There is a cafe inside the Garden of Dreams. It's a lovely setting and the menu looked good. We wished we could have tried it.
Bawarchi, an Indian restaurant in the Lazimat area of Kathmandu.
1905 on the edge of Thamel is located in an old house and garden. We had a table on the bridge over the pond – a beautiful setting. The service was slow, the food was pretty good. They serve a wide variety of foods, but the emphasis at lunch seemed to be Mediterranean cuisines.
The Hyatt has an Italian restaurant - excellent, but pricey by Kathmandu standards.
Jun 17th, 2011, 12:36 PM
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Bob, where are you staying in Udaipur? Our favorite restaurant and the favorite of several others on this forum is Ambrai - fabulous lake views and great food. It is not technically in city center but close enough. Restaurants worth trying that are actually in city center with good views of the lake include the restaurant at the hotel Jagat Niwas (good) and Jaiwana Haveli (better views of the lake but only fair food). All three restaurants offer open air dining to add to the ambience. I do not recall what we ate at any of these places - sorry...
Jun 17th, 2011, 12:46 PM
#4
Errr - the courtyard cafe in Patan was serving a buffet for tour groups when I was there. Approach with caution. The Watshala in Bhaktapur was better.
Places in Kathmandu:
La Dolce Vita: OK
Third Eye: curry so-so, dal not bad, expensive
Galleria Cafe: skip
Garden of Dreams: incredibly slow service, food not memorable
Thamel House: OK
Are you staying at the Courtyard?
Places in Kathmandu:
La Dolce Vita: OK
Third Eye: curry so-so, dal not bad, expensive
Galleria Cafe: skip
Garden of Dreams: incredibly slow service, food not memorable
Thamel House: OK
Are you staying at the Courtyard?
Jun 17th, 2011, 12:50 PM
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thursdays - so sorry to hear about the courtyard cafe. I now remember I read that in your trip report. And I'm sorry to hear the Garden of Dreams cafe wasn't as good as it looked. Do visit the garden, Bob, but heed thursdays cautions.
Jun 17th, 2011, 12:59 PM
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Bob, where are you staying in Varanasi? We had all of our dinners at the Dophin Restaurant at our hotel, the Rashmi/Palace on the River. If you are not staying there, it would be worth stopping in for a meal just for the view and the food was consistently good. Be forewarned that there are several flights of stairs to climb to get to the restaurant. Other than our hotel restaurant, there didn't seem to be many "safe" dining options in Varanasi.
Jun 17th, 2011, 05:34 PM
#7
Ambrai in Udaipur was lovely. Can't remember waht we ate, but it was a great meal.
In Varansi, Bread of Life is a nice, though casual place. it was very clean, and had both Indian and Western "hippy" foods, eg banana pancakes and an Indian take on nachos. It is on the main street that goes from Main Ghat area to Assi Ghat. It's about 2/3 of the way to Assi Ghat on the left (river) side of the street. Take a cycle rickshaw.
We also had a great meal at Kerala kitchen (or perhaps Kerala Cafe?). I can't remember exactly where it was located, as a local took us there for lunch.
In Delhi, there are several places you'd like at Khan Market. I cant recall any specific names. Did you eat lunch at Basil and Thyme in Santushti Market? I go there every time I'm in Delhi.
In Varansi, Bread of Life is a nice, though casual place. it was very clean, and had both Indian and Western "hippy" foods, eg banana pancakes and an Indian take on nachos. It is on the main street that goes from Main Ghat area to Assi Ghat. It's about 2/3 of the way to Assi Ghat on the left (river) side of the street. Take a cycle rickshaw.
We also had a great meal at Kerala kitchen (or perhaps Kerala Cafe?). I can't remember exactly where it was located, as a local took us there for lunch.
In Delhi, there are several places you'd like at Khan Market. I cant recall any specific names. Did you eat lunch at Basil and Thyme in Santushti Market? I go there every time I'm in Delhi.
Jun 17th, 2011, 07:29 PM
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yes we ate at B&T and would eagerly return there...
we are at the hyatt in kathmandu---courtyard seemed over the edge for us..
in varanasi we took lcuy's suggestion and are staying at the Temple on the Ganges, similar to the place you stayed i think but slightly further from the action--read, more quiet.
these all look good and will now give K something to investigate.
at udiapur we are at the sheraton udaipur palace on one of the lakes.
we have a full time driver westward from delhi so getting any place should be easy
thanks all...
we are at the hyatt in kathmandu---courtyard seemed over the edge for us..
in varanasi we took lcuy's suggestion and are staying at the Temple on the Ganges, similar to the place you stayed i think but slightly further from the action--read, more quiet.
these all look good and will now give K something to investigate.
at udiapur we are at the sheraton udaipur palace on one of the lakes.
we have a full time driver westward from delhi so getting any place should be easy
thanks all...
Jun 18th, 2011, 04:50 AM
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Bob, when we stayed at the Hyatt in Katmandu we ate several meals at the Italian restaurant at the hotel and it was excellent. Very good food and excellent service. High prices by Katmandu standards, but worth it, IMO especially when you are hungry at the end of a long day of sightseeing and do not want to leave the hotel. Also, when we were there, there was a one hour cultural show (free) in the lobby one evening which we enjoyed. I don't know if they still have it, but you could ask at check in.
Jun 18th, 2011, 12:52 PM
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Hey Bob. I can't believe you are going on such an extended trip to India! I'm so jealous!
I think I have mentioned the restaurant "Indiana" in Jaipur before. It's outdoors with those fire warmers (in January) with simply wonderful dancers in the courtyard. Very casual,iIncredibly cheap, yet delicious. Full meal with Kingfisher beers, cost about $25 for two. I loved it.
I think I have mentioned the restaurant "Indiana" in Jaipur before. It's outdoors with those fire warmers (in January) with simply wonderful dancers in the courtyard. Very casual,iIncredibly cheap, yet delicious. Full meal with Kingfisher beers, cost about $25 for two. I loved it.
Jun 18th, 2011, 04:45 PM
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We stayed at the Jagat Niwas (good birianis) in Udaipur and ate all our meals there except for dinner one night at Ambrai -- lovely views of both the Taj Lake Palace as well as the City Palace. Can't remember what we ate either, although I do remember the meal was tasty. (We went to India to see stuff, not to dine, so we didn't go out of our way to find interesting restaurants. We like most Indian food, so ate it all the time we were there.)
The Jagat Niwas doesn't have an elevator and the restaurants are on the top two floors, so be prepared to climb some mongo steps to get your dinner if you choose to go there.
We also had dinner at Indiana in Jaipur (our driver, Ram, arranged it for us for our wedding anniversary). It is very touristy, but we had a good meal of lamb and danced around the fire with the Rajasthani folk dancers. Remember that we're former Hoosiers, so it was Old Home Week for us. We had lunch at Samodi Haveli which was pleasant -- we sat out in the courtyard and were the only guests. I've read that it's touristy, but didn't see any tourists other than ourselves.
We had an interesting and tasty meal at the Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur (lamb again and this particular dish is a specialty of Jodhpur) -- spicy and yummy with naan and raita. The waiter told us one serving was enough for the two of us. I'm sure you can find other meats besides lamb, but it's the predominate red meat in India (beef is forbidden to Hindus), although you might be able to get goat. It has a stronger flavor than lamb, so you might not like it either. We didn't see any pork. Chicken is widely available.
We had a delicious lunch in Jodhpur at a place called Gypsy -- it's upstairs somewhere in the city -- they bring carousels of dals and rice, pickles and breads -- we had a wonderful crumbly biscuit with a yellow dal poured over it. I think it might have been something called "bada" or "vada" made from urad dal formed into a patty and deep fried. I tried to make it recently, but was not what I'd hoped. Once I get settled here in Austin, I'll try again to make it.
Check into an Indian cookbook (if you haven't done so already). I love Yamuna Devi's "Lord Krishna's Cuisine" to learn all you might want to know about Indian food and the religious significance of it. Wish I were going with you . . .
The Jagat Niwas doesn't have an elevator and the restaurants are on the top two floors, so be prepared to climb some mongo steps to get your dinner if you choose to go there.
We also had dinner at Indiana in Jaipur (our driver, Ram, arranged it for us for our wedding anniversary). It is very touristy, but we had a good meal of lamb and danced around the fire with the Rajasthani folk dancers. Remember that we're former Hoosiers, so it was Old Home Week for us. We had lunch at Samodi Haveli which was pleasant -- we sat out in the courtyard and were the only guests. I've read that it's touristy, but didn't see any tourists other than ourselves.
We had an interesting and tasty meal at the Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur (lamb again and this particular dish is a specialty of Jodhpur) -- spicy and yummy with naan and raita. The waiter told us one serving was enough for the two of us. I'm sure you can find other meats besides lamb, but it's the predominate red meat in India (beef is forbidden to Hindus), although you might be able to get goat. It has a stronger flavor than lamb, so you might not like it either. We didn't see any pork. Chicken is widely available.
We had a delicious lunch in Jodhpur at a place called Gypsy -- it's upstairs somewhere in the city -- they bring carousels of dals and rice, pickles and breads -- we had a wonderful crumbly biscuit with a yellow dal poured over it. I think it might have been something called "bada" or "vada" made from urad dal formed into a patty and deep fried. I tried to make it recently, but was not what I'd hoped. Once I get settled here in Austin, I'll try again to make it.
Check into an Indian cookbook (if you haven't done so already). I love Yamuna Devi's "Lord Krishna's Cuisine" to learn all you might want to know about Indian food and the religious significance of it. Wish I were going with you . . .
Jun 19th, 2011, 03:22 PM
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Sh-h-h-h. Don't tell him about the rats.
dgunbug is talking about the OTHER Bikaner. The one you are going to has never before been seen by white man. It was only last week that someone stumbled through a pass in the mountains and found their Lost Horizon; they called it <i>Bi-kaner</i> and opened a heritage hotel.
You will be the first.
Expect wide-eyed wonder. They may possibly think you're a God.
dgunbug is talking about the OTHER Bikaner. The one you are going to has never before been seen by white man. It was only last week that someone stumbled through a pass in the mountains and found their Lost Horizon; they called it <i>Bi-kaner</i> and opened a heritage hotel.
You will be the first.
Expect wide-eyed wonder. They may possibly think you're a God.
Jun 19th, 2011, 06:51 PM
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Bob we were in Bikaner but.....I have no idea where we ate! Sorry. I am beginning to think that we did not actually have dinner that night or that we ate in the hotel. Where are you staying?
Dog.....Rats??? what rats???!!!!
Dog.....Rats??? what rats???!!!!
Jun 19th, 2011, 07:04 PM
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http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/04...emple-32-pics/
I await rhk's trip report with great interest.
I await rhk's trip report with great interest.
