42 Best Restaurants in Delhi, India

Served amid stone walls, rough-hewn dark-wood beams, copper urns, and blood-red rugs, Bukhara's menu hasn't changed in years, and its loyal clientele wouldn't have it any other way. The cuisine of the Northwest Frontier, now the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, is heavy on meats, marinated and grilled in a tandoor (clay oven).

Count on this award-winning, popular joint for delicious pizza and pasta—most of Delhi does—but if you're looking for something more substantial, mains like pan-seared lamb chops are also excellent, so make sure to ask about the daily specials. With classy interiors and attentive service, the setting is suited to a wine-soaked lunch or cozy dinner for two.

At this beautifully designed Thai restaurant, you can dine on zingy salads, delicious stir-fries, and velvety curries, surrounded by fine tapestries and traditional paintings.

At this internationally acclaimed Modern Indian restaurant, Chef Shantanu Mehrotra seamlessly blends Indian and global flavors and preparation methods, creating innovative offerings such as the pork belly tikka. Choose the chef's tasting menu for six wildly modern dishes created with typically Indian ingredients and paired with complementing wines.

One of Delhi's most popular Italian restaurants, La Piazza has been serving fine thin-crust pizzas and pastas for more than 40 years. The casual, trattoria-style restaurant is a go-to spot for celebrations, hangouts, date nights, and languorous Sunday brunches---perfect for people-watching.

This Japanese restaurant at The Leela Palace offers excellent fish and impeccable service in a luxe ambience. Look for its signature Crystal Buddha elevated over a pool of rose-petal water, with a beautiful 800-pound Japanese Bonsho bell suspended from the ceiling.

Named after Chinese treasure ships, this rooftop restaurant at The Oberoi serves a good variety of Chinese regional fares with eyefuls of one of the greenest parts of Delhi---the Delhi Golf Club. The service is attentive and accommodating.

For those looking to beat the summer heat by cooling off with Delhi's best ice cream, make haste to this casual café that takes its name from the movie and its decor from Hollywood classics. The pizzas and pastas are hearty and tasty, if not terribly authentic, and Middle Eastern and Lebanese choices are usually a good bet; but the decadent desserts are the real standout. There are multiple locations across the city.

The success of Burma Burma lies in serving food that is comforting yet exciting to the palate, combining numerous textures and flavors in a delicious balance of fresh, crunchy, salty, sour, and sweet. The dishes offered here highlight different regions of Myanmar.

This all-day café opens at 8 am for breakfast and offers fluffy omelets, rich coffee, and delicious protein bowls. With several locations throughout Delhi, Caara is well known for using fresh, chemical-free ingredients from their farms.

What began as a humble delivery kitchen is now a pleasant dine-in restaurant serving juicy burgers, hearty Cubano sandwiches, and heavenly maple-and-bourbon-barbecue pork ribs---all enough to leave you in a pleasant food coma. Their old-school puddings are an ideal end to round off a satiating meal.

Located at the happening One Golden Mile, Chica transports you to a European courtyard with elaborate floral décor, gurgling water fountains, and atmospheric lighting in their alfresco seating. The food pan-Asian and European, with tuna tartare offered alongside crispy Hunan sesame lamb. The pulsating music is trippy and has millennials and their senior counterparts tapping their feet.

Head to China Kitchen for what may be the finest Peking duck in Delhi. The restaurant also serves fantastic Sichuan food, hearty hot pots, and dim sum brunches with the most varied array of dumplings.

This is one of the few places in Delhi where you can sample the cuisine of India’s west coast, famous for its lush and bold flavors, heavy on coconut-milk curries. Well-lit, spacious, and designed for a laid-back evening, with wicker chairs, winding staircase, arches, balconies, and terrace windows, the leafy outdoor space here is particularly charming on winter afternoons.

Translated into "South," Dakshin serves a delicious array of cuisine from the southern Indian states. Start with rasam, a traditional South Indian soup with tamarind and tomatoes, and papadams with a range of chutneys; then go on to enjoy a wide variety of coastal Indian food, including seafood curries, spicy prawns, and Chettinad chicken. Appams and Malabar parottas are perfectly made to mop up the flavorful masalas.

Inspired by the rich culinary history and heritage of Delhi, Dhilli offers inventive and beautifully presented Indian dishes. Favorites like rajma chaawal, samosa chole, and tandoori gobi are presented with an artistic twist; the almond bakharkhani and til mirchi lachha parantha are rich, flaky, and crisp. Make sure to try the pista sheermal---the aromatic bread is thin, slightly sweet, and served fresh out of the oven.

Set over three floors and a basement, the main gathering place for New Delhi’s large population of Korean expats is luxuriously furnished with a combination of sunken tables and little booths, though there are several stand-alone tables for those uncomfortable or unable to use traditional Korean seating. This remains one of the city's few places to sample a range of Korean grills and noodle soups.

Since it was conceptualized with the inauguration of the Taj Mahal New Delhi in 1978, House of Ming has been the preferred Chinese restaurant of many Delhiites for elaborate family meals, cozy date nights, and high-profile corporate lunches. With more than 120 dishes on the menu, there’s adequate representation from Sichuan, Hunan, and Cantonese cuisines.

Located in a quiet, tony neighborhood, INJA serves an array of dishes cooked with Indian spices and Japanese techniques. The tuna and pomelo chaat with shiso leaf tempura, raj kachori (puffed puri) with Alaskan king crab, and lobster rasam chawanmushi (a Japanese savory custard) are absolutely brilliant takes on Japanese-Indian fusion.

After an extensive renovation and expansion project, Jade at The Claridges New Delhi reemerged with a fresh look that offers a symphony of colors reminiscent of old Chinese towns, with brass accents, malachite pillars, and dancing dragons on the ceiling. The food is even better than before---try any one of their dim sum offerings.

Low-hanging lamps and delicate latticed screens set the refined mood at this upscale Indian restaurant where the extensive menu excels in its Mughlai offerings. All the lamb options are excellent, as is the okra and anything with lentils (dal).

This is an Old Delhi institution dating to 1913, and here, mutton (which generally means goat in India) is king, especially in thick, rich gravies, accompanied by tandoor breads. The no-frills decor belies its atmospheric charm, highlighted by the large cauldrons of meaty concoctions and smoking kebabs on spits that are on display in an open kitchen.

Hot-off-the-grill kebabs are the specialty at this small, self-service eatery tucked into an upper level in Khan Market's busy lanes. Expect melt-in-the-mouth mutton, chicken, and paneer tikka roomali rolls in a no-frills setting.

One of Delhi's prettiest, hippest cafés, Latitude 28 is the place to go if you want to relax over a thoughtful meal, cold beer, or specialty tea. Chef Ritu Dalmia has put together a playful mix of comfort food from around the world and quirky takes on regional staples from around India.

This Indian restaurant at Taj Palace is dedicated to North Indian cuisine, covering the entire region from Delhi and northwards. The environment is modern but traditionally decorated, with warm-colored fabrics, tapestries, and wall paintings. The bar, offering a thoughtful menu of drinks, is attractive with a stream of water flowing through the bar counter.

Japanese for "play with your food," cheery Mamagoto, hidden behind a yellow door in the middle lane of Khan Market, is indeed a fun place for a low-key meal. This is a great spot to have a couple of cocktails and share several Pan-Asian dishes.

This vibrant and colorful Mediterranean restaurant offers an extensive choice of small and large plates like kebabs, labnehs, flatbreads, tagines, and more. The top floor has an ambient terrace, and a shimmery disco ball hanging over the bar.

An easily accessible South Delhi outpost of the iconic Old Delhi Moti Mahal, this old-fashioned family restaurant serves Punjabi and North Indian comfort food in an old-school dining room--style setting. Loyal customers continue to flock here for the tandoori kebabs and prompt service.

This dark, soothing restaurant, with South Indian decor and gold-embossed paintings designed by artisans from the Tamil Nadu town of Thanjavur, specializes in Udupi food, a vegetarian cuisine from a town near Mangalore. South Indian staples like uthappams and idlis are served in traditional style, on a banana leaf.

Located at The Diplomat Hotel in Chanakyapuri, NOE has a lovely alfresco area, cozy indoor dining, and a menu that offers gourmet to elevated comfort food—all with a twist. On plush velvet chairs, you can dine on Aglio olio with a splash of prosecco, succulent prawns in brown butter served with black garlic mayu, and grilled koji marinated leeks with tomato tamari sour cream.