17 Best Restaurants in Rajasthan, India

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 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.

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), or rabri laddu (milk balls). The place serves Indianized vegetarian versions of American-style fast food—think pizzas and burgers—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 well-priced Indian house specialties. 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) 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.

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 non-vegetarian 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 non-vegetarian 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.

A favorite with backpackers, this quirky vegetarian restaurant in an old whitewashed-blue building near the Brahma Temple has chilled trance music in the background, and reasonably quick and attentive service. The lengthy menu has everything from pizzas, thalis, extensive breakfasts (fit for a king) with Italian espresso, grilled sandwiches, soups, many flavors of lassi (chocolate, rose, mixed fruit), pasta (a favorite is ravioli in sage sauce), Mexican favorites, and Israeli and Middle Eastern food like falafel, to crepes (vegetable, sweet, or salty) and apple pie. You can eat downstairs in a/c comfort or head to the rooftop and have a meal with a view.

Arrive at this extra-large food stall as early as 7 am (or as late as 10 pm) for an old North Indian favorite—piping hot puris and alu (deep-fried wheat bread served with potato curry)---or try traditional Jodhpuri sweets, snacks, parathas, and more. Don't expect ambience, but the food is made fresh and bakery items are in chilled cases.

Popular with tourists of all ages and backpackers, this family-run restaurant is a great place for Italian coffee and juices—the menu has an incredibly long list of fresh fruit juices and “mocktails." Tandoori food is the favorite here; try the butter chicken or a wide range of vegetarian dishes. It's the spot that local guides recommend for stunning views of Lake Pichola and the Lake Palace as the sun goes down. It's also a nice place to take a tea break between sightseeing.

The majority of the restaurants in Jaisalmer are vegetarian, prompting travelers in search of meat-based dishes to flock to this quiet, charming rooftop restaurant at the Nachna Haveli hotel complex. The menu includes a variety of Indian food, as well as Chinese and Italian options and a large array of all-day breakfast plates, but the emphasis is on traditional Rajasthani dishes, Indian, and tandoor (Indian clay-oven roasts), especially chicken delicacies. It offers a special Nachna thali (vegetarian and nonvegetarian); other specialties include roast chicken with potatoes and a selection of gratins and sizzling platters. The restaurant sells beer, wine, and other alcohol at very affordable prices. Service can be slow when busy.

If you like to people-watch, this small terrace restaurant with lovely lake views is the place to be—expect to see an eclectic mash-up of dreadlocked backpackers, ornately adorned desert dwellers singing and dancing, and plenty of local priests eager to perform pujas (Hindu ceremonies). The menu mixes Indian (stuffed parathas or a thali), Italian (pizza, lasagna, bruschettas) and Mexican (enchiladas), though the international dishes aren't quite what you are used to back home; the veg sizzlers, lasagna, and banana pancakes are particularly popular here.

Come in the early evening, when scores of tourists and locals gather in front of the restaurant on Pushkar Lake's eastern shore to watch the sun set.

Overlooking Lake Pichola, this restaurant benefits from a constant breeze, and sitting on the terrace feels as if you've joined the aristocracy and have unlimited leisure---plus live instrumental music adds to the romance in the evenings. Order from a fixed-price menu or à la carte options; favorites include the safed maas (mutton in cashew-nut gravy), butter chicken, papad mangodi ki sabzi (papad and lentil dumpling in tomato gravy), and kung pao chicken. Come at night to have a cocktail and watch the sunset.

With several tea varieties, juices, and plenty of snacks---including samosas, pizza, and pav bhaji (vegetable curry with bread)—Tapri is Jaipur's modern café where friends, ladies who lunch, and visitors come to spend a few hours relaxing while overlooking Central Park. The tea is served with a timer to ensure yours is steeped perfectly to your liking; the ice tea (you can order a whole pitcher) is perfect for blazing hot days. There are also three other locations around the city.