7 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.

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.

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.

Inside the City Palace complex, this casual café, is a perfect postmuseum stop—sit outside under Rajasthani umbrellas if you like to people-watch. The menu emphasizes standard continental café fare, such as salads, sandwiches, pizza, and pasta. Beer and an extensive variety of international and Indian wines are also available. If you have tickets for the sound-and-light show, you can watch it over dinner (Rs. 400; reservations required) on the patio. If you want dinner but don't have show tickets, you'll have to wait until the café reopens at 9 pm. Prices tend to be higher than other restaurants in the area.

If you're looking to feel like royalty and splurge on a wining-and-dining experience with impeccable service, head to this elegant, formal dining room adorned with portraits from the royal collection—or opt for the balcony overlooking verdant gardens. The contemporary European and unique Indian dishes are a welcome change from the usual Indian and Rajasthani fare, and the extensive drinks menu includes internationally sourced wines. If you like seafood, you're in luck—try the prawn curry in a tomato cream sauce. The restaurant also serves a sumptuous afternoon tea.

Non-hotel guests may have trouble securing a reservation during the busy season; call ahead.

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.