18 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Delhi, India

This airy indoor restaurant looks out on the Oberoi's gardens, with beautiful views of the Taj Mahal in the distance. Decor is stylish, with chic brown-and-white tile floors, plush turquoise booths, and dusky wooden tables and chairs.

Rustic wood tabletops resting on tree-trunk bases, plush, bright-orange seat cushions, and hammered copper plates and goblets create a dark, romantic mood, complemented by the simple, delicious barbecue cuisine of the North West Frontier area in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. All kinds of meats are freshly prepared over open flames and served with rich, aromatic sauces, with plenty for vegetarians, and guests are encouraged to eat with their hands.

This air-conditioned restaurant invites you in with warm interiors and sumptuous multi-cuisine food. The muraled walls are inspired by Bundelkhandi art and add a localized touch to the space. While the dim lighting lends a rustic ambiance to the 60-cover seating, the bustling chatter from guests keeps things lively. Small details such as ceramic crockery and friendly service complement the lip-smacking food for an all-rounder experience.

This easygoing, inexpensive outdoor eatery with tables looking out on Assi Ghat serves excellent thin-crust vegetarian pizza made in a wood-fire oven with real mozzarella, as well as homemade pasta dishes, bona fide espresso, and fresh homemade apple pie. For a quieter, more laid-back experience, head to their other outlet in the cantonment area.

This charming, two-story restaurant just across the road from the Western Temples (there are stunning views from the terrace) serves a mix of Indian and continental fare. It has a distinctly European aesthetic, with an open courtyard, where marble-top tables are shaded by an enormous neem tree and overhanging branches of bougainvillea, and a small indoor section that is air-conditioned (the summer heat can be quite punishing).

Situated in the plush Clarks Hotel, this upmarket restaurant that's decorated in tones of white and dark wood is best for its Indian food, though there are plenty of fusion and multicuisine choices on the menu. The chef cooks up innovative items in the lively kitchen, with vegetarian and meat-based dishes available.

Handily located behind the Shivala Ghat, this is a cozy, unassuming haven for homesick Western palates and a good place for breakfast after a morning boat ride.

Behind the colonial facade of the Surya Kaiser Palace, Canton Royal is a simple but elegant restaurant, with vaulted ceilings, statues, and framed pictures of Benarasi royalty. The menu is eclectic, spanning vegetarian and meat offerings in European, Mediterranean, Indian, and Chinese fare. You can dine inside or in the lovely gardens.

Rich tapestry, elegant chandeliers, and stone walls invite you into this fine dining space serving global cuisines. Darbhanga does an indulgent breakfast spread with bakes, live stations, and Indian classics, but the lunch and dinner menu wins with its three-course Benarasi thali featuring over five dishes and the famous Benarasi paan. The vegetarian menu is exhaustive, but should you wish to have something from a different cuisine, the chefs are happy to oblige. 

The light and spicy South Indian vegetarian dishes served at this casual town favorite are a nice change from Agra's usual rich Mughlai fare. The food is excellent and service is fast at this casual, reliable, chain eatery.

Situated just past The Oberoi Amarvilas's illuminated Mughal-style courtyard and grand marble lobby, this intimate den celebrates local craftsmanship, with square pillars of red sandstone and white marble and carved wooden screens. Through the glass wall of the kitchen you can watch the chefs at work, while live instrumental music, including performances on the dulcimer-like santoor, adds to the mood throughout the week.

Situated at the lobby level of Hotel Haifa, this restaurant's specialty is Middle Eastern food. It's basically a long room with nondescript tables and lots of tourists flowing in and out—and no wonder, because it's incredibly cheap and the only place in town to sample freshly made Middle Eastern treats.

Occupying an elegant, airy space that opens out to the lobby of the Tajview hotel, Jhankar serves excellent Indian and Mughlai dishes every day at dinnertime. Flavors are subtle and distinct; many herbs and vegetables come from the kitchen garden.

Though simple and no-frills, this rooftop restaurant, with plastic tables and chairs and just a few potted plants is a longtime traveler favorite. The food here is the main draw, with Italian cuisine that many foreign guests find a welcome respite from the area's ubiquitous spicy curry dishes.

A spiral staircase leads up to this indoor, air-conditioned restaurant with cheery bright curtains on a rooftop. The Maharaja Cafe overlooks a maqbara (domed memorial) to the left and the Western Temples to the right; there's a wooden platform with outdoor seating offering great views of the sights and market below.

The panoramic view from a wall of windows takes in both the Taj Mahal and the Fort, while evening live ghazals (Urdu love song) performances set the mood for rich Mughlai dishes served here. A ceiling of faux twinkling stars floats over an interior of rich reds, with brass trays hanging on walls and tables set with silver goblets.

This modern Indian restaurant is decorated in rich shades of purple, beige, and orange, and lighted by glittering glass chandeliers. The five-page menu includes Chinese and European dishes, but the North Indian cuisine is what makes the restaurant so popular with domestic visitors.

At this Indian fine-dining restaurant at Taj Ganges, you can dine on Benarasi delicacies, thalis, and other North Indian fare with vegetarian and meat dishes. Traditional Benarasi weaves are evident in the upholstery and interiors, while live sitar renditions add a more traditional touch to the dining experience. Guests can also request for the kids menu with simpler flavors and comfort foods.