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Delhi info · Guest Home Country: countryx

Dining in Dehli guide (cuisine, places/ etc...)
Restaurants introductions

Traditionally, all the best restaurants in Delhi were to be found in the five-star international hotels. When smart Delhiwallahs wished to impress, they would head for one of these places where, in return for five-star prices, they would be guaranteed good food in swish surroundings with obsequious service. To an extent, this is still the case, although beyond the confines of the big hotels, the prosperity of Delhi’s enormous middle class has ensured that a huge number of excellent restaurants have sprung up where one can be assured of delicious food at a fraction of the price that is charged in the big hotel dining rooms.
The question of alcohol is a thorny one in Delhi, where it remains notoriously difficult to secure a drink licence. Therefore many restaurants are unlicensed. Alcohol in Delhi is expensive and wine particularly so – a run-of-the-mill bottle of Pino Grigio could cost up to Rs1800 (approximately £27), before sales taxes – as it is subject to an import tax of more than 200%. Wine lists are almost universally disappointing. Many licensed restaurants do not offer wine, confining themselves to beer, cocktails and spirits. Indian wine does exist and is worth trying, if only for its novelty value. There is an Indian ‘champagne’ sold under the name ‘Marquise de Pompadour’, which, at Rs750 a bottle, is a reasonable way to put some sparkle into an evening. Indian beer, however, is excellent and invariably ice cold.

There are also a large number of restaurants in Delhi that are wholly vegetarian. Indeed, the city is a culinary paradise for the non-meat-eater, as even the categorisation of eating houses – ‘veg’ and ‘non-veg’ – suggests a presumption in favour of vegetarianism. ‘Non-veg’ restaurants will all offer a wide variety of ‘veg’ dishes.

We have selected 25 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments. All the restaurants included have air-conditioned dining rooms. Generally, restaurants are subject to a sales tax of 8% on meals and 20% on alcohol – in the five-star hotels there is an additional impost of 10%. This is called the ‘Hotel Expenditure Tax’.

The prices quoted below are for a three-course meal per person and a bottle of Indian beer (usually 600ml) and include all taxes but not service charges.