Open for: All day

Price Range: $

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959, Tibetan immigrants followed, bringing along momos, the stuffed, steamed dumplings that have since become one of Delhi’s most popular street snacks. Nepali vendors sell them by the roadside all over the city, but you can also find them in the Majnu Ka Tilla area, home to some of Delhi’s Tibetan community. Near the neighborhood monastery, you’ll find a stall selling laphing, a flat, translucent pancake stuffed with soybeans and tossed with red chile paste and green onions. Then hop to the Himalayan, a beloved restaurant that serves all kinds of momos and other Tibetan favorites like shabaley (large, deep-fried, savory stuffed pastries), tingmo (yeasty bread shaped like a mountain and eaten with tea or stewed meats), and a cold beer. For tea and cake, head to the small Ama cafe, which is popular among students. 

Know before you go: Ask your taxi to drop you on the side of the Tibetan monastery and then walk down the only lane to find the stalls and restaurants.

Open for: Breakfast and dinner

Price Range: $$

Popular in North India and Pakistan, nihari is a fragrant goat or beef stew cooked with heaps of ginger and served with freshly made khameeri roti (light, dry flatbread) to soak up the succulent meat. At Noora Nihari, a little shack in one of Delhi’s oldest neighborhoods, the nihari cooks for 12 hours before servers dole it out. 

Vibe check: Hundreds of early risers stop by for breakfast on their way to prayer, as tipsy youngsters end their night at dawn.

Open for: All day
Price Range: $
Shahjahanabad, the old city, is a haven of shops and vendors selling snacks and sweetmeats. Savory bites like dahi bhalla (fried lentil balls in yogurt) and aloo tikki (potato cutlets topped with yogurt and chutneys made of tamarind and mint) are best at iconic chaat shop Natraj. Kanwarji Sweets, a favorite local sweets shop, does the best gulab jamun (solidified milk soaked in cardamom-rose syrup), while Chaina Ram makes a perfectly sweet halwa from simmered lentils. 
Know before you go: Old Delhi is best in the morning, so consider a breakfast crawl. That’s the best time to check out daulat ki chaat, which vendors make from sugar, saffron, heavy cream, and morning dew (the dessert spoils in the city’s heat).

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

Kachoris are one of North India’s most ubiquitous breakfasts. Pushcart vendors stuff flaky pastries with lentils or potatoes, deep-fry them, and serve them with chutneys of anise or mint. Jung Bahadur in the historical Chandni Chowk nook of the old city is one of the city’s stalwarts. The stall sells kachoris stuffed with lentils and herbs, alongside stewy potatoes, chiles, and coriander. A plate makes a snack or a meal, depending on your appetite. 

Best for: Eating on the street as you admire the shops and homes stacked on top of each other like a house of cards.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

Breakfast is rowdy business at this famous stall in the middle of one of Delhi’s oldest neighborhoods. The owner barks at customers to behave as they dig into plates of bedmi aloo (slow-cooked, spicy potatoes) and nagori halwa (semolina cooked in saffron and sugar). Everything comes with thin, fluffy flatbreads called poori that are spiced, shaped, and fried to order. The shop also offers a plethora of sweets to take away for a midday treat.

Must-try dish: Pair your meal with a lassi, which can be thick and sweet or thin and salty with black pepper, depending on your mood.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

Unlike most naan in Delhi, which is merely an accompaniment to dips or meats, naan from the Punjabi city of Amritsar, at the border between India and Pakistan, is a meal unto itself. In West Delhi, home to many Punjabi immigrants and their favorite foods, naan-ghar (naan house) Prem Di Hatti stuffs Amritsari-style naan with fresh, house-made paneer, before cooking it in a tandoor and delivering it to the table with a smear of butter and a side of pickled onions. The joy is simple: soft crumbly paneer and fresh bread hot from the oven, paired with a thick, sweet lassi garnished with pistachios. 

Best for: Breakfast. Prem Di Hatti sells out as the day rolls on, so it’s best to visit early.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

Inside the crumbling walls of one of Connaught Place’s Georgian-style relics, Wenger’s cake shop has hosted generations of fervently loyal Delhi residents. In keeping with English tradition, Wenger’s serves fresh cream-stuffed buns and biscuits dotted with jam, but the shop also offers savory specialties like patties (flaky bread rolls stuffed with cheese and mushrooms that make great tea snacks), baguettes stuffed with cheese and chopped pieces of tandoori chicken, and shami kebabs (fried minced lamb cutlets).

Must-try dish: Get a “pastry,” which in Delhi just means a piece of cake; the Swiss Roll is especially beloved.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

Golgappe (known as panipuri in Mumbai) are abundant in stalls across the city. The crispy, hollow semolina balls are stuffed with tamarind, potatoes, and chickpeas, and then filled with cold, tangy tamarind juice. Bhimsain’s Bengali Sweet House was one of the first to popularize the dish in the city. The shop also offers traditional Indian sweets like ladoos (small sweets that come in many shapes, textures, and fillings) and jalebis (intensely sweet spirals of wheat flour fried in hot oil, and dipped in sugar syrup and saffron) that are eternally popular among locals and tourists. 

Know before you go: A family feud led rivals to open a similarly named shop nearby, but you’ll know the right store by the large crowd lingering out front and the big red facade.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

Delhi’s favorite thali restaurant is a bustling, raucous affair that dishes out more than 3,000 plates a day. Andhra Bhavan brings home-style cooking from the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh — the home of some of the spiciest food in the country — to diners in the capital. Get a thali, which consists of rice, pooris (deep-fried flatbreads), and two kinds of lentils, along with fragrant sambhar (lentils cooked with vegetables) and the spicy tamarind soup known as rasam. Like other thali specialists, the restaurant offers unlimited vegetables, as well as chutneys made from beetroot, yam, and okra. 

Best for: A Sunday afternoon when you’ve got an empty stomach. Custom demands you eat several portions and finish everything on your plate.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

Cafe Lota tackles the daunting task of pan-Indian cuisine, highlighting dishes from outlying areas of the country that sometimes get lost amid the fuss over rich northern fare. Among the nearly endless variety of dishes are breads made from ragi or millet, palak patta chaat (crispy spinach leaves topped with sweetened yogurt and chutney), and dal dhokli (a one-pot comfort meal from Gujarat with spinach and paneer dumplings simmered in lentils). The cafe also serves drinks like aam panna (a sour mango drink) and excellent iced coffee, and in the summer, there’s mango golgappe (crispy, fried semolina balls filled with fragrant mango cream). 

Vibe check: The breezy indoor-outdoor space is a calming backdrop for lunch on a day when Delhi weather is kind.

Open for: Lunch to late night

Price Range: $$$

One of the city’s post-partition restaurants, and perhaps its most successful, Gulati is one of a cluster of establishments on Pandara Market, built as dhabas (small, informal restaurants) by partition refugees that arrived in the city after the Indian subcontinent was divided into India and Pakistan. Despite the road’s upscale nature, it still attracts residents for a family meal, and Gulati, with its classic, ornate Punjabi interior, superb butter chicken, and serious vegetarian selection, is often first choice. It’s best to stick to the usual here, as in many spots where the menu has remained almost unchanged since inception. Get garlic naans to go with buttery dal makhani, reshmi kebabs (chicken kebabs so soft they’re named after silk), paneer tikkas, or the restaurant’s best offering: dahi kebabs, or battered cutlet-like kebabs bursting with creamy yogurt inside and crisp exteriors, a perfect snack.

Know before you go: Arrive early because there’s always a line.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

Indian Chinese or Masala Chinese in India changes as per region, and Delhi’s own “Chinjabi” or Punjabi Chinese is a fun cuisine to eat in the capital. This old-timey, banquet-style restaurant in one of Delhi’s most upscale neighbourhoods is a good bet if you find yourself in these parts. Get the crispy lamb, egg fried rice, and dim sum, or trusted Indian Chinese favorites like chile chicken or American chop suey.  

Know before you go: Fujiya usually has a well-stocked bar, too.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

An offshoot of Delhi restaurant the Big Chill, this small cake shop decked out in floral wallpaper is known for its European-style desserts, like a Viennese sponge berry cake made with fresh citrus juice and layers of berry-infused frosting, or a French chocolate eclair filled with coffee cream. The shop also offers an array of silky-smooth cheesecakes in flavors like vanilla, blueberry, and — perhaps the best — peanut butter and Kahlúa. In the morning, grab a coffee, sandwich, or almond croissant. 

Best for: A picnic on the sprawling Lodi Gardens, just a two-minute walk away.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

In the historic Nizamuddin neighborhood, near the shrine to the Sufi saint of the same name, you’ll find a small kebab shop. Ghalib is named for one of Delhi’s most famous romantic poets, and the owner likes to say that the beef kebabs here are made with the writer’s eternal love. The mix of Bollywood film stars and local mosque-goers who frequent the tiny hole in the wall would have to agree. Do like the regulars and get one plate of the beef kebabs, two roomali rotis, and paper plates with puddles of Ghalib’s trademark chutney for dipping. 

If you take a car: Taxis don’t go inside Nizamuddin Basti, so get out on the side near the Nizamuddin Dargah mosque and ask for directions.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$$$

Since Indian Accent’s opening, chef Manish Mehrotra’s modern take on traditional cuisine has received resounding approval from Delhi locals. Mehrotra spent nine years traveling Asia to explore the region’s varied cuisines before launching what’s become the most famous restaurant in India. (He has also opened locations in New York and Mumbai.) His contemporary spin on raita combines yogurt, water chestnut, and wasabi, while his braised lamb shanks come with a traditional Punjabi lobia (black-eyed pea curry). Note: Reservations are booked up to two months ahead.

Vibe check: Indian Accent has been on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for a decade, so expect other fans coming for the hype.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

Malai tikka (grilled chicken tossed in cream) is the specialty at this small butcher turned meat-focused restaurant in Central Delhi. Owned by two brothers, who can be overheard roaring orders to the kitchen, the restaurant serves chicken perfectly coated in a signature spice mix and tendered on the grill. Get yours with a roomali roti and a heap of chopped onions. 

Must-try dish: The shop does an excellent korma (meat cooked in a thick peppery gravy), but the real star is what comes alongside: a large, thick, yeasty roti known as khmeri.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $

Cramped and intimate, 4S is a popular dive bar among Delhi youth for its basic interior and low prices. Get a rum and Coke made with the city’s favorite spirit, Old Monk, and pair it with thoroughly greasy bar snacks that haven’t changed in decades. Try the chile potatoes, which are crisped and tossed in honey, ginger, and garlic, or opt for Sichuan lamb sprinkled with sesame seeds for crunch. 

Know before you go: The bar gets very crowded almost every night with regulars streaming in after work, so come prepared for a short wait for a table.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

Afghan immigrants have carved a corner for themselves in Lajpat Nagar, one of Delhi’s most thriving neighborhoods and home to some of the city’s best street food. There, Mazaar strives to replicate Kabul cuisine for Delhi customers. Get the borani banjan, a stewy dish made from eggplant and tomatoes, or the chellow kebab, chicken lightly spiced and marinated in lemon and yogurt, served with rice. You can also enjoy unlimited cups of green tea and Afghan naan, searing red and patterned from the oven, to be eaten with sides or topped with butter as a snack.

Must-try dish: Look for sheer yakh, cold yogurt topped with pomegranate seeds from the mountains of Afghanistan, which occasionally appears.

Open for: Breakfast and lunch

Price Range: $

Wherever you go in Delhi, you’ll often see locals crowded around plastic tables eating chhole bhature, a thick, spicy chickpea stew, or chhole, with thick hunks of a double-fried flatbread called bhatura. Everyone has their own thoughts on the best version of this ubiquitous dish, but Nagpal, in the city’s bustling and diverse central market, is almost universally beloved. Get a heaping plateful, ask for onions and green chiles on the side, and wash it all down with a tart lemon soda. Bhature are a speciality of the capital, and Nagpal carefully double-fries them so they are soft on the outside and crunchy inside. 

Best for: Hot chhole bhature is best enjoyed for lunch with a friend.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

A couple of years ago, Rude Chef opened to instant popularity in Delhi’s youthful, restaurant-filled neighborhood of Humayunpur. It’s run by a small, skilled team led by a talented, nonchalant chef who worked in several upscale kitchens across the city before he started his own. The restaurant is casual, and has nicely plated but unpretentious food, including global hits like fried calamari, fish tacos, and thai curries. Get the rice wine, a fermented beverage drunk across India’s Northeastern states and Indigenous communities, served here luxuriously pink in trademark goblets. Starters, as is the general rule in Delhi restaurants, are better than mains, especially the som tam salad, the pulled buffalo meat salad, and the birria wraps filled with tender, spiced meat and ordered in succession by every table in the restaurant. 

Know before you go: There is almost no vegetarian food here, save one menu listing of steamed edamame.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

Humayunpur, a neighborhood in Delhi’s South home to young migrants from Northeastern countries, is arguably the best place to eat in the city. Recently, this small Nepalese restaurant in the neighborhood has gotten overrun with young Instagram influencers turning dumplings around between their fingers while they record videos. The best thing to eat here is the kothey momo: juicy meat- or vegetable-filled dumplings with “wings” that are pan-fried on one side and served with peanut and chile chutneys, some of the city’s best momo sides. The thalis at Lha are also fantastic, especially the vegetarian ones featuring Nepalese dal and greens, as are the Hakka noodles, honey-chile potatoes, and fried string beans.

Vibe check: Lha Kitchen’s lines can be catastrophically long, but the food quality remains uncompromised.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$$

Vegan restaurants are recent and rare in Delhi, and always upscale. This has often meant that vegan spots offer poor copies of something someone has eaten in the United States, with foreign vegetables clumsily stacked into bowls. Greenr Cafe retains the fashionable clientele and California-esque aesthetic associated with veganism in India but features locally sourced vegetables, often delicious dishes, and even better desserts. 

Know before you go: The Greater Kailash branch has an adjoining bar with wine and cocktails, as well as a vast selection of teas.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

Until a decade ago, nihari in Delhi was specifically a breakfast dish, when the slow-cooked meat stew and hot khmeri (yeasted) rotis were usually served in the old city to residents when they arrived after morning prayers in the mosque. In the last five years or so, though, nihari has spread to other parts of the capital, even suburban, residential neighborhoods. Here, it can be eaten in a restaurant at any hour of the day, but often at a lower quality due to a lack of devotion compared to that of traditional cooks. Ballimaran, a small, beloved restaurant in the city’s South East, serves up all-day nihari as good as that in the old city. The menu is compact and trustworthy; aside from mutton nihari and “bong” or beef-shank nihari, there is keema (mince, which is cooked with potatoes) and bheja (brain stew). The rotis are always fresh and hot, and the stew’s fat and spice are well balanced — no small feat.

Know before you go: The stew’s melt-off-the-bone meat comes, thankfully, in both small and big portions.

Open for: Lunch to late night

Price Range: $$$

Delhi’s drinking culture has a long way to go, despite the city’s reputation for having India’s most devout party people. Bars are mostly expensive and gimmicky, while informal ones can be difficult to get to and from and often only accessible to men. That’s mainly why drinking with friends often takes place in restaurants that have a liquor license and serve Indian Chinese food. Nagaland’s Kitchen is not an Indo Chinese restaurant but has popular snacks from the cuisine on the menu as well as Naga snacks, which take everything up a notch. The restaurant, located in an old Delhi marketplace, retains a comfortable, well-lit atmosphere, and has a loyal clientele that makes this feel like a neighborhood bar. Here, get a Chinese or Nepalese starter (the Himalayan momos are especially good), but also dishes like pork ribs, smoked Naga chicken, and chicken wings with Raja Mircha (ghost chile pepper). 

Know before you go: As of late, the restaurant also has Thai food and a wine menu, plush offerings in Delhi but at affordable prices here.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $$

In Chittaranjan Park, known as Delhi’s “Little Calcutta,” immigrants have built a wonderland of Bengali foods. This small but well-stocked sweets store is renowned for its Bengali treats, as evidenced by the ever-present line out front. Get a mishti doi (sweetened, thick yogurt fermented in small clay pots). Or try the heavenly sandesh (small, brightly colored sweets made from thick curds called chhena and sweet golden jaggery), which the shop infuses with saffron. 

Must-try dish: Kamala Sweets is one of the few places in Delhi (and India) to eat doodhpuli, sweet rice-flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and date palm jaggery, available only from October to February.

Open for: Lunch and dinner

Price Range: $$

For fear of tourists overwhelming Dzukou, an incredibly popular mid-range restaurant that used to be centrally located, it usually gets left out of the best-of lists. Dzoukou has moved to Delhi’s far South, though, and gotten even better. The casual, comfortable spot serves traditional food from Nagaland, which was once kept at the periphery of the local restaurant scene but now at its center as Naga chefs cook with foraged and well-sourced ingredients from their lush, hill-clad state in Northeast India. 

Must-try dish: The shredded pork and the chicken stew with green onions and fresh ginger. And always order black rice.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

Opened in 2016, Blue Tokai was one of the first to bring single-origin coffee from South India to coffee-shy Delhi. Now, it’s the capital’s most frequented coffee chain, using good-quality beans to make cappuccinos, lattes, and the usual roster of iced espresso drinks and cold brews. Blue Tokai is a much better bet than a Western coffee chain like Starbucks if you need a reliable, third-wave, air-conditioned cafe environment when traveling in a new place. The cafes serve always-fresh croissants and tea cakes from Suchali’s Artisan Bakehouse, an independent bakery.

Know before you go: Blue Tokai is one of few independent coffee roasters in India.

Open for: All day

Price Range: $

This bakery inhabits a sleek space in outer Delhi’s Gurgaon business district. Locals flock to Sibang for a variety of Korean baked goods, like red-bean buns and donuts — twisted with sprinkled sugar or square with lemon curd frosting — all to be eaten with tall glasses of strong, iced coffee. The bakery also offers a handful of freshly baked cookies, as well as ham sandwiches with thick, fresh slices of cheese stacked between bread straight from the oven. 

Vibe check: Popular with the city’s young residents for its simple interior and endless supply of caffeine, Sibang is a good stopover if you find yourself in the outer rings of the capital.