From the kebab-smoke of Daryaganj to the modernist kitchens of Aerocity — the capital's most definitive guide to exceptional dining in 2026.
Delhi has been feeding kings for over a thousand years. The legacy of Mughal courts, of Punjabi dhabas, of the Partition's displaced cooks who brought Lahori recipes to Lajpat Nagar — all of it lives in the city's food. This is a place where history tastes like something.
But Delhi in 2026 is also fiercely contemporary. Indian Accent's global reputation has proven that Modern Indian fine dining can command international respect. A generation of chefs trained in Europe and Tokyo have returned to open restaurants that reference Delhi's past while speaking an entirely new language.
Indian Accent is widely regarded as Delhi’s — and India’s — most celebrated modern fine dining restaurant, housed within the luxurious The Lodhi Hotel on Lodhi Road. With...
Bukhara at ITC Maurya is arguably the most storied restaurant in India — a rustic, wood-panelled dining room centred around roaring clay tandoors. Opened in the late 1970s,...
Dum Pukht is one of Delhi’s most regal dining destinations — a lantern-lit restaurant inside ITC Maurya that recreates the elegance of the Nawabi courts of Awadh. The...
The Spice Route at The Imperial Hotel is widely considered one of the most visually spectacular dining rooms in Asia. Its hand-painted temple murals, antique carvings, and intricate...
Megu at The Leela Palace New Delhi is widely regarded as the capital’s most refined Japanese dining destination. The restaurant blends the grandeur of the palace hotel with...
Comorin — named after Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), the southernmost tip of India — is one of the most exciting modern Indian restaurants in Delhi-NCR. Located in Gurugram’s DLF...
Olive Bar & Kitchen is Delhi’s most beloved Mediterranean restaurant — an all-white, open-air sanctuary tucked into the historic Mehrauli heritage district near Qutb Minar. Set inside a...
Masala Library is Delhi’s most theatrical and experimental Indian restaurant — a sleek contemporary dining room where classic Indian flavours are reimagined through modern culinary technique. Created by...
Shang Palace at Shangri-La Eros New Delhi is widely regarded as the capital’s most refined Chinese dining destination. The restaurant combines the opulence of the Shangri-La brand with...
Karim’s is not simply a restaurant — it is a living chapter of Delhi’s culinary history. Located in the bustling lanes opposite Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, the...
No city in India carries more culinary history than Delhi. Five dynasties ruled from this plain, each layering new flavours and techniques onto the previous order. The result is an edible palimpsest — a city where a 1913 kebab shop and a Michelin-aspirant tasting menu can both claim equal authenticity.
When Indian Accent opened in 2009, it quietly changed the conversation about Indian cuisine's potential. Chef Manish Mehrotra showed that Indian food could be presented with the rigour of French haute cuisine while remaining rooted in the subcontinent's ingredient traditions. The restaurant has since become the most internationally praised Indian kitchen in the country — and the movement it sparked has produced a generation of ambitious successors.
No visit to Delhi is complete without eating in the lanes around Jama Masjid. Karim's, founded in 1913 by a descendant of Mughal court cooks, still serves biryani and korma from recipes that predate India itself. Nearby, Al Jawahar and Haji Shabrati Nihari offer slow-cooked nihari at breakfast — mutton shank braised overnight until it dissolves into silk.
Delhi's optimal dining season is October to February — when the city's often extreme weather softens into something manageable, and when rooftop dining and outdoor gardens become available. The summer months (April–June) are sweltering, but the city's air-conditioned fine dining rooms remain excellent year-round. Avoid major festival weekends for top tables; book well in advance during the winter season.
Indian Accent requires bookings of three to four weeks in advance, particularly for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Bukhara and Dum Pukht at ITC Maurya can usually accommodate a week ahead. Old Delhi institutions like Karim's do not take reservations — arrive early (before 12:30 for lunch, before 7:30 for dinner) to guarantee a table.
Everything you need to know about dining in Delhi
