FREE Must-Try Indian Food Spots 🍛 🇮🇳

New Delhi 

Delhi was the most challenging city as it was the first approach in India and I feel it could be the most chaotic one. We could have tried more places, but the ones we did try have been amazing! 

Cafe Lota

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💸Price Range: £15/20 pp ✨ Highlights: Palak Patta Chaat is a must-try / try to book in advance 💭My opinion: I had this lovely restaurant on my list and when our Airbnb host recommended it as well, I knew I should try it out. Their Palak Patta Chaat was the best thing I tried, so I would 100% recommend it! Overall the food was very good and tasty, a bit on the pricy side if compared to other restaurants, but for me it was worth it. I would recommend booking, as without it we had to wait 45 minutes to get a seat during a Monday Lunch!

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Moets Civil Lines

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💸Price Range: £5/10 pp ✨ Highlights: Pizza and Kebab restaurant - local vibe 💭My opinion: Lovely restaurant around the corner from our Airbnb. The chips were so tasty and the pizza was okay - sorry but I'm Italian!! I would definitely try their kebab as I feel it would be a more authentic taste.

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Khan Market 

My friend mentioned that this market has higher prices for food and dessert, but the quality is very good. We tried a dessert as we went in the afternoon, but I wanted to try some of the restaurants in there too. 

The Big Chill Cakery

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💸Price Range: £3/5 pp ✨ Highlights: best cake in the area - open till late 💭My opinion: We tried some cakes from this cafe and they were quite good! I wouldn't recommend the super chocolate ones because for me they were too sweet, but all the rest were very nice!

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Khan Chacha

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💸Price Range: £3/7 pp ✨ Highlights: local vibes - kebabs, biryanis and curries

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Third Wave Coffee

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💸Price Range: £3/5 pp ✨ Highlights: Starbucks vibe - people meeting and working from there - many locations in different cities

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Old Delhi 

This part of the city felt very overwhelming for my partner and I, so we didn't feel like eating anything around the area and just tried to get somewhere quieter. But from the research, and if I could come back there, I would try the ones below. 

Paranthe Wali Gali

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This is a street food area in Old Delhi.

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Old Famous Jalebi Wala

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💸Price Range: £1/3 ✨ Highlights: Jalebi shop, considered the best place to get the Jalebi

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Aslam Chicken

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💸Price Range: £3-5 ✨ Highlights: typical northern Indian cuisine - best dishes should be Butter Chicken.

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Karim's Hotel Pvt. Ltd.

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💸Price Range: £3-5 ✨ Highlights: typical northern Indian cuisine with biryanis, kebab and butter chicken. Many people recommend their mutton.

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Al Jawahar Restaurant

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💸Price Range: £5-10 pp ✨ Highlights: it is known for its North Indian cuisine, including dishes like tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and naan bread.

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Connaught Place 

This neighbourhood is right in the city centre and many fancy hotels are here. But just around the corner, you can also normal people and places. 

The Spice Route

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💸Price Range: £60-100 pp ✨ Highlights: luxury - fine dining - Asian Fusion 💭My opinion: This is the most expensive restaurant in Delhi. We paid around £150 for two people with no desserts. The food was just so incredible and tasty. It's like a fusion of Asian cuisines and I loved their paratha bread - it was the best I have ever had! I could tell it was freshly made! We had Sate Ayam, Ginger Garlic Glazed Pork Ribs and Barbecued Mamak Baby Chicken, with rice and paratha bread. I would recommend everything and I regret eating so much that we didn't have space for the dessert.

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Dasaprakash - Connaught Place

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💸Price Range: £3-8 pp ✨ Highlights: South Indian Food - chain with multiple locations - many good reviews

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DIGGIN

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💸Price Range: £15-20 pp ✨ Highlights: International cuisine and vibe - very good reviews

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Haldiram's - Connaught Place

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💸Price Range: £2-5 pp ✨ Highlights: food chain - very popular amongst Indian - food, chaats and snacks I haven't tried their food, but I did try their snack. My Indian friends explained that Haldarim is one of the biggest food companies producing packed snacks (the ones you see in the street) and you should absolutely try some. If you'd like to try food, they have many locations around the country so just check which one is close to you.

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Agra

We haven't spent much time in Agra, but I've researched just in case as I wasn't too sure of our itinerary at first. 

The Salt Cafe

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💸Price Range: £15-25 pp ✨ Highlights: Rooftop terrace and big windows for view - a bit touristy but good vibes 💭My opinion: This dinner was pricer than usual in India but it was totally worth it. We didn't have any bookings and didn't have to wait. The portions were pretty big and the food was very tasty. We had all grilled chicken and they came with the grilling pot which kept them warm - it was very cool! They do a bit of everything, but I would recommend sticking with the local dishes.

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Joney's Place

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💸Price Range: £2-4 ✨ Highlights: local - cheap - authentic This is one place I wanted to come and try as I felt it would give a more local vibe.

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Pinch of spice agara

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💸Price Range: £10-15 pp ✨ Highlights: Mughlai and Chinese - popular amongst Indians and tourists

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Mama Chicken Mama Franky house

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💸Price Range: £3-5 pp ✨ Highlights: typical Mughlai cuisine - pretty local - they also have a Momo stand

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Chia Taj View Cafe

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💸Price Range: £2-3 ✨ Highlights: Taj Mahal view - perfect during sunset

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Varanasi 

In this city we ate multiple times in the Sagar Fast Food place as it was good and cheap, and we avoided staying in near the ghaats as it was very busy and overwhelming. 

Sagar Fast Food

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💸Price Range: £1-2 pp ✨ Highlights: street food - rolls - different locations around the cities 💭My opinion: I wasn't sure if trying the rolls here as they were so cheap and we only ate at restaurants until that point, but I looked around and felt it was clean enough so I tried it - they were so tasty that we came back there a couple of times! The person at the till was also very lovely and we had a bit of chat while waiting - definitely recommend it.

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Brown Bread Bakery Varanasi

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💸Price Range: £4-7 pp ✨ Highlights: This restaurant is part of a hotel, but you don't need to stay in to dine there. They have a beautiful terrace and many people recommend it for meeting nice people and connecting.

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Baati Chokha Restaurant

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💸Price Range: £3 - 6 pp ✨ Highlights: traditional set up sitting on the ground - authentic Indian chaats and Thali cuisine

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Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe

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💸Price Range: £3-10 pp ✨ Highlights: a rooftop terrace in Assi Ghat - touristy - Apple Pie is the favourite of people - sunset time would be amazing

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Deena Chaat Bhandar

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💸Price Range: £1 -2 pp ✨ Highlights: very popular spot - the best place for chaat - fresh ingredients and tasty flavours

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Kashi Chat Bhandar

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💸Price Range: £1-2 pp ✨ Highlights: chaat street food - crowded - authentic

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Shree Shivay Thali Dining Varanasi

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💸Price Range: £5-10 pp ✨ Highlights: Thali specialties - away from traffic giving more calm vibes - good service

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South Goa - Benaulim 

The whole of India has been amazing with food, but Goa has been special to me, for food, landscapes and for human connections. 

The Pavilion

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💸Price Range: £3-6 pp ✨ Highlights: live music on some weekends - nice staff - traditional Goan cuisine and others 💭My opinion: This restaurant was so cheap compared to the other ones on the same street, but the food was soooo good! They do a bit of everything, but I would highly recommend the Goan menu, especially the Caldin curries or the Xacuti - they are coconut-based and you will not be able to try them in another part of India! The quality was so good that we went there a couple of times! They also had live music on some nights which made the vibe even better!

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Cavatina by Avinash Martins

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💸Price Range: £20-35 pp ✨ Highlights: fine dining - smart casual dress code - Goan cuisine with international fusion 💭My opinion: This is a fine dining restaurant and they don't have many tables so I would recommend booking. Also worth noting they have a dress code: smart casual. The chef is getting a lot of popularity and many Indian celebrities go to this restaurant, and honestly, I can see why! He travelled a lot and with the discovery on his trips, he was able to create a fusion which will make your mouth watering. The price is a bit higher than usual in India, but still very cheap if I compare the same dinner in London. We had two starters, a mix of meats and a selection of desserts - everything was so delicious, well presented and well explained. One of the best dinners we had!

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Goodfellas goa

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💸Price Range: £5-10 pp ✨ Highlights: real Italian flavours - approved by Italian (aka me) - romantic location at night and relaxing during the day 💭My opinion: I'm Italian and I approve of this restaurant - this should be enough to convince you to try it out! We ordered a delivery (so imagine how good it would be as an eat-in!!) and I was mindblown by the quality of the food. I never expect much from Italian restaurants outside Italy, and especially I don't expect much in a country so far from Italy but believe me, the taste was so authentic. We had pizza, bruschetta and steak with potatoes, everything felt like Italy - I was so shocked and my boyfriend who loves pizza was shocked too!

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Cinnamon

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💸Price Range: £5-8 pp ✨ Highlights: very cute garden - more international dishes like pizza and burgers 💭My opinion: We went to this cafe for breakfast and lunch - the food was so tasty and the price was quite cheap (at least coming from the UK) It is a more international cuisine, but it gave us the break we needed from the Indian dishes. The watermelon and orange juices were so fresh, the eggs were perfectly cooked, the burgers were big and filling, and the quality was just top! Additionally, the location is just so pretty - it's like a terrace with a garden and it's beautiful at all times, either during daylight or in the evening. The service is a bit slow, so if you are in a rush, don't go! But we were on holiday so we didn't care much about that.

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JOHNCY RESTAURANT & BAR

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💸Price Range: £5-10 pp ✨ Highlights: on the beach - nice view and refreshing - tasty and authentic 💭My opinion: My friend from Goa brought me to this restaurant as she's been many times. They have very tasty seafood dishes ( I don't eat seafood and fish, but my friends do and have them). I love the fact you are just there on the beach, which makes me feel I'm on holiday and makes me relax so much. I enjoyed the chicken lollipop and the xacuti chicken.

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The Southern Deck - Beach Bar & Bistro

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💸Price Range: £5-15 pp ✨ Highlights: beach restaurant and lounge bar - perfect during sunset - a bit pricy (like all beach rest.) - good vibes I walked in front of this restaurant every time we went for a walk to watch the sunset and we promised we would go and get at least a cocktail once, but we followed the flow and this never happened. If I will ever get back to Benaulim, I will 100% try it.

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Mumbai 

I wished I spent more time in Mumbai so I could try all the restaurant I had in my list and explore more. My favourite restaurant was definetely Ishaara which had a particularity that I never came across. 

Ishaara

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💸Price Range: £10-20 pp ✨ Highlights: authentic dishes - Dahi Puri must try for me - need to order with sign language 💭My opinion: This restaurant blew my mind! Not only was the food amazing, but every worker there is deaf, so you would need to use sign language to communicate with them. The menu has the corresponding sign next to the dishes' names and drinks. The best dish I had was the Dahi Puri, which I first tried in London and really wanted to have in India - OMG, it was the best! We also had a Sufitani Chicken Biryani which wasn't spicy at all and very tasty!

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The Nutcracker

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💸Price Range: £5-20 pp ✨ Highlights: brunch and dessert spot - American Style 💭My opinion: This restaurant is popular for its dessert and American-style food, so if you need a break from Indian dishes, I would highly recommend it. We only had dessert as we went after dinner, but the vibe was pretty chilled and cool, and the food around us looked amazing too. I would recommend booking as it seemed pretty busy.

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Cafe Madras®️

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💸 Price Range: £2-10 pp ✨ Highlights: authentic South Indian dishes - tasteful but long wait time

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Colaba

Leopold Cafe

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💸Price Range: £8-13 pp ✨ Highlights: historic coffee place - popular amongst tourists and Indians - authentic Irani tea and local favorites like kheema pav or omelets

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Olympia Coffee House

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💸Price Range: £2-5 pp ✨ Highlights: Similar vibe to Leopold Cafe but cheaper - historical site and very popular amongst Indians and tourists

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Gaylord Restaurant

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💸Price Range: £15-20 pp ✨ Highlights: heritage style - very popular - feels like you step into a time machine but in a premium way

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Cafe Mondegar

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💸Price Range: £ 8-15 pp ✨ Highlights: decorated with murals by Mario Miranda - iconic spot but also very crowded - Indian and American style dishes

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Khala Goda

Kala Ghoda Cafe

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💸 Price Range: £5 - 17 pp ✨ Highlights: gourmet Western-style breakfasts and artisanal coffee - dark chocolate waffle is a must-try - cosy vibe

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Trishna

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💸 Price Range: £15-20 pp ✨ Highlights: famous for seafood dishes - luxury and intimate vibe - need to book in advance

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Bademiya Kebab Restaurant

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💸 Price Range: £8-15 pp ✨ Highlights: kebabs and rolls, open till 3 am - popular amongst locals

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Burma Burma Restaurant & Tea Room

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💸 Price Range: £8-18 pp ✨ Highlights: authentic Burmese cuisine and vibe - fully vegetarian menu

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MyPersonal Tips 

I personally recommend not being afraid to try out things in India, just because they have the 'fame' to get people sick. Yes, it can happen, but use your good judgment to understand if that place is trustable. 

If you are like us, and you also like to get take aways during your holiday, well this app below is perfect. You will need an Indian number for it to to work and you can pay by card. We used it a few times and never had an issue. 

Zomato App

www.zomato.com

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. India is one of the best places to discover new flavours and taste something different. 

If you have any feedback, don't be shy and let me know via DM. 🌸