Daryaganj

“Where are you?” “In Daryaganj” Serves: Culinary gems from Undivided Punjab Atmospherics: Butter chicken, dal makhni, chicken pakoras and mutton keema kaleji have collectively been called a number of names, from Mughlai (patently inaccurate) to North Indian (far too vague). At last, in Daryaganj – which is nowhere near the eponymous street –  is an…

Plats

Simple yet sophisticated: both the interiors and the food Serves European Atmospherics: step off what passes as a pavement, and you’re inside this restaurant that is simple, elegant and charming, without a single unnecessary flourish. I have been to similar restaurants in Paris and London, where the accessories have been kept to a bare minimum…

Ek Bar, Doosri Bar

One of the few genuinely neighbourhood bars in the city Serves: Indian-inspired small bites Atmospherics: Ek Bar has been around for a while and has changed avatars off and on. This time around, the interiors remain the same, but the food has been given the best make-over possible. Far from being overly pretentious, it now…

ROOH

One of the few chef-led restaurants in the city Serves moidern International with Indian touches Atmospherics: with a plethora of rooms that lead off from one another, ROOH, run by Chef Sujan Sarkar, presently based in the US, is one of the more pleasant, relaxing spaces in the business. It is ideal for a quiet…

Kimono Club

All the trappings of a winner: glamour and location Serves: traditional and modern Japanese and Chinese Atmospherics: Whether you enter by the outside staircase that leads from the driveway or from the central lobby, down the stairs or the lift, the Kimono Club is a work of art: a backlit bar on one side and…

Mealability

Kashmiri food in sylvan surroundings Serves: the food of Jammu and Kashmir Atmospherics: though the address of J&K House is 5, Prithvi Raj Road, the entrance is from the Amrita Shergill gate. Whether you are allowed to park inside the compound or on the road is largely a function of the security ruling du jour.…

Cafe Lungta

  A would-be hidden joint in a neighbourhood market but for the attached bar Serves: Nepalese and Tibetan Atmospherics: Sector 15 has none of the cachet of say, Sector 29 in Gurugram. Electrical repair and dry-cleaner stores suggest that it used to be a strictly neighbourhood convenience for take-away joints and grocery stores. Seven years…

Diva Spiced, GK

Ritu Dalmia hits the bull’s eye Serves: South East Asian and Indian, the Dalmia way Atmospherics: Up a flight of stairs, beautifully decorated with wall-paper, Diva Spiced has moved some distance from its previous home in Mehar Chand Market to the far more accessible N Block Market (also known as the Fabindia Market!) Even in…

Punjab Grill, Khan Market

The brand that keeps reinventing itself Serves: North Indian food Atmospherics: The best decision that Punjab Grill made was to open a branch in Khan Market. Small and beautifully designed, with wallpaper that has a Jacobean appeal and tableware made of bell-metal, it is the only entirely Indian restaurant in the market. As a result,…

Searock Cookhouse

Peninsular cuisines have finally come into their own Serves Food of the southern states Atmospherics: Right next door to the gigantic Haldiram’s in the Outer Circle is this modest eatery. Nothing typifies the diverse ways of doing business in the opposite ends of our country than Searock and its neighbour. One has bright, well-lit signages…