No Indian city carries as much restaurant history as Delhi. The capital's great kitchens sit largely inside its luxury hotels — the ITC Maurya in the Diplomatic Enclave, The Imperial on Janpath, The Leela Palace and The Oberoi — where dishes like Dal Bukhara and Dum Pukht biryani have been refined to a fixed point over decades. Around them, the Old Delhi institutions near Jama Masjid hold the Mughlai tradition, and a small set of modern rooms led by Indian Accent has pulled the city onto the global stage.
Booking patterns: the hotel restaurants take reservations through their concierge desks and rarely need more than a week, though Bukhara still draws a queue at peak. Indian Accent, the one modern-tasting room on this list, books one to three weeks out. Tipping runs around 10 percent over any service charge already on the bill.
Ten restaurants, ranked, each with the chef or kitchen, the dish to order, a rupee figure and a link to its full Delhi review.
India's most awarded modern-Indian room, at The Lodhi — book it for the meal that put Delhi on the world's fine-dining map.
Food9/10
Ambience8/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Indian Accent, inside The Lodhi hotel on Lodhi Road, is the restaurant that proved Indian cooking could compete with the world's best on its own terms. Founding chef Manish Mehrotra built its language — the blue cheese naan, the daulat ki chaat, the meetha achaar pork ribs — and the kitchen, now led by Shantanu Mehrotra, keeps it razor-sharp. It has ranked at the top of Asia's 50 Best among Indian restaurants for years and spawned outposts abroad. The inventive tasting menu runs around 4,500 rupees and up. Book one to three weeks out and take the chef's tasting; the à-la-carte misses half the argument.
The ITC Maurya legend that has fed presidents — order the Dal Bukhara and Sikandari Raan, and book ahead because the queue is real.
Food9/10
Ambience8/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Bukhara, in the ITC Maurya on Sardar Patel Marg in the Diplomatic Enclave, may be the most famous restaurant in India — a rustic, tandoor-driven North-West Frontier room that has served visiting heads of state for decades and refuses to print menus on paper you can keep. The Dal Bukhara, simmered overnight, and the Sikandari Raan, a whole spiced leg of lamb, are the non-negotiable orders, eaten by hand with the kitchen's enormous naan. There are no cutlery pretensions and no reservations for some seatings, so a queue forms; budget around 4,000 to 6,000 rupees a head. Go early, ask the concierge to flag you, and do not skip the dal.
The ITC Maurya's Awadhi grande dame — reserve it for the slow-cooked biryani and Kakori kebab that define Lucknowi cuisine.
Food8/10
Ambience9/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Dum Pukht, also in the ITC Maurya, is Bukhara's more formal sibling: an opulent, blue-and-gold room dedicated to the dum style of Awadhi cooking, where dishes are sealed and slow-steamed over hours. The Dum Pukht Biryani, finished under a pastry seal, and the Kakori kebab — minced lamb so fine it is said to melt — are the signatures, alongside a Nawabi-era richness you rarely find done this carefully. It is a celebration room, plush and quiet, suited to an anniversary or a formal dinner; plan on 4,000 to 6,500 rupees a head. Reserve through the ITC concierge a few days out and request a corner table.
The Old Delhi Mughlai institution since 1913 — go for the mutton burra and seekh kebab in the shadow of the Jama Masjid.
Food8/10
Ambience6/10
Value9/10
Why it makes the list
Karim's, in the lanes beside the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, has cooked Mughlai food since 1913, reputedly from recipes carried by cooks who once served the Mughal court. It is not a fine-dining room — it is a cluster of packed, tiled halls — but the mutton burra, the seekh kebab, the mutton korma and the breakfast nihari are as good as Delhi gets, and the value is extraordinary at a few hundred rupees a head. The experience is the point: the crowds, the open grills, the history pressed into the walls. Go for an early dinner, expect to share a table, and order the burra and a rumali roti to start.
The Taj Mahal Hotel's contemporary Indian room — book it for the Varqui crab and a galouti kebab refined for the capital's diplomats.
Food8/10
Ambience8/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Varq, inside the Taj Mahal Hotel on Mansingh Road near India Gate, is the capital's polished take on contemporary Indian cooking, named for the edible silver leaf that crowns its plates. The Varqui crab — crab baked under a flaky pastry shell — and the galouti kebab are the signatures, served beneath the late artist Anjolie Ela Menon's canvases in one of the city's most elegant hotel rooms. It is a diplomat's and dealmaker's restaurant, formal without being stiff; budget around 4,000 to 6,000 rupees a head. Reserve through the Taj concierge a few days ahead and ask for a banquette under the artwork.
The Imperial's hand-painted pan-Asian room that took seven years to build — reserve it for the most beautiful dining space in Delhi.
Food8/10
Ambience9/10
Value6/10
Why it makes the list
The Spice Route, in The Imperial hotel on Janpath near Connaught Place, is as much a work of architecture as a restaurant — its hand-painted temple-art interiors took artisans seven years to complete, tracing a spice trade route from Kerala through Thailand to Vietnam. The menu follows the same journey: Keralan seafood, Thai curries, Vietnamese rolls, each cooked with more care than pan-Asian rooms usually manage. It is the city's most photogenic dining room and a strong choice for impressing a visitor. Expect 4,000 to 6,000 rupees a head. Book a few days out and request a table in the main painted hall, not the veranda.
The Leela Palace's French-Italian grande dame — book it for a formal celebration with handmade pasta and a city view.
Food8/10
Ambience8/10
Value6/10
Why it makes the list
Le Cirque, on the top floor of The Leela Palace in Chanakyapuri, is the Delhi edition of the storied New York name, the capital's reference for European fine dining. The menu runs between France and Italy — handmade pastas, a signature sea bass, a dessert trolley — served in a plush, gold-toned room with views over the Diplomatic Enclave. It is a formal celebration booking: anniversary, milestone, the dinner where the setting matters as much as the plate. Plan on 5,000 rupees and well up with wine. Reserve through the Leela concierge a few days out and ask for a window table at dusk.
The eccentric Kashmiri room packed with antiques — go for the Wazwan tasting and a Tarami feast you will not find done better.
Food7/10
Ambience8/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Chor Bizarre, near Asaf Ali Road by the edge of Old Delhi, is named for a thieves' market and decorated like one — a glorious clutter of antiques, an old vintage car repurposed as a salad bar, mismatched furniture everywhere. Behind the eccentricity is serious Kashmiri cooking: the Tarami, a traditional multi-dish Wazwan feast served on a copper platter, and the rogan josh and gushtaba are the orders. It is a one-of-a-kind room, ideal for a visitor who has seen the hotel restaurants and wants something with character; budget around 2,000 to 3,500 rupees a head. Book a day or two out and order the Tarami to share.
Polished, full-flavoured modern Punjabi cooking — book it for tandoori raan and dal makhani done at fine-dining level.
Food7/10
Ambience7/10
Value7/10
Why it makes the list
Punjab Grill is the capital's most refined take on Punjabi cooking, plating the tandoor-and-cream tradition with fine-dining precision rather than dhaba volume. The dal makhani, simmered long and finished with butter, and the tandoori raan — a marinated, slow-roasted leg of lamb — are the signatures, alongside a strong kebab platter. The rooms are smart and contemporary, suited to a family celebration or a comfortable business dinner where everyone knows the cuisine. Expect around 2,500 to 4,000 rupees a head. Reserve a day or two ahead and start with the kebab platter before the raan.
The Leela Palace's serious Japanese room — reserve it for black cod and sushi that hold up against the city's hotel grandes dames.
Food8/10
Ambience8/10
Value6/10
Why it makes the list
Megu, in The Leela Palace in Chanakyapuri, is Delhi's most ambitious Japanese restaurant, the Indian edition of the high-end New York and global name. The black cod with miso, the toro and the robata grill anchor a menu that flies in much of its fish, served in a dramatic room hung with a giant temple bell. It prices like the import it is — 5,000 rupees and up per head with sake — but for landlocked Delhi it is the most credible sushi-and-Japanese option, and the setting carries an occasion. Book through the Leela concierge a few days ahead and sit at the counter for the robata.
Methodology
The New Delhi ranking weights food at 50 percent, room and service at 30 percent, and value relative to peer group at 20 percent. Hotel institutions and modern tasting rooms are judged within their own categories: Bukhara is not penalised for its no-menu rusticity, and Indian Accent is not rewarded simply for serving a tasting menu.
Placements rest on named recognition and history — Indian Accent's standing on Asia's 50 Best, Bukhara's decades of state dinners at the ITC Maurya, Karim's continuous operation since 1913, The Imperial's seven-year build of The Spice Route. We accept no hosted meals and are not paid by any restaurant; reservation links carry no ranking weight.
How to book the right table
Reservation reality: the hotel restaurants book through their concierge desks and rarely need more than a week. Bukhara still draws a queue at peak seatings, so go early and ask the concierge to flag your name. Indian Accent, the one modern-tasting room here, books one to three weeks out.
Tipping: around 10 percent over any service charge already on the bill; hotel restaurants add the service charge automatically.
Dress code: smart to smart-casual at the hotel rooms, with Le Cirque and Dum Pukht the dressiest. Karim's and Chor Bizarre are come-as-you-are; the cooking, not the clothes, is the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant in New Delhi?
Indian Accent at The Lodhi is New Delhi's best restaurant by global standing — a modern-Indian tasting menu, built by chef Manish Mehrotra, that has topped Asia's 50 Best among Indian restaurants for years. For pure institution, Bukhara at the ITC Maurya is its equal. The full
New Delhi dining guide covers more.
What should I order at Bukhara?
Order the Dal Bukhara, the black-lentil dish simmered overnight that the restaurant is named for, and the Sikandari Raan, a whole spiced leg of lamb. Both are eaten by hand with the kitchen's oversized naan. Bukhara prints no take-home menu and skips cutlery pretensions, so lean into it; budget roughly 4,000 to 6,000 rupees per person.
How much does fine dining in New Delhi cost?
The luxury-hotel rooms — Bukhara, Dum Pukht, Varq, Le Cirque, Megu, The Spice Route — run roughly 4,000 to 6,500 rupees per person before drinks, more with wine or sake. Indian Accent's tasting menu starts around 4,500 rupees. Old Delhi's Karim's is a fraction of that, often a few hundred rupees a head for a full Mughlai meal.
Which New Delhi restaurant is best for a special occasion?
Dum Pukht and Le Cirque are the strongest celebration rooms — both plush, formal and built for an anniversary or milestone. For a beautiful setting, The Spice Route at The Imperial, with its seven-year hand-painted interiors, is hard to beat. Indian Accent suits a special occasion where the cooking itself is the event.
Is Karim's worth visiting in Old Delhi?
Yes — Karim's near the Jama Masjid has cooked Mughlai food since 1913 and remains one of Delhi's essential meals. The mutton burra, seekh kebab and breakfast nihari are excellent and cost a fraction of the hotel rooms. It is crowded and basic, with shared tables, but that is the experience; go early for dinner and order the burra first.
