phb

Looking for anything approahing Michelin star standard in delhi, maybe with an indian theme (fusion). Don't see the point in coming all this way to eat French or Chinese.

Thanks

sandyk112

Bukhara at the Maurya Sheraton continues to be quite good.

Amit77

Hi,

To me,Bukhara is a high society crap!!! If you ever wanna try something authentic and very North Indian, ask your Hotel/Guide/Car to take you to "Pind baloochi" in Gurgaon, behind Signature Tower. Dont think of Michelin star standard in delhi/NC Region, but go for the authenticity and good hygenic places. There are tons of "indian theme" Restaurant but all depends on where you are living(hotel). In my opinion, any 5/7 star hotel around the globe will have almost same serving standard. But, the authenticity of the local food depends where the locals go to eat...!! Not where some president of some blah blah country came and praises that place !! Dear PHB, Try somethng innovative and use your instinct. just ask for bottled water wherever you eat !!!

Enjoy India and its food..!!

Some tips

Baingan Varta (roasted eggplant with indian condiments)-Vegeterian
Dal Makhani (black/yellow lentil deep fried and marinated in butter and other spices - Vegeterian
Chicken Varta ( roasted chicken with roasted eggplant and other stuff !! delicious
mutton Saagwala ( tender lamb/mutton half fried with green vegetables as after sauce
Chicken Pulao ( long rice with Chicken and other variety of spices - main course

Ps .. Try out another restaurant in South delhi, it used to be known as Rendezvous, but probably it has changed its name to some indian name. Its in Malviya Nagar main road, every driver knows it, Try Indian course there.

JDiver

Welcome to FT, Amit77!

I see Bukhara gets mixed reviews in other threads, but most of them sounds like "it used to be good." Some places I've been , local residents enjoy a family or friendly meal at a hotel restaurant - those tend to be good. Those that are used more because they are in the hotel one is staying in, or in the diplomatic quarter, or because they tend to attrract those who want to be seen, may be more eye candy than real food.

One thing I hope will help is a small book I picked up "Eat Smart in India : How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure" by Joan Peterson, Indu Menon, Susan Chwae. It has an extensive glossary, some recipes, and breaks down food in India by region. I think this small paperback will be helpful in understanding more about the foods offered where I will be, and I am looking forward to the variety and specialties as I travel in Delhi and Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.

Thanks for the recommendations; if any other ideas come up , please post the - I may put them to the test.

GUWonder

The Times of India -- I believe it is affiliated with that newspaper -- has a guide book of restaurants that covers those in/around DEL. That book about DEL restaurants alone can be bought at the newstands and is useful to some degree.

Butter chicken/chicken makhani should be tried at whatever restaurant you go to. I personally use that dish as my measure of how good an Indian restaurant is or is not. If the chicken pieces are not good and the sauce can't be done right, the restaurant has issues.

DEL is not well known for its culinary options, and for good reason. It's no surprise that I get asked about nawabi/HYD-style food options more than about DEL restaurants.

Besides Bukhara at the Sheraton and the Afghani-oriented restaurant at the Ashoka Hotel and a few others knit-in and I have mentioned in other DEL/India threads, there is not a lot of coverage about this topic here. Bukhara, Dum Pukht and Dakshin are not my favorites, but they are decent enough.

For Chinese, Tea House on the August Moon at the Taj used to be good, but I don't go to that place any more.

For Thai, there is Blue Elephant at the InterContinental Grand but it's not as good as the Blue Elephant restaurants I have been to in Europe and elsewhere in Asia.

I often end up at Chona's in Khan Market, but it's not because the food is great.

phb

We ended up at the 'Made in India' in the Radisson MBD, Noida.

Excellent food, average wine list. Staff were great (once they realised that we had a real interest in what we were eating

It seems to have a combination of traditional dishes with a good variety of regional cooking, some 'twists' on the traditional theme and a very modern ambience.

The kebabs of minced vegetable/fruit were the standout for me, but nothing was less than good.

One of the chefs was a regular visitor to our table to explain the dishes we were demolishing. He recommended a few things to us, and arranged for a tasting or regional breads to accompany the main dishes.

I just wish the wine list had has a little more variety.

knit-in

I will admit my visits to most restaurants in Delhi are few and mostly a year apart, but I would staunchly defend Bukhara as a restaruant that has held up to the highest standards for about 25 years since I have been going there. More regularly than the frequency mentioned above in the first fifteen of those years. While most times the hype will seem better than the actual product, I have never been disappointed after a meal at this institution of Northern Indian cuisine. Another great Indian restaurant is "Frontier" at the Ashok, but the service there can be sketchy. Food is no less than remarkable. These places have been around forever serving high-quality food for a long-long time (yes, even before India became a destination of choice for WJ Clinton) and in my opinion lived up to their own standards over the years.

That said, I'd certainly recommend trying restaurants outside of the Star level hotels. Of particular interest would be a place called "Punjabi By Nature" which is in Basant Lok (also known as Priya complex, Vasant Vihar) and has a branch in NOIDA. A group of restaurants in a complex off of New Delhi's Pandara Road has some of the best local food that you can sample. I'd name a few but they all are good. They used to be smallish establishments (known as dhabas) which have now fancied up a bit, but still have the high standards and low prices that their ages-old patrons are used to.

I must say though, that I am very intrigued by Amit's (welcome to FT, of course) recommendation of "Pind baloochi" in Gurgaon. I hope to try it when I am in DEL next week. I must say though that I am not about as excited about the restaurant formerly knows as "Rendezvous". While I haven't been there in ages, I must say I wasn't a big fan when I used to go there as a student (there's something to be said about their chinese style Chicken drumsticks though ).

It does remind me of one of my favorite haunts of the past-- that I intend to visit on my next trip-- just down the street from Rendezvous. It is a very small place, where you usually just sit in your car and eat. It's called "Chic-Fish" and as the name suggests is a no-frills joint. Probably not a high recommendation for tourists concerned with getting a case of the infamous Delhi-belly (even if the food doesn't cause it, the aesthetics of the place might induce it).

aroraruchika9

hey Delhi is soo famous for the food it provides. You can expect some of the most exotic dishes from the roadside stalls as well as the best of the restaurants . Few days back i found this website www.foodiebay.com which provides the whole list of restaurants in the city plus reviews,ratings,menus,maps,contact details of the restaurants. This helped me so much when i visited the city first.

Keyser

welcome to ft aroraruchika9....thanks for the link....

BJMT

I have always found the restaurants at the TAJ in Mansingh road to be the best in Delhi, the Wasabi Restaurant is excellent and the Varq contempory indian restaurant is second to none.

PS to contradict someones earlioer comment I think Bukara is great!!

Keyser

bukhara used to be good but their service & quality has declined over the years....i love wasabi....its an amazing restaurant....varq i don't like....there are much better indian restaurants in the city....

celesteadi

I have visited Bukhara on my last two trips to Delhi, and loved the food and service. We went in after 10 PM and were seated in about 15 minutes. Do not order the prawns, they are over cooked. we only ordered the bukhara kabob with nan and dhal makhani, excellent service. I am a huge fan of the Taj Mansingh hotel, but I was not impressed with the food. I also liked the food at the Threesixty restaurant located at the Oberoi hotel. The food is good and the restaurant has a lot of ambiance on friday and saturday nights, one of those places people go to see and be seen.

ITCWelcomgroup_Hotels

Dear Celesteadi , We are delighted to hear that you have enjoyed dining with us at Bukhara , ITC Maurya. We are happy to share with you that Bukhara has just been listed amongst top 20 restaurants in Asia by the Miele Guide 2010/11.

We'll look forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back again!

Warm Regards,
ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel