Delhi and food are a relationship that is as old as time. Serving its world-famous butter chicken, tender kebabs, and flavoursome chole-kulche to the Delhiite’s all-time favourite Darjeeling momos. Every neighbourhood here houses unique restaurants and street vendors whipping out the best that the capital city has to offer. However, with millions of locals swearing by different restaurants over all others in the city, it becomes impossible to create an authentic list as the default. Enter the World Culinary Awards!
The sister of the World Travel Awards (the travel industry’s most prestigious awards programme running for over thirty years now), WCA offers a curated list recognising the best that the culinary world has to offer. We have therefore rounded up the restaurants in Delhi which were nominated for the crown this year. Check out if your favourite restaurant has made the cut. If not, get going, you have more to try!
India’s Best Restaurant Nominees:
1. Indian Accent
Recognised at the 26th rank in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, this celebrated fine dining experience in Delhi offers exemplary Indian cuisine. You can try the chef’s tasting menu paired with glasses of wine or opt from its wide selection in the a la carte menu. The food here brings you an innovative blend of ingredients– naan stuffed with blue cheese, and caramelised walnut raita, are among a few fusion dishes that are not as ostentatious as one may think. With subtle flavours, impressive textures and well glass(es) of wine to complement, this restaurant is well worth a visit. To book a table here you can either call the restaurant or email them to confirm your reservation.
Offering a blend of Himalayan cuisine with resourceful Indian flavours, the restaurant brings a one-of-a-kind collaboration with Naar on the 26th & 27th of June. You can check out the curated menu for the occasion here.
📍The Lodhi
2. Olive Bar & Kitchen
A Mediterranean oasis in the heart of Delhi, Olive Bar & Kitchen prides itself on a menu crafted from homegrown produce. The restaurant is built on the spirit of experimentation with chefs turning basic ingredients as a forerunner for innovative cooking techniques. With everything housemade- bread, anchovies, you name it- each dish ruptures freshness and flavour! Take your pick from their desserts to refreshing cocktails and we promise a fulfilling experience.
📍One Style Mile, Mehrauli
3. Plump by Bent Chair
The first thing you will notice upon entering this restaurant is the burst of spring colours at every corner. Illustrating an artistic aura, Plump further complements the beautiful decor with plates of delicious food. Serving dumplings as soft as clouds– from mushroom baos, and green dumplings to its ever-so-delicious spicy chicken baos- it becomes difficult to go further along the menu. This multi-cuisine eatery, from Asian curry, spicy makis, chilli oil noodles and the most beautifully presented dessert options is worthy of its place among the contenders.
📍Connaught Place
India’s Best Hotel Restaurant Nominees:
4. Indus Express @ Vivanta Dwarka
The restaurant’s white-washed ingredients peppered with colloquial copper utensils set you up for a culinary experience that borrows recipes and techniques from an old India seeped in tradition. An authentic Punjabi restaurant, you are taken on a gastronomic journey through the five cities of Pothovar, Rawalpindi, Amritsar, Khyber and Lahore. If you love biryani (a rhetorical question of course), you will not stop raving about the delicious Lahori lamb biryani served here. With tender pieces of mutton and every morsel bursting with flavour, it takes its job very seriously.
5. Loya @ Taj Palace
A symphony of North Indian flavours presented with the utmost care, Loya champions an authentic dining experience. Never straying far from tradition they utilise the old cooking techniques to ensure the robust flavours are always intact. The interiors subject you to an old-world romance as the classic pair of slow-cooked murgh tikka with soft butter-garlic naan wins hearts.
6. Made In India @ Radisson Noida
Promising a comforting, as they like to call themselves ma-like cooking style, Made In India offers signature dishes bound to tantalise one’s senses. From Zafrani chicken to kofta curry, every dish served here is prepared hinting at the subtle taste of flavourful spices. For all the seafood fiends, we recommend you try the Char grilled prawns with lemongrass and Kafir lime leaf. A contemporary take based on traditional cooking techniques, the chefs here have mastered the ability to cater to the ever-evolving palates.
7. Spicy Duck @ Taj Palace
Warm brown and gold shades welcome you as you first enter the elegant restaurant at the Taj Palace. Catering delicious Sichuan cuisine, the food here presents bold yet balanced flavours. Chicken wonton soup, wok-fried shrimp noodles with sliced pork with black mushrooms- a meal here aims for five stars.
8. Varq @ Taj Palace
A gourmet restaurant, Varq holds celebrated artworks and exudes a sophisticated look grounded in traditional interiors. The interesting combination of dishes served here showcases the seamless marriage between the contemporary and traditional! Chicken kebabs in shot glasses or a Kala Chane ki Cappuccino, anyone?
World’s Best Mediterranean Restaurant Nominee:
9. Ophelia
Chic interiors, open-air seating, and lip-smacking delicacies. Ophelia has it all! A Turkish menu curated by Chef Levent Omer, you can order the delicious mezze platter, kebabs, and even fragrant home-baked breads. Serving amazing Mediterranean food, there’s little doubt as to why the restaurant was placed among the best for the World Culinary Awards.
📍The Ashok, Chanakyapuri