3 Best Restaurants in Old Delhi, Delhi

Delhi's best-known Kashmiri restaurant is also one of its most beautiful, an art deco enclave with a tile floor, a spiral staircase leading nowhere, and antique furniture and mirrors from various chor ("thieves'") bazaars. Kashmiri food, which is milder than many Indian regional cuisines, is exemplified by mutton yakhni (in a sauce of yogurt, cardamom, and aniseed) and mutton mirchi korma (in cardamom and clove gravy).

A Delhi summer isn't complete without one of the famous kulfis—the frozen milk–based treats similar to ice cream made here. What makes this spot unique is that you'll get your kulfi served in the fruit that it's flavored with: order apple, for instance, and you'll get an apple (it looks like a frozen candy apple) that splits open to reveal the delicious kulfi inside.

This is an Old Delhi institution dating to 1913, and here, mutton (which generally means goat in India) is king, especially in thick, rich gravies, accompanied by tandoor breads. The no-frills decor belies its atmospheric charm, highlighted by the large cauldrons of meaty concoctions and smoking kebabs on spits that are on display in an open kitchen.