13 Best Restaurants in Jaipur and Environs, Rajasthan

Considered one of the city's best (and most expensive) restaurants, Peshwari entices with melt-in-your-mouth, exquisitely spiced and marinated kebabs and other North-West Frontier foods; menu highlights include paneer tikka, chicken makhani, and the dal bukhara, served with an assortment of rotis and naans. The dining area has an outdoorsy, dhaba look—wood beams, shining copper platters, and pots hanging on the walls, with seating at log tables matched with stools. Part of ITC, a luxury hotel chain known for its excellent cuisine, Peshawri has branches in other cities in India.

Once the maharaja's throne room in the original palace, this grand hall within the Taj's Rambagh Palace Hotel---easily one of India's most elegant restaurants---has a soaring, frescoed ceiling,tapestry-covered walls, gold-plated silverware, and a staff eager to serve. It serves dishes from royal kitchens across India, from Punjab to Rajasthan, including both meat and vegetarian entrées; alcohol is available.

This four-story, family-run restaurant is a good choice for continental cuisine (think veggie burgers and Israeli salads) as well as Indian classics, with spice levels suited to the Western palate; the pizzas and pastas are popular, too. It's also a good place for breakfast, as it usually stocks a few pastries from a nearby bakery, makes paranthas (potato-stuffed flatbreads) that are fresh and not too oily. The café also serves "real" filter coffee. For views of Pushkar and the surrounding desert, sit on the rooftop terrace.

This small café and bakery offers a range of healthy, light food, be it a tofu stir-fry or one of the interesting salads—all prepared to order. If you have had one too many naans or paneer-butter-ghee packed lunches, head here for a sandwich with homemade bread, cheesecake, or a healthy vegetarian or vegan meal.

The glass- and wood-dominated environment of this regional chain is the best place to tuck into South Indian specialties such as dosas, idlis, upma, and vadas.

A great spot for groups, this garden restaurant offers Indian, Chinese, and international cuisine as well as alcoholic drinks; crowds tend to be thin for lunch, but dinner is more crowded during high tourist winter months. The restaurant attracts tourists more for its open-air ambience and Rajasthani dances (nightly at 7 pm) than for the food, though the lal maas (spicy mutton) is a favorite.

For a break after a morning of sightseeing at Jaipur's fortresses, go to this pretty restaurant in the Trident hotel to sample a mix of Indian and European fare—pastas, kebabs, salads, sandwiches—washed down with cold Indian beer, or try the grilled red snapper or the Rajasthani thali (traditional laal maas or spiced mutton), two of the best dishes on the menu. It also offers a sizeable breakfast buffet.

The house specialties at this terrific place for Indian tea and dessert are bundi ki laddu (sugary, deep-fried chickpea-flour balls) and the rasgulla (cheese balls in a sugary syrup); other sweets include ras malai (sweet cheese dumplings smothered in cream), which melt in your mouth. Popular with locals for the thalis, this all-vegetarian restaurant is also one of the few places open for breakfast—if you're in the mood for stuffed paranthas (whole-wheat flatbread) or idlis (South Indian steamed rice cakes). The decor is bland, but the sweets make up for it. No alcohol is served.