Eating out in Delhi is a favourite hobby and there are endless food options in Delhi. But not all of these are memorable experiences. We have curated a list of unique dining experiences in Delhi that only needs imagination. Given that these include pocket-friendly places to eat in Delhi too, you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot to create food memories.

Unique Dining Experiences in Delhi NCR

DelhiFunDos, a food, travel and lifestyle platform is run by two of us. Sundeep is a pucca Punjabi from Delhi and Bedabrata is a true blue Bengali from Kolkata. We share a common passion – food. In fact, Bengalis and Punjabis are majorly into food, so when we are not eating, we are thinking about food or talking about food. Primarily this talking about food led to our call for food blog and we have been at it for more than 8 years now.

Another reason why we turned food bloggers was that our friends keep asking us what to eat, where to eat, someplace unique and so on. Today we have compiled a list of unique food experiences you can have in Delhi. So this post is not really about street food or fine dining, not even about breakfast places or dinner places… just food experiences that are slightly or drastically different than your usual dining out. The list is compiled from our personal experiences.

So let’s start…

Eat at Home Chefs In Delhi

There are many home chefs in Delhi who cook authentic regional home-style food and are happy to have guests come over and relish their cooking. We remember eating authentic Bengali food at Moushumi’s place in Vasant Kunj and mouthwatering Assamese food at Sneha Saikia’s place in Kalkaji. You can check out our vlogs about these experiences.

These home chefs cook for a small group of people. People who want to eat at a home chef’s table can get in touch through messages on their social media or through websites like Authenticook. It comes for a price that varies from home chef to home chef and cuisine to cuisine. Once you book your table with them and the chef has an optimum number of people for whom he/she can cook, they prepare the food at home in their kitchen. This is mostly a multi-course meal starting from welcome drink to starters to main course and dessert. A ballpark amount per person can be around Rs. 1000/-. But the taste is authentic, easy on the system and is made with love. These home chefs mostly do it out of their love for food and it shows in their cooking. They curate special menus for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries etc. Since these home chefs do not operate like full-fledged restaurants or cafes, these are not listed on Zomato.

Tent Restaurant in Gurugram run by a Film Director

Yes, this is insanely crazy. Gurgaon has a restaurant which is run inside a tent inside somebody’s home. And this somebody, believe you me, is a film director cum fashion designer. We are talking about Maashra, a tented restaurant, which is located on Gurgaon Faridabad Road and is owned by the revered film director and fashion designer Muzaffar Ali, who made the original Umarao Jaan with his beautiful wife, author Meera Ali. We were invited for dinner to taste the authentic royal Awadhi cuisine that they serve at this restaurant some time back.

Maashra is not your regular restaurant. In fact, they are not open to diners all the time. You have to follow their Facebook page where they make announcements whenever they are open for diners. Send them a request if you want to dine here and if they accept, you can go and eat at Maashra. The restaurant is mesmerizingly beautiful and the dinner out of the world. The overall setting is very informal and laidback. Paintings by Muzaffar Ali and other artwork are part of the tent décor. Hindustani classical music was being played in the background when we went. The overall experience was so heady it still keeps lingering on.

Canteens of College and Institutes

This is probably the best kept secret of Delhi’s food scene. Some of the educational institutes have very cool canteens and they allow outsiders to eat here. Alliance Francaise near Lodi Road houses one such canteen. It’s a French language institute and they have a small, cosy canteen that serves some amazing food. We go there mostly when we are in that area to watch something at India Habitat Centre which is in the vicinity.

Their menu comprises sandwiches, pasta, burgers, wraps, noodles and much more. Our favourites at this canteen are the bakery stuff. Their chocolate and lemon tarts are to die for.  This is our preferred joint for tea, coffee, snacks whenever we are in this area. Their prices are subsidized for the students of the institute and slightly higher for outsiders. Another issue is that they wind up around 7.30 – 8 pm but nevertheless we just love eating at the canteen of Alliance Francaise whenever we can. Since the canteen is part of an educational institute, it’s not listed on Zomato.

State Bhawan Canteens in Delhi

This is probably not a hidden secret anymore as a lot of people rave about the food at Andhra Bhawan canteen.  Yes, State Bhawan canteens (not all but many) in Delhi are open to diners from outside. Most of these state bhawans have the concept of unlimited thali or platter where you pay a fixed price and you get multiple servings of breads, rice and vegetables. Some of the state bhawans we have eaten at are Andhra Bhawan, Goa Bhawan, Karnataka Sadan, Rajasthan Bhawan, Banga Bhawan on Hailey Road but our all-time favourite is Gujarat Bhawan food.

Gujarat Bhawan food as well as service is one of the best in Delhi. They are impeccable in every sense of the word. The gorgeous thali comprises of chaach, farsaan like rice dhokla or pakodas and Gujarati kadhi, khichadi, daal, roti, rice and a few vegetables that keep on changing. The food is vegetarian and very pocket friendly. Gujarat Bhawan is in Chanakyapuri area and if you love vegetarian Gujarati food, you must visit this place at least once.

Book Cafes in Delhi

Eating at book cafes is also an unusual experience. These cafes mostly have a relaxed and casual vibe and you can just sit back and chill, read a book and take it easy. The most famous book cafe in Delhi is Char Bar. It is in Connaught Place N Block bang opposite Statesman Building. It is part of Oxford Bookstore, a Kolkata chain. We are quite nostalgic about Cha Bar because in the early days of our blogging we would sit at Cha Bar and blog. This was our spot to brainstorm about topics and write on a touchpad or paper pad those days.

Our most favourite items at Cha Bar are fish and chips, Cha Bar blend tea, English tea cake and sandwiches. Sadly they do not allow bringing books from the books section anymore. Nevertheless, the place is one of the most vibrant cafes in Delhi. You can shop for books, stationery and handicraft items from the Oxford book store.

Eating at an Embassy

As food and travel bloggers we are privileged to have been invited to various embassies to eat and promote their countries’ cuisines. This is definitely one of the most sought after benefits of being veteran food bloggers of Delhi NCR. We have been to Peru, Italian, Argentine embassies and have dined many a time at ITC Maurya at their Embassy specific events like Sri Lanka Embassy, Embassy of Morocco, Cyprus Food Festival etc.

We fondly remember dining at Thailand embassy with the ambassador of Thailand in India at his residence. This was one of the events we cherish forever in our food blogging journey. Though it takes time to be able to reach a point where one is invited to embassy food events, people who are not food bloggers can also eat at embassies when they especially host such events or fetes on chargeable basis. You can dine with royalty, taste their cuisine in a fine dining setup and share the table and interact with representatives of a particular country in India. Since these events are few and far between, you may never find such experiences on Zomato listings. This is virtually culture travel sitting in Delhi. Do follow the social media of any embassy in Delhi that is of your interest for updates on such activities.

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