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DELHI CITY GUIDE

Delhi is not a city you “do.” It’s a city you negotiate with. Empires rise in red sandstone, cocktails are stirred behind velvet curtains, saris become manifestos, and dinner tastes like history rewritten. Between Mughal silence and neon nights, this guide follows the Delhi that moves, sharp, layered, and unapologetically alive.


Yum Yum Cha (Khan Market)
Meticulously executed pan-Asian cuisine, perfect after an intense round of shopping in Khan Market. Order the Truffle Edamame dumplings or the black cod miso.
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69, First Floor, Khan Market, New Delhi 110003

Indian Accent (The Lodhi)
India revisited with boldness. Intelligent, precise, never folkloric. Order the Blue Cheese Naan or the Meetha Achaar Pork Ribs.
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The Lodhi, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003

INJA (Friends Colony)
India + Japan: intriguing on paper, seamless on the plate. Refined without rigidity. Order the duck chettinad Gyoza or the wasabi prawn balchão.
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77 Friends Colony West, New Delhi 110065

Baluchi (Connaught Place)
Mughlai cuisine in grand theatrical mode: crisp white tablecloths, deep sauces, cardamom in the air. Order the Dal (slow-cooked for 12 hours) or the Nalli Rogan Josh (braised lamb shank).
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The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

Cafe Lota (Pragati Maidan)
Set inside the National Crafts Museum, this is contemporary Indian cuisine with roots: regional, seasonal, intelligent, and refreshingly free of clichés. A quiet counterpoint to Delhi’s grand dining rooms. Order the palak patta chaat, the Kerala-style fish curry or their signature millet khichdi.
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National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy, Bhairon Marg, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi 110001

Karim’s (Old Delhi)
An institution since 1913, steps away from Jama Masjid. No frills, no reinvention, just unapologetically rich Mughlai food served fast and loud. Delhi at its most visceral. Order the Mutton korma, the chicken jahangiri, or the seekh kebabs.
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955, Shyam Lal Rd Near Jama Masjid, New Delhi 110006


Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters (Khan Market)
Delhi’s specialty coffee pioneer. Clean lines, serious beans, laptop crowd and creative meetings. The city, caffeinated and focused with a slice of banana bread.
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Shop N°6, 1st Floor, Khan Market, New Delhi 110003

1911 Bar (Connaught Place)
Within The Imperial, colonial chic without the dust. Leather banquettes, impeccable cocktails, discreet piano. Diplomatic Delhi rewrites the world over a perfectly executed drink.
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The Imperial, Janpath Lane, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

Perch Wine & Coffee Bar (Khan Market)
In the evening, it’s about natural wines, long conversations and a terrace that catches Delhi’s warm night air.
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71 Khan Market, Rabindra Nagar, New Delhi 110003

Kitty Su (Connaught Place)
Delhi’s iconic queer club. Neon lights, international DJ sets, a hybrid and inclusive crowd. You arrive late, you leave at sunrise.
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The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

Sidecar (Greater Kailash II)
Award-winning speakeasy, razor-sharp cocktails and a hushed atmosphere. Serious without being dull, creative without the attitude. One of India’s finest bars.
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M-29, M Block Market, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110048

The Piano Man Jazz Club (Safdarjung Enclave)
Live jazz, solid cocktails, proudly old-school atmosphere. When Delhi wants to slow down, it comes here to listen to a saxophone.
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B 6–7/22, Safdarjung Enclave Market, New Delhi 110029


Bodice (Vasant Kunj)
Ruchika Sachdeva builds garments like wearable architecture. Precision, modernity, zero compromise.
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Church Road, 20 Green Ave, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070

Lovebirds (The Dhan Mill)
Sharp minimalism, clean silhouettes, intelligent textiles. Delhi in its calm, self-assured mode.
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Shed 05, The Dhan Mill Compound, Chhatarpur, New Delhi 110074

Nappa Dori (The Dhan Mill)
Leather goods and lifestyle objects with understated chic. Indian craftsmanship seen through a contemporary lens.
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The Dhan Mill Compound, Chhatarpur, New Delhi 110074

RKIVE City (The Dhan Mill)
Somewhere between reinvented fashion, culture and experimentation. An emerging scene that refuses labels.
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The Dhan Mill Compound, Chhatarpur, New Delhi 110074

Raw Mango (Lodhi Colony) 
The sari becomes an aesthetic manifesto. Historic textiles, modern cuts, sovereign elegance.
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31, Block 8, Lodhi Colony Market, New Delhi 110003

 

Spiceology Spa
(Connaught Place)
Spiced oil massages, Ayurvedic rituals, steam and silence. Delhi finally slows down.
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The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place

Shahnaz Husain
(Khan Market)
A historic temple of kohl kajal. Ayurvedic beauty long before the world discovered the word “clean.”
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Shop 12B, Khan Market, Rabindra Nagar, New Delhi 110003

 

Nature Morte (The Dhan Mill) 
A key gallery on the Indian and international contemporary scene.
Artists: Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat, Bharti Kher.
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The Dhan Mill Compound, Pocket D, Chhatarpur, New Delhi 110074

Claymen (The Dhan Mill)
Aman Khanna’s grey figures observe the world with tender irony. A distinct take on contemporary sculpture with real personality.
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Shed 2A, The Dhan Mill Compound, Chhatarpur, New Delhi 110074

Pristine Contemporary
(New Delhi)
Specialists in modern Indian and historically significant contemporary art. Artists: FN Souza, SH Raza, Ram Kumar.
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C-3, A-178, Bhushma Pitamah Marg, South Extension I, Kotla, New Delhi 110003.

PhotoInk (Defence Colony)
A gallery devoted to some of South Asia’s most important contemporary photographers.
Artists: Dayanita Singh, Raghu Rai, Gauri Gill.
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B-74, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024

Arpana Fine Arts Gallery (Academy of Fine Arts)
Founded by artist Arpana Caur, this independent gallery bridges generations, pairing established masters with politically and socially engaged contemporary practices. Intimate, thoughtful, and quietly influential.
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4/6, Siri Fort Institutional Area, New Delhi 110049

Jamali Kamali Mosque (Mehrauli)
A 16th-century Mughal gem tucked inside the vast Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The mosque stands beside the tomb of the Sufi poet Jamali and the mysterious figure known as Kamali. Over time, the site has become an informal LGBTQ+ symbol: the shared tomb of two men, buried side by side, has been read as a possible romantic or spiritual partnership, offering a rare historical space where queer narratives can be imagined within India’s past. Red sandstone, intricate jali screens and faded frescoes frame sweeping lawns and ancient trees, in one of Delhi’s most poetic pauses.
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Jamali Kamali Mosque & Tomb, Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Mehrauli, New Delhi 110030

India Habitat Centre
(Lodhi Road)

Designed by architect Joseph Allen Stein, this modernist cultural complex is one of Delhi’s great contemporary spaces. Brick geometry, shaded courtyards, cultural programming, exhibitions and quiet gardens.
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India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003

 
 

Bahrisons Booksellers
(Khan Market)
The historic bookstore where Delhi thinks, debates and wanders between literature and essays.
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Opp Main Gate, Khan Market, Rabindra Nagar, New Delhi 110003

Faqir Chand & Sons
(Khan Market)

Family-run since 1951. You find everything here, especially what you weren’t looking for.
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Shop N°15A, Khan Market, Rabindra Nagar, New Delhi 110003

 

The Lalit New Delhi (Connaught Place)`
The great contemporary institution of Connaught Place, The Lalit effortlessly blends diplomats, creatives and night owls without ever losing its composure. You stay for the energy, the Spiceology Spa, and end up (far too late) at Kitty Su.
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Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

 
 
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