Road side dhabas. Yes there used to be such places but not any more. Atleast not in Delhi/NCR. You would have to venture out of Delhi, specially NH1 towards karnal, to experience the authentic ones.
However, if you are ok with a little polishing on the once road side dhabas of
Delhi, here are my top picks:
List of Best Road-side dhabas/restaurants in Delhi
1. Rajinder da Dhaba, Kamal Cinema Complex, Safdarjung Enclave –
Started around 10 years back from a small hand cart, now owns 30% of the market. May seem a little too polished for a dhaba, but the feel remains the same. With great food and option for both open air and fine dining, Rajinder da dhaba is my top pick.
2. Chawala Chicken, Punjabi Bagh –
Though the name contains Chicken, I still feel their Dal Makhani rocks.
3. Amritsari Naan Wala, Near Peeragarhi Chowk, Outer ring road –
A couple of hand carts, easy to miss, tucked away in one of the left side service lanes of the outer ring road while you go from Peeragarhi Chowk towards Vikaspuri. It will be near the Jwala Heri cut. Serves Amritsari naans with chole. Best part is that you get an option between butter and makkhan.
Apart from these there are a lot of places like Paranthas below Moolchand Flyover, Khalsa Dhaba at Sector 1 Market in R.K. Puram, mutliple options in Qutub institutional area, Dhabas opposite new Delhi railway station. However, I trust the food at number 1,2 and 3. Hope this helps.
For someone who wants to experience Delhi street food for the first time, my thoughts.
1- chacha ke chole bhature, north campus. Near mukherjee market.
2- Rajendar da dhaba, Kamal cinema . fab place, try the galuti kebab. Its awesome.
3- Tankus, any dhaba there will give you an awesome feel just because of the location. Food in most of the dhabas tastes similar.
4- Dilli Haat: to experience India cuisine. Simple and super good.
5- Karnataka Bhawan: for awesome regional food of India. Highly recommend it.
6- Naga kitchen or Rosang near green park: for northeastern cuisine. Includes bhootjhalokia chili as well.the baap of all chillies.
7- Zamber – for awesome coatel cuisine. Check out zomato for the nearest location. Not really street food, but coatal cuisine is hard to get in the street food catagory.
8- China point at chanakya market: for momos and more. Stick to the momos. Lol
9- Pandara road: for food but more for faluda kulfi. Must visit.
10- Bitto tikki wala: for an awesome tikki experience.
11- Madras coffee house in cp: Relive the fab filter coffee.
12- Al-bake at new friends colony , for shawarma. Must visit.
13- comsum at new Delhi railway station, just for sheer energy.
– …….more to come in this list.