in jaipur we loved rambaugh palace... also niros restaurant not in a hotel..

delhi---the imperial hotel, and the sheaton mughal at bukkara... amarvilas at agra

several of the havalis around the lake have great restaurants... look at my trip reports..

any of the 5* hotels have fab restaurants, but expect to pay...

you are very smart to govern where you eat!!

In Jaipur there are several high end hotel restaurants to choose from. We like the Rambagh palace but there are others.

In ND you also have many choices. We have eaten at the Hilton and Le Meredein. However any Taj property should be very good though its been a while since we've eaten there.

Our last stay was in 2010 and we stayed at a hotel called the City Park. Now its nice but not a 5* property and the area has little to see. Its close to where my wifes family lives so thats why we choose this place and if you know anything about Delhi traffic then you know why being close to where you need to be is necessary. But I digress. . In that hotel is a restaurant called the yellow mirchi. Now we've had Indian food all over the world and I must say this place served some of the best restaurant Indian food we've ever had. If you are near try it for dinner.

Cheers, Larry

We pretty much stuck to hotels as well, ate only vegetarian (usually thalis) and didn't get sick. Prices seemed very reasonable to us, but we rarely had wine. Leela Palace in Delhi was the only big splurge. We love spicy food and requested authentic seasoning everywhere, but you can definitely ask for less spicy versions.

Udaipur
Several guests in our hotel (Devi Garh) did have lunch or dinner at the Taj Lake Palace. All said it was well worth it - talk to your travel agent to set it up. I also highly recommend Devi Garh. Start with drinks at sunset. They offer regional specialties we didn't see elsewhere and will also make any kind of street food you want. We also liked the lakeside Ambrai in the Amet Haveli for the setting and view (more than for than the food, which was fine, but not outstanding) in Udaipur.

Agra
Don't miss the Indian restaurant in the Amarvilas. Ate here two nights - Best food of our trip. Make a reservation.

Delhi
If you want cool upscale elegant, you can't go wrong Indian restaurant in the Leela Palace. There is a taster's menu which was way too much food for us, but a la carte was fine.

Thanks all, I'll take a look at your trip reports. In Udaipur we are at Devi Garh for 4 nights so we will certainly eat there! I don't have an agent yet but will contact one for the driving portion of the trip and to put together some reservations. I expect to eat mostly vegetarian as well. To me, the extra cost of the food is more than worth the lessened risk of getting sick!

Regarding getting sick - those of you who went, did you stick 100% to cooked food? I'm a little sad not to be able to eat fruit, which is a large part of my diet.

We almost stayed at the Imperial in ND but the package I wanted wasn't available so we are at the Sheraton, will try to check it out, as well as the Amarvillas in Agra.

How far in advance did you need reservations? Did you do them through your agents?

Our other hotels: ITC in Jaipur, ITC in Agra, Fort Chanwa in Jodpur.

We were traveling off season, so rarely needed reservations in advance. Booked Amarvilas (ourselves) and Ambrai (through our guide) earlier the same day.

Had fruit (melon, papaya, etc., all peeled) at all hotels. We normally avoid hotel buffets, but Amarvilas had a wonderful spread.

Didn't stress about what we ate because we were avoiding meat/seafood and were taking Rifaximin (tested for 10+ years in Europe), which prevents traveler's diarrhea. We even indulged in some street food in Varanasi.

res, maybe a day ahead...

the one place i had a res far in advance was the ND sheraton.. i telephoned the restaurant from usa way in advance, and when i got there they had no record.. that's india..

at amarvilas we both had thailis... i had veggie and my wife had meat... fantastic..

i's stick mostly with cooked items, freshly cooked.. fruit??

Stick with fruit at major hotels--you'll be fine.
If you want to try an unusual tropical fruit, buy only whole fruits, wash and peel at the hotel yourself. In other words, avoid eating cut fruit from a street vendor.
It's safe to eat meat and veggies and everything at the 5* hotels. You can even drink the water!

If you get adventurous , try lassi at a major hotel. You can order lassi sweet or salty. I prefer, sweet.

In ND, the recommendations above are good. I second reco for Bukhara at ITC Maurya hotel in Diplomatic Enclave area. They serve north Indian Mughal cuisine , aka Awadhi cuisine. If you ask your server about the history of some of the dishes, he will be glad to do that. For example, it's fun to know that galati kebab was developed for a king who was toothless. Shahjahan, who built Taj Mahal wanted a tasty kebab developed for his aging toothless father and retired king Jehangir, and a chef from Awadh state came up with the galati kebab.
Reserve a day or two in advance, except near holidays when you need to book far in advance.

Sounds like you have a great trip planned.
I am sure you will have an enjoyable time in India.

And also, in Udaipur, if you go for dinner at the Lake Palace hotel, ask for a table next to the water. It is an enchanting place, though pricey.

Thanks again all. I'll look to see how far the ITC and Leela Palace are from our hotel in ND. We considered staying there but the Sheraton was a better deal (we stick to Starwoods when possible) and I figured we wouldn't be in the hotel too much.

I don't know if I can get rifaximin in Hong Kong. I took it in the US once as an experimental treatment for another condition I have. I saw in the other thread on Indian meds to buy a Z Pack in advance, which we will do. I have some other antibiotics lying around that I'll pack as well.

I am assuming these restaurants take credit cards? Also, how much are we talking about for a vegetarian lunch or dinner for two with no wine, maybe a beer each but that's it? $40 USD each or so?

We usually shared a thali and each had a beer (plenty of food for both of us, but we're not big eaters), so it was usually under $50 for both of us. I think the Leela Palace was more because we ordered several specialty dishes (good meal, but in a standard ritzy hotel).

I wouldn't worry about the Rifaximin. Our travel doctor treats many politicians, entertainers, people doing big business deals, etc. and she's used to having patients who can't afford to get sick. She's had 100% success with Rifaximin, so that was enticing to us because we were going on a relatively short trip and I had read a lot trip reports here that mentioned gastro illnesses. But if you're careful and use a lot of Purell, you should be fine.

And yes, credit cards were accepted everywhere.

There is some quite u nderstandable confusino, Tansmet.

-the *Sheraton Mughal which rhkkmk mentikns is NOT A Sheraton and hasnt been for yrs.Nor is it in New Delhi.The ITC Mughal (NOT Sheraton) is in Avgra. So you are already staying there. In it is a wonderful restairamt downstairs from the lobby. Not cheap, but not 4 or 5 star restaurants will be. Great breads and kebabs.They will arrange a tasting menu if you perfer it to the menu choices.


the ITC in New Delhi is the MAURYA, not the Mughal. Buhkhara is one of the restaurants in the ITC Maurya. IT is similar type food to the restaurnat at ITC in Agra.

Assuming it IS the Sheraton ,not the ITC Maurya, where are yous taying in ND. There is a restaurant Dakshin, which i have heard good things of, but not eaten at.

I have found the convenience and enjoyment of eating AT the restaurants /dining rooms of the hotel or homestay where I am in India, is great after a long day of sightseeing. It lovely to not have to even leave the building to get into bed!! I treasure this more in India than elsewhere, perhaps b/c traffic there is more of a hassle.

OMG, tansmet et al. Apolgies for all above typos. Can you tell I get excited (happily) when writing about India? Fingers cannot keep up with thoughts.

All the hotel restaurant will take cc. And the price is about right, give or take. Lunch yes. Dinners will likely be more at the above mentioned places.

Looking forward to your thoughts on four days at Devi garh. It seems a bit long and $$$ for me, so i awzit your opinion.

I:ve never , knock wood, had food poisoning or unusual upset stomach in 4 trips to India. Use common sense hygiene and alcohol gel (eg Purell liberally, both before and after eating, public loo, etc.

I agree with CaliNurse - it was very relaxing to eat at our hotels. I think we only dined out two nights.

Also - if you're concerned about digestive health, you might want eat or drink foods with probiotics for few weeks before your trip. Mr. C loves kefir and I found some probiotic-rich frozen yogurt at Whole Foods.

Thanks again. I think we'll dine in or near our hotels - i don't expect this to be that different from when we were in Egypt years ago, and just ate in. Too much work to go out! Given I'm not staying at all the hotels I want to, I would like to get out a bit. Some of the palace hotels look worth the trek. A number of people have recommended Bukhara in the Muraya, so I will look into it. Calinurse, thanks for clearing the confusion. Yes, we are at the Sheraton. I had planned on the Imperial or Muraya but waited too long to book. Oh well! We are not spending much time in ND - arrive late one night (1am?), spend the next day sightseeing in Delhi, and then will leave the day after for Agra. I still need to decide how to get to Agra - train or driver. And still need to book a driver....

I had my husband bring probiotics back from the US, so those should help. Wish I could pick up rifaxmin in the US, but I don't have drug coverage there anymore....making buying non generic pills in the states absurdly expensive.

I'll surely post my opinions after we get back in mid February. I know Devi Garh is a bit out of town, but that was part of the appeal for me. It is also why we passed on RAAS in Jodphur. I find the cities a bit noisy and chaotic and prefer to go back to somewhere relaxing, so Devi Garh seemed to fit the bill without being too far from Udaipur.

oh dear, we seem to have broken all the rules in Sri Lanka, and on our first day too!

we had our driver stop at a roadside fruit stall and the vendor peeled and sliced a pineapple with his machete for us to eat there and then.

we repeated this several times throughout our trip, and never got sick.

just lucky I suppose.

Beginners luck indeed. On our 1st trip to India I was fine. The 2nd time I got typhoid. For me better safe than sorry.

The 2nd time I got typhoid. For me better safe than sorry.>>

oh, how horrible, jacketwatch. I seem to remember having a typhoid jab eons ago but I don't know how long they last.

we were very careful about what we drank, but as you suggest by your experience, it's more complicated than that. any idea how you picked it up?

The typhoid booster is oral now and I don't think they last very long. There is no vaccine. I really have no idea how or where I got it. I do know that my BIL and SIL got it about the same time but they were better able to fight it off as I had never been exposed before. It hit me the day we left and my MD here said it was the worst case he's ever seen and he is Indian so he's few quite a few I think. A few mos. ago my niece over there got it. Unofrtunately the sanitation is substandard there so nasty bugs like this one lurk.

Anyone try the restaurant "Indian Accent" that was mentioned in the NY Times this past Sunday? I sent off a request for a reservation -- it looks good!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/10/travel/2013-places-to-go.html?smid=pl-share


(check out #9)

Thanks for the suggestion. Missed ND in the article. Just made reservation for Indian Accent for Friday, Feb. 8. Other restaurant Varq's website not as appealing. But will wait on that decision. Getting more and more excited.

Actually I bookmarked that site. Great info.

I stay away from most places written about in NYT

Indian Accent sounds fabulous - Also had a great write-up in Time Out and is mentioned frequently on Chowhound. We found out about it too late but otherwise would have gone there for sure.

If you are staying at the Sheraton ,Saket you are probably not too far from ITC Maurya. Traffic is probably not too bad late in the evening around dinner time in these areas -- past rush hour, I am guessing.

Another restaurant reco would be "the Great Kebab Factory" at the Radisson hotel, near the airport. This hotel is also close to Saket area. This restaurant serves Mughal cuisine (aka Awadhi cuisine) and is more reasonable in price although the taste and quality of the food is fantastic. Name implies kebabs but the kebabs are the appetizers, followed by dals, other vegetable dishes, nan, rice dishes, salads and more.

The Bukhara at ITC Maurya and the Kebab Factory at Radisson are truly special restaurants.
Better than most other 5* star hotel restaurants IMHO.

I hope this gives you some choices to choose from. Enjoy your time in India. A visit to India is truly a memorable visit as are most foreign trips.