Old Delhi Street Food Tour: An Insider’s Food Walk

There are lots of Old Delhi food walks, but you can easily do a street food tour on your own. These are my go-to places, where I eat, and where I take I take my friends. Get ready to eat like a king (literally, this is the food the Mughal emperors ate) amidst the crazy mayhem that is Old Delhi.

In a rush? Here are the places and what to eat on this street food on Old Delhi tour:

Self-Guided Street Food Tour of Old Delhi

Delhi is the food capital of India, and Old Delhi is its epicentre. Many of these food stands have been in the same family for multiple generations, some as far back as the 17th century.

You’re going to be blown away by the freshness, diversity and deliciousness of the street cuisine. This tour will take you through Chawri Bazar all the way over to the most famous mosque in Delhi, the Jama Masjid.

1. Starting/Meeting Point at Chawri Bazar Metro Station

A good meeting point or place to start from is Gate 2 of the Chawri Bazar metro station. This will put you right in front of the first stop on your Old Delhi street food tour.

Don’t be alarmed, this exit is Hauz Qazi, the busiest junction in Chawri Bazar, which itself is a very busy but historic market. You want to head down Chawri Bazar Road, which is slightly to your left as you exit the metro. 

I recommend using the Delhi metro to get to Chawri Bazar. It’s a chaotic area, and traffic is usually a nightmare. The Delhi metro is one of the best metro systems in the world. Here is my guide on how to use the Delhi metro.

👍 Most of these street food stands don’t have bathrooms. You may want to use the one at the Chawri Bazar metro station before you begin. It’s pretty clean.

2. Ashok Chaat Corner

This cute little chaat stand has been here for over 70 years. It’s a local favourite, and with good reason. They make delicious traditional chaats. They are most famous for pani puri, but I can’t guarantee they’re made with filtered water, so I recommend papdi chaat, which is what I usually get. Aloo tikki is really good too, but I don’t order it often because it’s fried.

Ashok Chaat Corner is located directly across from Gate 2 of the Chawri Bazar metro station.

• Hours: 10:30 am – 9:00 pm, daily (may be closed on Sunday)
• Address: No. 3488 Hauz Qazi Chowk, Bazar Sirkiwalan, Chawri Bazar, Old Delhi

3. Kuremal Mohan Lal

From Ashok Chaat Corner, walk toward the metro and take the street that is immediately to the left of Chawri Bazar Road. It is called Sitaram Bazar Road. Walk about 100 metres and turn right onto Kucha Pati Ram lane. Kuremal Mohan Lal will be on your right.

Kuremal Mohan Lal is one of the most famous eateries in all of Delhi. It’s specialty is whole fruit kulfi. Kulfi is India’s version of ice cream. Usually it is served on a stick, but Kuremal Mohan Lal uses the pulp of fresh fruit in the kulfi, stuffs it back into the whole fruit, and serves it sliced.

For the best tasting kulfi, get whichever fruit is in season. The kulfi is a little pricey by street food standards, but worth it.

👍 There are other shops with very similar names in the same area. The one you want is at the address noted below, and has a yellow and red sign with the full name.

• Hours: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm, daily
• Address: No. 526 Kucha Pati Ram, Chawri Bazar, Old Delhi

4. Hira Laal Chaat Corner

There are several good stand in Delhi for kuliya chaat, but Hira Laal Chaat Corner is the very best. Chunks of fresh fruit are stuffed with a spicy mixture of chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, lemon juice and black salt. It sounds weird, but it tastes amazing. It’s also the healthiest thing on this Old Delhi street food tour.

You can also get aloo tikki here, but stick to the kuliya chaat – you won’t regret it.

To get to Hira Laal Chaat Corner, head back to Chawri Bazar Road. Walk down Chawri Bazar Road toward Jama Masjid (not toward the metro) for almost 200 metres. There’s no English signage and the stall is very nondescript, but ask any local and they can tell you exactly where it is. It’s on the corner with a small lane.

• Hours: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm, daily (may be closed on Sunday)
• Address:  No. 3636 Gali Lohe Wali (on Chawri Bazar Road), Chawri Bazar, Old Delhi

5. Jain Coffee House

Keep heading across Chawri Bazar Road about 70 metres until you see the Punjab National Bank ATM on your left. Head down this lane and into the first alley with a courtyard. Jain Coffee House is in there. I think there’s a granary there, or there used to be a granary.

This humble establishment has been here since 1948. Back in Mughal times, this part of Delhi was the red light district. The cold coffee and fruit sandwiches are what to order here. The sandwich portion is big – ask for a half order if you’re not famished.

• Hours: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, daily (closed Sunday)
• Address: No. 4013 Ballimaran Road, Chawri Bazar, Old Delhi (down a lane beside the Punjab National Bank ATM)

6. Shyam Sweets

Head back to Chawri Bazar Road and keep going in the direction of Jama Masjid. Shyam Sweets will be on the left in about 60 metres.

Shyam Sweets is one of the oldest sweet shops in Old Delhi. Try one of the seasonal specialties like gajar (carrot) or mung dal halwa in winter, and ghiya (bottle gourd) ki barfi in summer.

If you’re there early enough you can get a traditional Old Delhi breakfast: bedmi puri with aloo sabzi (small puffy breads with potato curry), or nagori with halwa (small crispy discs filled with halwa). They serve breakfast dishes until 12:00 or 1:00 pm.

• Hours: 8:00 am – 9:30 pm, daily
• Address: No. 112 Manohar Market (at the intersection of Chawri Bazar Road and Nai Sarak), Chawri Bazar, Old Delhi

7. Abdul Ghani Qureshi Kabab Corner

These are some of the best chicken and mutton seekh kababs in Delhi. Skip this place if you’re vegetarian.

A secret family spice blend is mixed with the ground meat, and then cooked on giant skewers over a big street-side grill. Kababs are served with melted butter, mint chutney and raw onion. Order rumali rotis to go with your kababs. It’s a killer combination.

You’ve got to order and pay for your food and wait for it out front. I’ve been told there is a seating area behind the shop but I’ve never seen it.

To get to Abdul Ghani Qureshi Kabab Corner from Shyam Sweets, head straight across Chawri Bazar Road to the end at Jama Masjid. Take a right and follow it around to the south side of Jama Masjid, where it becomes Urdu Bazar Road. Abdul Ghani Qureshi Kabab Corner is across from Gate 1 of Jama Masjid.

• Hours: 2:00 pm – 12:30 am, daily
• Address: Urdu Bazar Road (opposite Gate 1 of Jama Masjid), Jama Masjid, Old Delhi

👍 You may notice that some food stands seem to have multiple locations. A lot of Old Delhi eateries have been in the same families for many generations. But sometimes a member of the family opens a new location (usually because of a family disagreement), resulting in several locations with very similar names. It can get confusing.

8. Haji Nadeem Shahi Sheermal

Walk back along Urdu Bazar Road the way you came. When you are directly across from Gate 1 of Jama Masjid, take a left down that street, it is Matia Mahal Road. Haji Nadeem Shahi Sheermal will be down about 15 metres on your left.

This area is known as Bazar Matia Mahal and it’s another very old bazar, dating back to the 1650s. While the Red Fort was being constructed, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan lived in a palace in this bazar. A couple of arched stone gates from that palace are still standing.

Sheermal is a sweet flatbread made with saffron and topped with dried fruits and nuts. You’ll see it at different places in Old Delhi, but the ones here are really good. Sheermal are baked in a tandoori oven and dipped in ghee once cooked. If you don’t have much room left, get one or two to go. They are great with coffee or tea the next morning.

• Hours: 9:00 am – 12:00 am, daily
• Address: No. 73 Matia Mahal Road (across from Gate 1 of Jama Masjid), Bazar Matia Mahal, Old Delhi

9. Rehmatullah Hotel

Just a tiny bit down Matia Mahal Road is Rehmatullah Hotel. This is one of the few places in Delhi that makes mawa jalebis, black jalebis. Mawa jalebis are softer and thicker than the orange ones and have a mild flavour. You can also get black gulab jamun here.

The next time you’re in Old Delhi, this would be a great spot for lunch or dinner. The restaurant is popular with locals but it hasn’t caught on to the food tours yet. Food is delicious, and there’s enough on the menu to please meat eaters and vegetarians, which is pretty unusual for this part of Old Delhi.

• Hours: 8:00 am – 12:00 am, daily
• Address: No. 105 – 110 Matia Mahal Road (opposite Gate 1 Jama Masjid), Bazar Matia Mahal, Old Delhi

10. Cool Point

We’re going to end this Old Delhi street food on a sweet note. Across the street from Rehmatullah Hotel is one of Old Delhi’s favourite dessert shops, Cool Point. Cool Point is very famous for something called shahi tudka, which is a very rich dessert made of bread crumbs, rabri (thick custard), nuts and dried fruit.

Shahi tudka is a dessert from the Mughal era and translates to ‘royal bite.’ In the summer I always order shahi tudka with mango kulfi.

You’ll see variations of this dessert around Old Delhi, but Cool Point has the best. They make their own bread for the bread crumbs, were the first in the area to offer the dessert, and are the ones that supply the best food spots in Old Delhi, like Karim’s.

• Hours: 12:00 pm – 12:00 am, daily
• Address: No. 5 Matia Mahal Road (opposite Gate 1 Jama Masjid), Bazar Matia Mahal, Old Delhi

Is Delhi Street Food Safe to Eat?

The quick answer is yes, but you need to exercise some caution. I live in Delhi and eat street food all the time. I’d be lying if I said I never got sick, but it’s only been about 5 times in 7 years, and I’m a regular street food eater. To be fair, most of the times it was something stupid I did, like eating a yogurt drenched chaat in the middle of monsoon season.

Don’t eat street food during summer or monsoon season. Food spoils very quickly in these months. Even Delhiites avoid street food at these times. Always look for busy stands where the locals are. They know where the best food is. This is how I found a lot of my favourite food stalls.

Use sanitizer wipes, and keep your hands as clean as possible because a lot of street food is eaten with hands. Only drink bottled water! You can read more about how to safely eat local here.

Organized Street Food Tour of Old Delhi vs Self-Guided Food Walk

Should you take a guided Old Delhi food walk? Taking an Old Delhi food tour is awesome, but you definitely don’t have to take one to experience the street food scene.

The truth is, you will get more information on a guided tour – you can’t replicate going on a food crawl with a local guide on their own turf. But it’s not mandatory. Doing it on your own is manageable, especially with this guide!

In case you decide to take one of the guided Delhi food walks, these are the companies I recommend:

• Delhi Food Walks 
• A Chef’s Tour

Know Before You Go on Your Old Delhi Street Food Tour

1. Bring cash and small bills preferably. Not all places will take electronic payments.
2. Only drink bottled water.
3. Late morning or noon is the best time to start. All the street food stands will be open.
4. Wear comfortable shoes and dress conservatively.
5. Use hand sanitizer wipes to keep hands clean.
6. Chawri Bazar is closed on Sunday. Some food stands won’t be open.

The Wrap-up on Old Delhi Street Food Tour: An Insider’s Food Walk

I am a true believer that the best food in Delhi is on the streets. This is where the freshest, most delicious and cheapest eats are. The diversity and flavours will put your taste buds into overdrive. Use this guide, but don’t hesitate to stop and try anything else that looks interesting. Just make sure the place is busy with locals. Enjoy!

Looking for more? You might also like…

• Heritage Walk of Old Delhi: An Insider’s DIY Tour
• Delhi’s Famous Street Food: A Guide for Beginners
• 3 Markets for Street Food that Aren’t in Old Delhi

Don’t forget travel insurance! It’s always a good idea to carry travel insurance just in case something goes wrong. I really like and use SafetyWing

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