4 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Delhi, India

This airy indoor restaurant looks out on the Oberoi's gardens, with beautiful views of the Taj Mahal in the distance. Decor is stylish, with chic brown-and-white tile floors, plush turquoise booths, and dusky wooden tables and chairs.

At this unexpected oasis away from the chaos of the ghats, you can find good Japanese food and great cold coffee, perfect after a hot walk. Dark wood accents, warm yellow lights, and pleasing jazz music set a stylish scene—cane "tikki roofs," cozy floor couches, dangling bells, dry corn husks. A Japanese and Indian husband-wife team run the operation, serving varied cuisines from around the world.

Rustic wood tabletops resting on tree-trunk bases, plush, bright-orange seat cushions, and hammered copper plates and goblets create a dark, romantic mood, complemented by the simple, delicious barbecue cuisine of the North West Frontier area in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. All kinds of meats are freshly prepared over open flames and served with rich, aromatic sauces, with plenty for vegetarians, and guests are encouraged to eat with their hands.

This charming, two-story restaurant just across the road from the Western Temples (there are stunning views from the terrace) serves a mix of Indian and continental fare. It has a distinctly European aesthetic, with an open courtyard, where marble-top tables are shaded by an enormous neem tree and overhanging branches of bougainvillea, and a small indoor section that is air-conditioned (the summer heat can be quite punishing).