India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (288 page)

WHERE TO DINE

All the hotels reviewed above have dining halls or restaurants that usually serve buffets or a la Carte featuring mediocre to good North Indian food and mediocre to inedible international (“Continental”) options. If you’re spending more than 1 night or looking for somewhere local to lunch, check out the following, but our advice is to eat at your hotel as the food in Jaipur is known not to be worth travelling for. Note that you’ll find the largest concentration of restaurants along M.I. Road, which is also the main shopping drag outside the Old City. Two popular choices with tourists here, both close to the very famous Niro’s, are the glass-fronted, air-conditioned, reliable
Copper Chimney
and on its left is the tandoor
Handi.
Also on M.I. Road is the famous
Dasaprakash
(
0141/237-1313
), which serves fresh pomegranate juice with which to enjoy excellent
dosas
(filled South Indian pancakes). When the heat gets to you, and you still have dozens more shops to visit, you may want to forgo a large lunch and opt for something healthy and light; for this, your prayers have been answered in the form of
Anokhi’s
organic deli
(see “Shopping,” below). With daily specials and great, healthful salads, this is
arguably the freshest fare in town.

Widely considered one of Jaipur’s best,
Indiana
(J2-34, Mahaveer Marg, behind Jai Club;
0141/236-2061
or -2062) is a bit of a tourist trap, owned by a local graduate of Purdue University who harbors considerable fondness for his alma mater and has a keen eye for kitsch (watch how a tacky fountain issues an upward spray from the head of a stone god). Although locals are hardly ever seen here, the Indian fare is reasonable, and prices are only marginally inflated to cover the nightly “complimentary” open-air folk dance show (which can be a lot of fun, although it’s very inauthentic—more like a floor show—and tellingly pitched at a dumbed-down foreign audience). Although service is abysmal, you can watch some of the kitchen action and appreciate the spectacle of
naan
and
roti
being prepared before making its way to your table. Although there’s not much serious focus on Rajasthani cuisine, you can feast on thali (multicourse platter), or ask for regional specialties like
ker sangri
(spicy capers and desert beans) and
laal maas
(spicy meat curry), which aren’t on the menu; main courses start at Rs 150, and a nonvegetarian thali is Rs 400.
Another tourist-oriented place, with a firmer focus on food and a more stylish ambience, is
Spice Court
(Hari Bhawan, Achrol House, Jacob Rd., Civil Lines;
0141/222-0202;
www.spicecourtindia.com
), which has a pretty all-encompassing menu but also offers regional Rajasthani specialties, served at tables designed like large display cabinets for spices and other dry food ingredients. It’s also well located for shoppers, being right near
Cottons,
a great little place to pick up cool, summery garments.

If it’s atmosphere you’re after, not to mention a highly memorable visual experience, grab a late lunch and linger for a sundowner at the Rambagh Palace’s
Verandah
overlooking the Rambagh’s lawns where Rajasthani musicians and dancers serve as predinner entertainment. Or get there early evening, having reserved dinner at Rambagh Palace’s swanky
Suvarna Mahal
(see below).

LMB (Laxmi Misthan Bhandar)
INDIAN/VEGETARIAN/SWEET SHOP If you’re headed for Johari Bazaar to shop, make sure you stop at this renowned local hangout. Anyone with even half a sweet tooth shouldn’t miss stepping out of the madness of the bazaar into this cool oasis—even if it’s just to salivate over the huge selection of sweets beautifully (and hygienically) displayed behind glass counters in the sweet
(mithai)
shop section. Beyond the takeout area lies the large air-conditioned restaurant; it remains strictly vegetarian, and no onion or garlic (believed to inflame the senses) is used in food preparation; no alcohol is served either. Try the freshly prepared
samosas
or potato and cashew-nut
tikkis,
and wash them down with delicious
lassis
(yogurt drinks) or pomegranate juice. For an authentic, filling meal, order the Rajasthani thali, which begins with tangy
papad mangori
soup and includes traditional
ker sangri,
Rajasthani
kadhi
(dumplings in a yogurt sauce), five different vegetables, and three kinds of bread.

Johari Bazaar.
0141/256-5844.
Rs 80–Rs 350 AE, MC, V. Daily 8am–11pm. Snacks only 4–7pm.

Niros
NORTH INDIAN/CHINESE Although the name sounds terribly inauthentic, and the appalling covers of ’80s pop songs are almost unbearable, this remains the favored haunt of extended bourgeois Indian families, visiting Bollywood celebs, and foreign travelers, all drawn by its reputation for excellent food. Well-situated on the shopping route, Niros does typical Rajasthani dishes. And, if your stomach is starting to curdle from the traditional (and liberal) use of ghee as a cooking medium, you’ll be happy to know that Niros’s chefs use only refined soybean oil. House specialties include
laal maas
(mutton cooked in spicy red gravy) and
reshmi
kebab (mutton marinated in traditional spices and chargrilled). The
korma
dishes are all prepared in a deliciously creamy cashew-nut-based sauce, while the ever-popular chicken
tikka masala
is spicier than usual. You certainly won’t want for choice: The numbered menu runs right up to 286! Forego dessert and head across the street to Lassiwalla (see box below).

M.I. Rd.
0141/237-4493
or 0141/221-8520.
www.nirosindia.com
. Rs 85–Rs 500. AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 10am–11pm.