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Bill Clinton eats here. The kebab platter is [name]d after him, its vegetarian equivalent after his daughter Chelsea. So it’s not surprising that Hillary checked it out on her visit in early 2005, drawn by the north-west frontier heartiness of its raan, a gently spiced leg of lamb, and its dal Bukhara, which is so popular they’ve made a tinned version. Leave Western habits at the door—you get to wear a bib, eat in a semi-squatting position and aren’t expected to ask for cutlery.
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India’s first Caribbean restaurant and bar is in the centre of an upmarket residential area. You’ll find other trendy eating places here (Ecothai is good), frequented by svelte yuppies and the portly and prosperous. Go for the grilled gambas pil pil (jumbo prawns) or the tenderloin steak with rum sauce.
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This is the original of the one in London’s Mayfair. Rohit Khattar’s Kashmiri restaurant chain includes outlets in Noida and Gurgaon. The [name] is a play on the word for flea market and you could be sitting at anything from a four-poster bed to a table showcasing antique jewellery. You can even buy bits of the decor after you’ve finished your dinner. Cold Himalayan Kashmir uses fatty lamb as opposed to the leaner ram/goat/kid meat of the rest of India. Mandatory is goshtaba, meatballs pounded with fat and stewed in gravy. But the trout is good too. Order the haak if it’s on offer—these are the typical greens that grow in Srinagar’s Dal Lake.
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These are great places for a quick lunch or snack. Most have a buffet, which is the fastest way to get service. The variety is excellent. All five-star hotels have 24-hour places, and the two new ones, Threesixty° (££) at The Oberoi and Mist (££) at The Park, have really put themselves out. 360 Degrees has a sushi bar in addition to the cold and hot counters. The wood-fired oven turns out good thin-crust pizzas and there’s Asian, Indian and European-style food as well. Mist does mainly Italian and continues the trendy young feel of The Park. You might also try out the buffet at Baywatch (££) at the Marriott-Welcom Hotel at Saket, or the quick eats at Yellow Brick Road (£) at the Ambassador Hotel at Sujan Singh Park in the Khan Market area. Other worthies are the Grand Café at the Grand Hotel and Pickwick at Claridges.
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The one place to get the flavours of all four south Indian states with lots of coconut, curry leaf, tamarind and, if you choose, fiery chilli. Order the peppery chicken chettinad, a regional cuisine of Tamil Nadu. Also popular is a lamb dish mamsam coconut fry.
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