Best Asian in Delhi-NCR

TFTA DELHI JURY

Among all the restaurant markets in India, Delhi-NCR stands out as the most evolved when it comes to Asian dining. From pop pleasers like dim sum and sushi available at a very high quality in most of the upscale casual diners in the NCR, to the small gems of Gurgaon, which are as authentic as can get, with customers comprising of mid-level expat staff of the MNCs, to splashy, glamorous restaurants and bars all tailoring the experience on the lines of Zuma or Roka, offering a mix of Izakaya, sashimi, experiences, to old school Chinese (and not just Indian-Chinese) family diners, plus Thai places that are back in fashion, and more, you will find a surprisingly sophisticated Asian-scape in the city.

Here are TFTA’s top picks, many are new, a few off-the-beaten track, judged by our discerning jury, offering not just high-quality, and well-made food, but also an ambience and an experience that makes them suitable for large groups of families and friends (that’s how the NCR prefers to eat) to socialise in — a primary function of restaurants.

The restaurants are ranked in order, criteria include 1. quality of cooking, 2. experience and 3. Value (even when high end, does it have value?)

1. Megu: We have been a witness to chef Shubham Thakur’s tremendous evolution over the years. And today he is arguably the most talented Japanese chef of his generation. Thakur has had stints under Japanese masterchefs at Wasabi too. As The Leela’s top chef in charge of Japanese/Asian now, Thakur is creating dishes that are not merely replicating classics today but going much beyond— incorporating his knowledge of and skill at Japanese, with his interest in Indian ingredients. What you get is not “fusion” but a culturally appropriate way of cooking Japanese with finesse but relevant to India. Talk to Thakur and you will understand his passion for ingredients and his philosophy, even as he tells you about the sushi grade rice from Haryana or how to use mango with top grade sashimi. Thakur at Megu of course continues to source top quality seafood and it is the only place in the country where you can get perfect Hokkaido scallops or eel (try the nigiri with torched eel) and the yellowtail et al. There are very few places that you can trust with this level of sashimi. The vegetarian options have been increasing too and it is our top choice for Japanese any where in the country.

2. Whispers of The Wok @ Maison Maiya: At the NCR’s most luxurious hotel (run like clockwork too), Grand Hyatt in Gurgaon, by the dynamic general manager Tarun Seth, the all-day diner Maison Maiya has a new spanking new with sumptuous Asian. Seth has recently got the well-known veteran Chef Vikramjit Roy to join the hotel’s team, even as he goes about creating the hotel into an F&B hub (with an Italian exec chef as well as an outstanding south Indian chef who TFTA wrote about earlier). Whispers of the Wok is a full fledged and sumptuous new Asian menu (before a new Asian restaurant comes up next year, at the hotel) and is designed to be a crowd puller. There are excellent appetisers such as the Chongqing chicken, beautiful and impeccable sushi rolls as is only to be expected from Vikram, imaginative dim sum, including the prawn hargao with tobiko that we love and black garlic and fish, Thai curries, Malaysian noodles and our top pick — the delicately cooked seabass in a tamari glaze, as also the steamed greens and donburi-esque bowl meals which come with a lot of finesse that is rare to find in most Asian menus in India that tend to over sauce and over flavour in deference to local palates. But with a chef of Vikram’s experience, the cooking is expected to be impeccable and it is. The hotel is enabling top quality produce, so over all, this is a sophisticated experience – and is very well priced too, especially if you go for a brunch.

2. Banng: If it’s Thai you are seeking, please go to Banng and do not be dissuaded by social media perceptions, which for some reason, have dubbed this restaurant “modern” Thai as also more Bangkok bar-esque. We’ve come across many people hesitant to go for a full fledged meal here because of these perceptions. But abandon them right away. Chef Garima Arora is a feted chef for a reason. The dishes are meticulously crafted and nuances so important in Thai cooking are in place—whether it is the fresh coconut milk that is used unlike any other restaurant, or curry paste made in house in Bangkok by Garima’s team. The team researched under Siamese food scholar Hanuman Aspler, who uses ancient manuscripts to teach ancient Thai cooking at his Three Trees Doi Saket farm, near Chiang Mai. Hanuman teaches not recipes but why dishes are cooked in that particular way (much like Indian food that is not dependent on recipes). You find this rigour incorporated into the cooking at Banng—even when Garima tweaks a curry, it honours Thai tradition. Don’t go by the deceptive pani puris pictures or raucous night life stereotype. It’s serious, “authentic”, and rigorous.

4. Naarma: Banker-turned-restaurateur Akshay Anand, is often credited for his entertainment-and-music led nightlife concepts in the city, but not credited enough for the food at many of these places. Ophelia at The Ashok was single handedly responsible for ushering in a craze for Adana kebab and “real” Turkish mezze a few years ago, and when we visited the restaurant as well as Cosy Box a few years ago, kebabs like that and closely-related, spicier cousin Urfa were indeed spectacular, done by a Turkish chef. Now, Anand has opened Naarma, an ambitious Japanese concept with a stylish bar inspired by Zuma and such glitzy concepts, where quality food, glamourous ambience and nightlife all come together. We went to Naarma early evening on a weekday with the express purpose of eating our way through the menu and were surprised to find that the sourcing of ingredients, that is crucial to Japanese, is top quality indeed —rare to find in standalones battling high rents and therefore less freedom with food costs. There are two expat chefs on board, chef Jayson, who has worked at Roka Dubai and St Regis in the middle east is in charge of Japanese, while  Sardoma Dumaguing Bienvenido is the dim sum chef, having worked for 30 years and more in Hong Kong at dim sum speciality restaurants. Both chefs admit that sourcing ingredients as well as the Indian palate used to more sauce and more spice have been challenging but nevertheless they have done a good job with some excellent dishes on the menu—including a Hamachi carpaccio that I didn’t expect to find in Nehru Place, an excellent grilled salmon, and a shroom salad which is the star dish for a good reason. An excellent cocktail programme compliments, and the internationalism is evident in the light, washed and clarified drinks with a good ice programme by mixologists Heema Kewalramani and Pablo Guidoni. We particularly like “Not a Picante”. Thank god for it! Sit outside in the cabanas near the water elements on a cool late evening, or inside in front of striking red rose installation, and pay attention to the food as much as you would to the party!    

5. Kamei, Saket: In the short span since it has opened, Kamei by Vineet Wadhwa and his daughters has already won many regular patrons who praise its food and the ambience that enables families and large groups of friends to go sit with enough privacy and dine or lunch in peace. In that sense it fills a huge gap in the market where one looks for standalones that are not led by bars (though this one has a separate and rather good bar section too) and are solid food places. It’s not just on top of our list but also on top of the lists of chefs like Manish Mehrotra. We recco the ceviches, the dumplings, the Thai and the Chengdu red snapper.    

6. Kioki at 32^nd Avenue: Much before the present obsession with all things Japan, thanks to travel and food, chef Vikram Khatri, one of the first Indian Japanese chefs in the country,  was creating flawless food that would appeal to the purists at the understated Guppy. After a stint in Pune in the Covid years, Khatri is back in the NCR helming operations for 32^nd Avenue. Kioki, very new to the city, is his brainchild, and conceptualised like an Izakaya that incorporates all styles of Japanese cooking—from quality robata grills to filling donburi to sushi and sashimi, salads and also Japanese drinks and cocktails.

7. Peng You Quan (Friend’s restaurant): We didn’t even know about the existence of this restaurant—and suspect most people outside Gurgaon’s foodie circles don’t—till TFTA friend and jury member for this list restaurant and hospitality veteran Ashish Kapur reccoed it. This is an “authentic”, no-frills Chinese restaurant with hot pot at the tables, a meal for two that can be as less as Rs 1000, and chefs who are from Mainland China (the only other Chinese restaurant in the NCR with a Chinese chef is the underrated Ano Tai at Vasant Continental that opened in 2004 and is still around in 2025, with many a secret fan of its Mongolian menu in Vasant Vihar diplomatic area. Peng You Quan has mostly an expat clientele too, evidenced by the menu card in Chinese and dishes such as string beans stir fried, fish in chilli oil and of course the hot pot enabled by induction tops embedded in the tables.

8. Niko: A modern Asian diner and bar with a live kitchen, this one too comes highly recommended for its cold plates, robata grills and dishes like Tofu Carpaccio with Coriander Ponzu, Confit Duck Leg Pancakes, Flamed Lamb Chops with Miso Coriander and Sichuan Mapo Tofu. Once again, this is a lavishly designed space that the NCR loves and there is a credible team in place with the co-founder being Alisha Mehra, a Cordon Bleu graduate also a director in Bomba. While in Gurgaon, you may also like to try the other highly reccoed Japanese place, Ebisu, for its grills.

9. Kylin (Aerocity): The home grown chain by veteran restaurateur Saurabh Khanijo just celebrated its 20^th birthday and we went to the aerocity outlet to be very pleasantly taken in by the high quality dim sum and teppanyaki. The other restaurants that we would definitely recco for dim sum lunches are Shang Palace at Shangri La and Royal China at the Chanakya. Both sumptuous and classic.

10. Erawaan: It is a mystery why Erawaan is not more talked about in the media/influencer circuit even though it is a favourite with HNI Delhi diners, and rightly so. High quality Thai food and a beautiful ambience at the Claridges, now part of IHCL.