Century-old Jalebiwala does Delhi’s – if not India’s – finest jalebis (deep-fried, syrupy dough), so pig out and worry about the calories tomorrow.

This lane off Chandni Chowk has been serving up delectable parathas (traditional flat bread) fresh off the tawa (hotplate) for generations, originally serving pilgrims at the time of the Mughals. Choose from a spectacular array of stuffings, from green chilli and paneer to lemon and banana.

This tiny place with the big red sign and the big crowds is famous for its dahi bhalle (fried lentil balls served with yoghurt and garnished with chutney) and deliciously crispy aloo tikki (spiced potato patties).

This clean, bright cafeteria-cum-sweet-shop is a popular stop for its top-notch dosas (large South Indian savoury crêpes), and thalis, and it also sells namkin (savouries) and mithai (sweets) to eat on the hoof. There’s a popular branch at Connaught Place ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 6 L-Block, Connaught Place; snacks ₹70-230; h8.30am-10.30pm; mRajiv Chowk).

Just off the lane leading south from Jama Masjid, Karim’s has been delighting carnivores since 1913. Expect meaty Mughlai treats such as mutton burrah (marinated chops), delicious mutton Mughlai, and the breakfast mutton and bread combo nahari. There are branches all over town, including at Nizamuddin West ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 168/2 Jha House Basti; dishes ₹120-400; h8am-10pm Tue-Sat; mJLN Stadium), but this location is the oldest and best.

Although overshadowed by its famous neighbour, Karim's, Al-Jawahar is also fantastic, serving up tasty Mughlai cuisine at formica tables in an orderly dining room, and you can watch breads being freshly made at the front. Kebabs and mutton curries dominate the menu, but it also does good butter chicken and korma.

A different experience in the old city, this restored haveli is a labour of love by politician Vijay Goel, and it's good to see one of Old Delhi's grand havelis finally get some TLC. The restaurant is especially atmospheric in the evening, with tables in the courtyard and Mughlai and local recipes on the menu.

There's only one true Moti Mahal, and this been open for six generations – it's full of charm, with a stuck-in-time atmosphere; it'd make a perfect film set for Wes Anderson. Delhi-ites rate the place for its superior butter chicken and dhal makhani. There’s live qawwali (Islamic devotional singing) Wednesday to Monday from 8pm to 11.30pm.

A dimly lit cavern filled with bric-a-brac, including a vintage car, Chor Bizarre (meaning ‘thieves market’) offers delicious and authentic Kashmiri cuisine, including wazwan, the traditional Kashmiri feast.

A family-run hole-in-the-wall serving inexpensive portions of just one dish – chole bhature (spicy chickpeas), accompanied by delicious, freshly made, puffy, fried bread. It’s a traditional breakfast but many people are partial to some at any time of day.

A tip-top takeaway bakery if you're looking for a bargain lunch, this place has veg, cheese and corn or paneer kulcha sandwiches.

This chilled little fan-cooled place off the Paharganj main drag offers the usual every-sort cuisine, but including momos and impressive salads. There's also a real Italian coffee machine, a rare beast in Paharganj.

A popular traveller hang-out, with a rustic, wicker-heavy interior, organic Brown Bread has simple food that hits the spot, with omelettes, pizzas, lots of different breads and very good chips.

This small but buzzing Karol Bagh canteen is a useful pitstop for South Indian treats, fast food and snacks. Thalis start at ₹165.

A Karol Bagh institution for its scrumptious special pista badam kulfi (frozen milk dessert with pistachio, almond and cardamom). It’s around 500m northwest of Karol Bagh metro.

It takes determination to find this place: take the turning for the Hotel Rak International, opposite which is the grotty, unsigned Navrang Guesthouse. Follow the stairs to its rooftop and you’ll find a small, bamboo-lined, softly lit terrace. The Korean food is fresh and delicious here. Try the bibimbap (rice bowl with a mix of vegetables, egg and pickles; ₹240). Beer is available (₹170).

This cafe has veg appeal, catering to a mix of Indians and foreigners; it's an attractively calm place to retreat (down a few steps) from the busy street.

Named for everyone’s favourite dhal, Tadka is a reliable vegetarian choice, serving up perfectly fine paneer dishes and other veg treats (ordinary/special thali ₹200/280) under whirring fans.

One street back from the Main Bazaar chaos, Malhotra is a reliable local choice, popular with locals and foreigners, with a good menu of set breakfasts and North Indian standards, such as mattar paneer (pea and cottage cheese curry).

Founder Mr Kamath's dad was a mango vendor in Bangalore, which apparently inspired his love of fruit. He went on to start Naturals, with its wonderfully creamy, fresh flavours, such as watermelon, coconut, (heavenly) mango and roasted almond.

Fabulous dosas, idlis and other South Indian delights. This is the biggest and the best of Delhi's Saravana Bhavan branches, and you can see dosas being made in the back. Also offers great South Indian coffee.

The Kerala staff canteen is open to the public and tasty meals here are a lip-smacking bargain, including unlimited rice, fish curry, fish fry, sambar, a couple of veg dishes and pickle.

With a shaded garden eating area, and a spacious interior under whirring fans, Coffee Home is always busy with office workers lingering over chai and feasting on South Indian snacks such as masala dosa. It is handily located next to the government emporiums.

Delhi’s best thali is served up in unassuming surroundings – a simple Tamil canteen on the edge of Connaught Place. There are queues every meal time to sample the splendid array of richly spiced veg curries, dips, breads and condiments that make it onto every thali plate.

Legendary Wenger’s was opened by a Swiss couple in 1926, and has been baking up a storm ever since. Come for cakes, sandwiches, biscuits and savoury patties.

This takeaway eatery creates masterful kebabs, biryani and kati rolls (kebabs wrapped in a hot paratha). It’s always busy with meat-loving hoards, but there are also paneer, mushroom and egg options available so vegies don't have to miss out.

Restaurateur Zorawar Kalra has brought his Masala Library to Delhi (the first was in Mumbai), with creative cooking that adds a dash of magic to your meal, with molecular cuisine and dishes such as coconut and mango amuse-bouche disguised as a bird's nest and levitating chocolate balls. Arrive hungry and try the 19-course tasting menu.

Thalis fit for a king. Treat yourself with food-of-the-gods vegetarian thalis that encompass a fantastic array of Gujarati and Rajasthani dishes.

This buzzy CP joint signifies the Delhi foodie penchant for quirkiness, with all sorts of 'molecular gastronomy' and unusual fusion dishes such as butter chicken bao (in a bun). It's only ₹85 for Kingfisher beer, and there are banta (traditional homemade fizzy pop) cocktails. There's live Sufi, Hindi and pop music on Friday and Saturday nights from 10pm.

In the beautifully restored colonial-era Bikaner House, Chor Bizarre ('Thieves' Market') is a new branch of the famous Old Delhi restaurant. The interior is full of quirky old-fashioned charm, and the menu includes authentic, delicious dishes such as Kashmiri haaq (spinach with chilli).

A hallowed bargain, the canteen at the Andhra Pradesh state house serves cheap and delicious unlimited South Indian thalis to a seemingly unlimited stream of patrons. Come on Sunday for the fabled Hyderabadi biryani (₹200).

Run by the same folks in charge of the Craft Museum's Cafe Lota, this is a focus for Delhi's arty set, with good-value tasty Indian meals and snacks, such as chilli toast, and nice seating on a leafy terrace overlooking a grassy amphitheatre or inside in a fan-cooled room.

The Gujarat Staterun canteen is nothing fancy, but serves up nourishing, plentiful, cheap-as-chips vegetarian home-style Gujarati thalis.

The alley in front of Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Dargah becomes a hive of activity every evening as devotees leave the shrine in search of sustenance. Canteen-style kebab houses cook up lip-smacking beef, mutton and chicken offerings at bargain prices, with biryani and roti as filling side orders.

The Nagaland canteen is a simple room overlooking a tangle of palm trees and is worth seeking out for punchy pork offerings, with dishes such as pork with bamboo shoots and a Naga-style pork thali. Veg and chicken thalis are also available.

Bamboo slices the sunlight into flattering stripes at this outdoor restaurant offering delicious cooking with a twist. Sample their take on fish and (sweet potato) chips, or palak patta chaat (crispy spinach, potatoes and chickpeas with spiced yoghurt and chutneys), as well as amazing desserts and breakfasts. It's great for kids.

In the British Council is this most serene, light-filled cafe, hung with Brit art from their collection, so you can sip tea and coffee and nibble on healthy-looking cakes, vegetable curry and salads against the backdrop of a few Damian Hirsts.

The name is like a typical trade-based Parsi surname, the place emulates the Iranian cafes of Mumbai, and the food is authentic Persian, including vegetable berry pulav, mixed-berry trifle and lagan nu custer (Parsi wedding custard).

The family behind this hole-in-the-wall takeaway earned their stripes cooking kebabs for the Nawabs of Lucknow in the 1890s. The house speciality is the kakori kebab, a pâte-smooth combination of lamb and spices, but other treats include biryani and perfectly prepared lamb burra (marinated chops) and murg malai tikka (chicken marinated with spices and paneer).

This is a food court where you can select fast food from a variety of outlets, including Karim's, Khanchacha, Sagar Ratna and more. You buy a card for ₹500 then pay with it at any outlet – if there's change you can get the money back from the cashier. It also houses some more formal restaurants, including Italian Fio and Dhaba by Claridges.

Considered the best of all the Sagar Ratna locations around town, this venerable South Indian restaurant is always buzzing with families, couples and kitty parties, and does a great line in dosas, idlis, uttapams (savoury rice pancakes) and thalis. There are other branches in Connaught Place ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 15-K Block, Connaught Place; dishes ₹115-170; h8am-11pm; mRajiv Chowk) and Defence Colony ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Defence Colony Market; dishes ₹115-170; h8am-11pm; mLajpat Nagar).

Fresh fish is flown in daily from Mangalore to this buzzing restaurant in the diplomatic district. There are an intimate three levels, decorated with geometric screens and with a terrace and bar. Food is wonderful and authentic, so head here for anjal fry, crab pepper fry, marvai (clams) or the signature elaneer payasam.

One of Delhi’s best restaurants, this hotel eatery with low seating and crazy-paving walls serves wow-factor Northwest Frontier–style cuisine, with silken kebabs and its famous Bukhara dhal. Reservations are essential.

The coolification of upscale shopping enclave Khan Market continues apace with Perch, a wine bar–cafe that's all pared-down aesthetic, waiters in pencil-grey shirts, soothing music, international wines and pleasing international snacks such as Welsh rarebit and tiger prawn with soba noodles.

This chic-yet-cool restaurant has big windows over leafy views, and offers interesting Mexican street food in small plates such as duck tacos with refried beans, pico de gallo and guacamole, as well as quesadillas or burritos with chicken and interesting salads.

This elegant icon has shifted locales but still buzzes with expats and locals, who flock to dine on delicate Mediterranean flavours (no alcohol), in a serene, leafy setting.

This garden restaurant is mostly about ambience: there are lanterns dangling from the trees, tables in curtained pavilions and wooden carts. Although not quite as impressive as the surroundings, the menu traverses Europe and the Middle East, and there’s a popular Sunday brunch.

This is the enduring go-to place for excellent Mughlai and Punjabi food. Prices, standards and atmosphere are high along the strip. For quality food, try Gulati ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pandara Market; mains ₹385-685; hnoon-midnight; mKhan Market), Havemore ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pandara Market; mains ₹375-725; hnoon-2am; mKhan Market), Pindi ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pandara Market; mains ₹330-570; hnoon-midnight; mKhan Market) or Chicken Inn ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pandara Market; mains ₹380-700; hnoon-midnight; mKhan Market).

It's a rare treat to find a Bihari restaurant in Delhi, and this artsy, shabby-chic place with fabulous views has authentic thalis and dishes such as litti chicken (whole-wheat balls stuffed with sattu and served with khada masala chicken).

In the boutique hotel Manor, chef Manish Mehrotra creates inspired modern Indian cuisine, where seasonal ingredients are married in surprising and beautifully creative combinations. The tasting menu is astoundingly good, with wow-factor combinations such as tandoori bacon prawns or paper dosa filled with wild mushroom and water chestnuts. Book well ahead.

Almost opposite the fake Dilli Haat market, 'Delhi Haat', an unprepossessing building harbours the Rose Cafe, prettily pale blue and pink. It's all cake stands and freshly prepared Mediterranean and comfort food, with heart-warming dishes such as shepherd's pie, pancakes and all-day breakfasts.

Serving supremely scrumptious Indian seafood (especially crab, prawns, lobster and fish), Swagath will take you on a culinary tour through the fishing villages of South India in inauthentically smart surroundings. There are several branches, including at Defence Colony Market ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 14 Defence Colony Market; dishes ₹365-1300; h11.30am-11.30pm; mLajpat Nagar).

A light, bright restaurant on several levels, with views over the parklands of Hauz Khas, chic Coast serves light South Indian dishes, such as avial (vegetable curry) with pumpkin erisheri (with black lentils), plus tacos, salads and hit-the-spot mustard-tossed fries.