Housed in the ITC Maurya Sheraton & Towers in southwest Delhi, Bukhara has Flintstones–style decor, with stone walls and mock log-top tables. You can watch chefs at work in the kitchen, where meat and vegetables are skewered on kebab spears. Good choices include the murg tandoori (a whole chicken marinated in yogurt, malt vinegar, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, chili, turmeric, and garam masala); the tandoori pomfret, a whole flatfish from the Indian Ocean roasted with spices; and bharvan kulcha, a baked bread stuffed with cottage cheese. In deference to the restaurant's northwest-frontier theme, there is no cutlery, nor finger bowls: Diners are expected to tear their chicken apart with their bare hands, with only an apron for protection.

For a truly northern Indian experience, head for Chor Bizarre, on the edge of Old Delhi (other branches have opened in the newly fashionable suburb of Noida and in London's Mayfair). Chor Bazaar means "thieves market," and the chef has indeed plundered dishes from across India. Who knows where the management got the 1927 Fiat, parked in the center of the restaurant, from whose interior Bombay street snacks (chaat) are served? The highlight here is the Kashmiri thali, a set menu that changes daily, depending on what produce is available from the market, and that is named after the brass tray on which it is served. With an advance request, the restaurant will also prepare wazwan, a 40-course feast.

Dhaba starkly contrasts with the Art Nouveau Claridges Hotel in which it is housed. Every effort has been made to recreate a roadside eatery such as you might find along the Grand Trunk Road. The designers have even tacked the side of a Tata truck onto the wall of the restaurant. The chairs are similar in style to the charpoys upon which Indian truck drivers like to recline after a good lunch, and the waiters are dressed in a colorful version of truckers' attire. Feast on yellow dal, tandoori aloo (curried potatoes), and mattar paneer (peas with Indian cheese).

Hidden away down a narrow passage, this renowned institution has been trading since 1913 and still serves the best grilled meat in town, the chicken tikka being a particular favorite. The restaurant specializes in Mughlai-style food. The Mughals invaded India in the sixteenth century, and their rich, intricate cuisine uses lots of milk, cream, spices, dried fruit and nuts. Karim's is also famous for its brain curry, should you be brave enough to try it.

This fantastical restaurant, hand-painted by temple artists flown in from Kerala, resembles a temple (or at least an Indiana Jones movie). You'll feast like a king on the eclectic Asian dishes served here, with their Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and other influences. The irachi stew of lamb and potato in coconut milk, served with rice-flour pancakes, is delicious. Wash it down with a glass of spiced pineapple rasam with fresh curry leaves. For dessert, the Sagu Sagu (Thai rice pudding with cardamom, pandan, cinnamon, and sugar) is extraordinary.

Currently one of the hottest culinary scenes in Delhi, this depot of dining for the deep-pocketed, whose name might be taken to suggest a menu that is all over the place, boasts a world cuisine—primarily Mediterranean- and Japanese-influenced—the allure of which, to a culture finally coming around to the concept of calorie counting, is its lightness. Food historians, take note that this is where Indians discovered sushi, among whose offerings the Royal Nigiri platter seems to be an early favorite. A favorite, too, and another reason Threesixty°—based in the Oberoi is so popular with the be-seen-or-be-sari crowd, is one of the most extensive wine lists in the city.