Khyber

A Kala Ghoda gem is this North West Frontier restaurant by the folks who run 145 next door, Sudheer & Ishaan Behl. With its inception in 1958 by Sudheer’s dad, Om Prakash, and a subsequent refurbishment after a fire engulfed it in 1985, Khyber has been a long-standing establishment, winning awards for its fine dining Indian cuisine. If it’s good enough for the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Amitabh Bachchan, Demi Moore, the royals of Kuwait and many more, it’s good enough for us. Great, in fact!

Khyber offers you a very intimate ambience, romantic, if you may, with its dim lighting, distressed brick-walled décor and art to take you back to the conquests of the Mughal era. The food takes you to the Frontier province, with its Spiced Chicken Broth, Mirch ka Salan, Tandoori Raan, Chicken & Lamb Kebab Platter and that slow-cooked Maa ki Dal. Methi Malai Mutter, Dhaba Gosht, and Prawns Mughlai are all sumptuous servings, with biryanis, pulaos and an assortment of rotis.

Bring up the rear with a Brioche Bread Pudding but the phirni and the (seasonal) gajar ka halwa it is, when dining at Khyber.