Search
Login
Let's make this more delicious! Get curated content in your inbox
By clicking "Subscribe", you agree to ourPrivacy Policy and to receive marketing emails from Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
6 Min
28/01/2026
Talk about gourmet food in India, and most folks will run to the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. While these metropolises dish up brilliant gourmet delicacies, smaller cities like Indore, Chandigarh, and Bhubaneswar are not far behind. Though they don’t get the spotlight often, they have been quietly sticking to their roots while evolving to cater to broader tastes.
For the longest time, Indore has been known for its street food and clean streets, Chandigarh for its planned localities and flaky kulchas, and Bhubhaneshwar for temples and traditional fare. Gourmet has rarely been on the city's food map, but the tides are changing. Today, Indore, Chandigarh, and Bhubaneswar are emerging as sophisticated culinary destinations, each carving out a distinct identity that challenges the notion that great food culture belongs exclusively to metropolitan giants. Dive in to understand the places across the three cities, where global meets local to create treats that everyone loves.
Crowned India's cleanest city for seven consecutive years, Indore has transformed from a regional food hub into a culinary phenomenon that food enthusiasts are now travelling specifically to experience. The city's evolution represents something rare in Indian gastronomy – the combination of its street food heritage with contemporary dining.
At the heart of Indore's food identity lies Sarafa Bazaar, a jewellery market by day that undergoes a metamorphosis at night. From 8 PM until 2 AM, the street becomes what locals call a ‘khau-gulli’ – an eating alley serving over 3,000 visitors each night. Unlike typical street food markets, Sarafa operates with surgical precision – municipal garbage trucks make evening rounds, permanent stalls maintain high hygiene standards, and vendors sell their perfected craft across generations.
At Joshi Dahi Bada House, the proprietor dishes out plates of their famed dahi bada, mirchi vada and kachoris. What shot them to fame is their showmanship of Mr Joshi juggling the dahi bada with the curd and sauces without spilling a single drop, which lands perfectly before being dusted with five distinct masalas. The confidence of mastery that has made this hole-in-the-wall one of Indore's most iconic food experiences.
Bhutte ka kees, Indore's signature dish, is also served at this joint and many others across the city. Boiled corn is mashed and cooked in milk, ghee, and spices, then topped with shredded coconut, coriander, and chilli powder. Many foodies note, it's “an acquired taste”, yet it preserves its authentic flavours.
While Sarafa evolved organically, Chappan Dukan represents deliberate urban food planning. Literally translating to ‘56 shops’, this street was redesigned in 2020 into what the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India declared a ‘clean street food hub’ – complete with its own radio station. The numbered stalls create an organised food site which are super hygienic.
Johny Hot Dog, another hole-in-the-wall favourite, serves egg and mutton benjos or benzo, that locals dub hotdogs or burgers, made with buttery buns filled with omelette or spiced meat. Indore heavily leans towards a predominantly vegetarian food culture, but spots like these represent Indore's evolving cosmopolitan tastes. Equally appealing, if not more, is the city's pani puri, served with up to ten varieties of flavoured water beyond the usual mint and tamarind – garlic, kaffir raw mango, lemon, and chaanch (buttermilk) among them.
Beyond street food, Indore has cultivated a café culture that rivals major metros. Mr Beans, housed in a converted bungalow, pioneered third-wave coffee culture in the city. The retro-chic café serves expertly brewed Italian coffees alongside a curated menu of international dishes, with a ground-floor gourmet shop selling speciality ingredients – a model that's influenced numerous subsequent openings.
Talking about fine dining, the rooftop located Capers, at Hotel Effotel, offers North Indian food with stunning city views. Then there are several others at the Phoenix Citadel Mall, which has become a destination for premium fine-dining experiences. It has places like Si Nonna’s for their sourdough pizzas, and Mamagoto, which serves Asian food.
Beyond its architectural fame, Le Corbusier's planned city has evolved to become a foodie haven that dishes out Punjab's specialities with sophisticated cosmopolitan dining. The city's unique position as a shared capital of two states has created a food haven, both local and a fusion of east meets west.
Take, for instance, Virgin Courtyard, an Italian restaurant that exemplifies Chandigarh's approach to upscale dining. This Italian-style restaurant features pebbled pathways and a sunlit courtyard decorated in a signature pastel shade and a white palette. There’s the usual Italian fare, but also wood-fired pizzas that are a fusion of international meets local Indian taste.
Going posher, there is Taj Chandigarh’s Dera restaurant, which showcases heritage delicacies from Amritsar, Lahore, and Peshawar through a split-level design with show kitchens. This transparent cooking approach – letting diners witness the preparation – has become increasingly popular in Chandigarh's upscale establishments. The Black Lotus, another Taj venue, offers poolside al fresco dining along with interior dining, the latter being burnished in rich browns and filigreed objet d'art, with the choicest Chinese food offered at the restaurant.
Chandigarh has emerged as a key market for India's speciality coffee expansion. Third Wave Coffee operates multiple outlets in the city, as part of its nationwide network of over 125 cafés. The Sector 35 location has become particularly influential, offering single-origin coffees, cold brews, and experimental beverages like Cold Brew with Orange Zest and Espresso Tonic – an energising blend of tonic water and espresso on the rocks.
The café's menu extends beyond coffee to include Avocado Toast with Feta on sourdough, breakfast bowls, and gourmet sandwiches – items that would have seemed impossibly cosmopolitan in a tier-2 city just a decade ago. Yet Chandigarh's educated, affluent population has embraced this café culture, turning these spaces into work hubs and social gathering spots that function as ‘third spaces’ between home and office.
Pashtun Restaurant outside and at Elante Mall serves classic Pashtun dishes and North Indian specialities in a rustic dining room adorned with ethnic art. They are loved for dishes like dal bukhara, mutton rogan josh, and handi gosht with naan. Their kebabs and tandoori fare are also quite popular.
If you want to try vegetarian, then spots like Laziz Rasoi in Mohali are a good bet with quality vegetarian dining at accessible prices with classics like dahi kebab, Chinese platter, hiney chilli potato and mushroom duplex. With locations in both Sector 35 and Sector 54, this restaurant offers live music on weekends and screens cricket matches on big screens.
Odisha's capital was not in the spotlight for long, but in recent years, experts have noticed it going through an awakening as more restaurants and cafes pop up and it goes through a rapid modernisation.
Identifying as a woman-owned restaurant, Odraa, established in June 2025 by siblings Tallina and Tanaya Patnaik, represents one of the frontrunners in the city for regional cuisine. Named after ‘Odraa’, an ancient region within Odisha, the restaurant sources ingredients from across the state and uses traditional cooking techniques that are usually confined to home kitchens.
The 50-seater establishment serves dishes like Khandamal roast (a tribal speciality), Boita aloo gaintha, sorisa mangsa (slow-cooked mutton), guda pitha and more that are regional specialities served with fusion flavours, served alongside beverages inspired by local ingredients.
There’s another restaurant named after the traditional Odiya dish called Dalma (made with dal and vegetables), which offers a more accessible entry point. Serving authentic Odia thalis on metal trays at reasonable prices, it has become the city's go-to destination for experiencing the full breadth of regional cooking – dalma, aloo bharta, chhena poda, and santula.
Bhubaneswar is still in the early stages of developing a craft beer culture. While the city doesn't yet match Bangalore's 120+ microbreweries, establishments like Kegs and Barrels Brewing Co. are pioneering the scene. There’s also Saami Kitchen & Brewery, which is an upcoming microbrewery that is a popular haunt in the city.
The city has quite a few themed restaurants dotting it: Jungle View, located near Chandaka forest, features a proper setup that mimics a jungle with proper wooden chairs and tables with foliage to match. Then there’s The BOMBAI, which quite literally mimics the feel of Mumbai, its Marine Drive and setting that replicates the beach vibe around the area.
Breeze at Pal Heights offers classy rooftop dining with extensive buffets and Sunday brunches, while The Zaika provides a luxurious experience with chandeliers and plush seating. Tangerine 9 has been around for longer and serves Indian, Chinese, and Continental cuisines, which is a reflection of the city's cosmopolitan tastes.
There are also restaurants at the Trident, which serve everything from dalma, lehsuni jhinga (spiced prawns) and chhatu besara (mixed veg dish). Then there’s the beloved Swosti Premium, which serves barli prawns (grilled jumbo prawns), Dal e Swosti and macha besara (Odia-style fish).
As per recent trends, the youth seem to like experiential dining. As disposable incomes rise, more cities are expected to develop distinct food identities. So, the next great Indian dining experience might not be in a Mumbai high-rise or Delhi's Connaught Place, but in fact in smaller corners of Indore’s markets and hidden gems in Chandigarh.