Purani Dilli in Dubai

Purani Dilli surfaced when I was hunting for North Indian restaurants in Dubai we hadn’t yet been to and had a 4.5+ rating on Zomato. It lived upto its expectations on every dimension with a few pleasant surprises too. It has the purani dilli vibe with a ghazal/ live singing in the background and the aromas of North Indian spices wafting through the air. If not the best, it surely is one of the top Indian restaurants in Dubai.

This post covers
Cuisine
Location and Opening hours
Our Order
Service
Ambience
Cost for 2
Rating on Food listing apps and sites(like Zomato)

Cuisine: It is regular Indian food with no bells and whistles. The menu is inspired from some of old delhi delicacies but not restricted to it. Its cuisine doesn’t distinguish it from the other top Indian restaurants in Dubai.

Location, Parking and Opening Hours: Purani Dilli is located in Four Points by Sheraton in both Trade Centre area and Mankhool. The one in Trade Center has recently opened and hence we decided to visit their original one in Mankhool. We had a fantastic experience. It opens at around 12 noon for lunch and remains open till 11pm in the night.
The best North Indian restaurants in Dubai are located in this part of town and Purani Dilli is no exception.

Our Order: It was my husband’s birthday dinner with family, so we were 6 adults and 3 kids (8yrs, 3yrs and 1.5yrs). We ordered the following:
Appetizers: Khumani Paneer Tikka, Gilauti Kebab
Main Course: Lahori Paneer, Lahsuni Palak, Dal Makhani, Lassoni Dal Tadka, Bhatti ki Tokri (bread basket)
Kids Special: Aloo Paratha (not on the menu and made on special request for the babies).
I highly recommend the Khumani Paneer Tikka. Gilauti Kebabs were very soft and spicy. Lahsuni Palak was also flavourful.
Also for the kids, they offer a complementary beverage. It is not a fine dine so you will not see any amuse bouche etc. Overall, the food gets a 4+ on 5 from my side.

Service: Like I mentioned, we were celebrating my husband’s birthday. So when we requested them if we can cut a cake and that its my husband’s birthday, the live singers wished him and sang for him an Indian birthday number and the restaurant staff got a small dessert with a candle etc for us to celebrate. We had also requested them for a stuffed Aloo Paratha for the kids and while they did not have it in their menu, they made it. On Service, I would rate them a full 5 on 5. That is one reason that makes them one of the top Indian restaurants in Dubai.

Ambience: Ambience was lavish Indian. They had a decorated cycle rikshaw at the entrance and some wooden jharokhas (decorated and carved window panes) inside. The place did not have the snootiness of fine dine. It was a family restaurant with an easy going vibe as our kids kept playing and moving around till the food came and the restaurant did not particularly mind that. Also since we were there for early dinner the restaurant was mostly empty by the time we were just about finishing.
Although I have seen and been to much better North Indian restaurants in Dubai, in terms of ambience; I recommend Purani Dilli as its a family place with no raised eyebrows on dining with young kids and their tantrums.

Cost for 2: For something like what we ordered it would be around AED 200. This is without desserts as we already had a cake.

Rating on Zomato