Street joints that serve Lucknow's culinary history on a platter
Some of these eateries are more than 100 years old
We may love the occasional leftover pizza for breakfast, but nothing spells comfort like having a plate of hot aloo parathas with dahi. A bowl of khow suey may be your cheat meal but it’s dal-chawal that cuddles you like a warm blanket when you’re sick. Even on international holidays, when the vacuum-sealed theplas have run out, we start looking up Indian restaurants in the area. And it doesn’t matter which end of the earth we are, we’ll still find one, because Indian food has exploded in popularity.
Just recently, garlic naan was declared the best bread in the world. And Paragon restaurant in Kozhikode, known for its Malabari cuisine, occupies the 5th position in World’s Most Legendary Restaurants list. Indian cuisine overall came in at number 12 in the list of 100 Best Cuisines in the world. Indian food—beyond just chicken tikka masala—is getting its long-deserved moment in the sun.
And amid this kaleidoscope of flavours—that like our dialects, changes every few kilometres—Lucknow’s heritage Mughlai cuisine keeps rising to the top. Recently, UNESCO declared Lucknow a Creative City of Gastronomy (Hyderabad held the title in 2019). The city has stayed lovingly loyal to its centuries-old food traditions and recipes, which is plain to observe at its many legendary local establishments. Celebrity chef Ranveer Brar, who grew up in Lucknow, credits the superiority of its food to the slow-life culture of the city. In an interview, he said that people take their time to cook and to eat, and this patient, attentive way of doing things allows them to pour more love into the food.
Take dum pukht, the slow-cooking technique, which was brought back into modern times by the late legendary Chef Imtiaz Qureshi who spent his life expressing his love for Lucknow through his cooking. The technique, which goes back to the 18th-century royal Mughal kitchens had been lost over time, but after joining ITC hotels in 1979, Qureshi was able to revive it. He was instrumental in the establishment of Dum Pukht restaurant in ITC Maratha, curating the entire menu 25 years ago. Chefs across India revere him for this contribution, and he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2016. Brar, who like many other chefs looked up to Qureshi wrote in an Instagram post that every conversation the two of them ever had was about Lucknow and Qureshi growing up in the city. People who are born in Lucknow, like Qureshi and Brar, don’t just love the city’s food, but take personal pride in it.
A food tour of Lucknow’s iconic joints can cajole even the most calorie-conscious eater into letting down their guard for a frill-free yet exquisite meal steeped in history (and ghee). If you’re visiting the city, this is where to start.
Idrees Biryani
Small but mighty, Idrees has stood its ground in Lucknow’s Chowk area since 1968. Now run by its second-generation owner, who has spent over four decades carrying forward his father’s legacy, the shop still follows the same original recipes. The mutton is massaged with milk and cream to build its signature richness, and the pulav is assembled in three thoughtful layers: rice, yakhni and mutton. Slow-cooked on coal-fired bhattis, the biryani carries the quiet love and warmth that define the city’s gastronomy. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, despite having created and sampled countless biryanis, swears by Idrees. Even former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and actor Mithun Chakraborty have stopped by for a meal at this landmark restaurant that has earned its legacy one degh at a time.
Bonus tip: If you’re visiting Idrees Biryani, it’s best to arrive at 12 pm for lunch, right when they open. It gets incredibly crowded after 1 pm.
Raheem’s Kulcha-Nahari
Established in 1890 in Chowk, this iconic shop’s kulcha-nahari feels like an heirloom you can eat. Despite additions to the menu over the years, this mutton gravy, which gets its warmth from whole spices such as cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and black peppercorns, remains the star attraction, drawing crowds throughout the day. It is also Chef Ranveer Brar’s favourite stop in Lucknow. The mutton is slow-cooked overnight on low heat until it turns meltingly tender. Originally a breakfast for royals and soldiers, nahari entered mass circulation as a hearty meal with the addition of kulcha.
Bonus tip: Nahari is derived from the word ‘nahar’ which means morning in Arabic. The best time to enjoy this royal breakfast is right when Raheem’s opens at 8 am and you see the crowd slowly gathering to get their calories of the day.
Netram
Netram is a culinary legacy that began in 1854 in Allahabad under Netram Agrawal and today has found a much-loved adoptive home in Aminabad in central Lucknow. When his son Bhim Singh brought their kachoris and jalebis to a Lucknow fair, the response was so overwhelming that he set up a permanent shop in 1922. Today, the establishment is run by Amol Agrawal, the sixth-generation scion. More than a century later, their kachoris and jalebis remain city favourites. Everything is prepared in pure ghee using the freshest ingredients, drawing long queues every morning.
Bonus tip: Their puri thali, served with sabzis, aam ki chutney and boondi raita, is equally loved. And they offer unlimited refills for those who cannot resist just one more helping.
Durga Khasta Corner
As food chronicler Maroof Culmen notes, Lucknow’s breakfast scene is vibrant enough to rival any global food capital, and in that spread, khasta stands tall. Contrary to its name (‘khasta’ means flaky), the kachori is firm, crisp and satisfyingly dense with spiced, mashed lentils. Durga Khasta Corner, situated near Latouche Road in Aminabad, is one of the best places to experience it. The space is loud, busy and has stayed unchanged for decades. The khasta is served on a plate made of leaves, paired with matar ki sabzi, chutney, dry potato, onions and green chillies.
Bonus tip: Another popular order here is the bada (vada) which is served with the same sides they simply refer to as ‘masalas’.
Kareem Kababi
A trip to Lucknow without kebabs is sacrilegious. The city has countless famous spots such as Tunday and Naushijaan, but many consider Kareem Kababi’s “bun-kebab” to be an experience all of its own. Founded in 1908, the shop has paired galouti kebabs with buns which they also make from scratch, since the very beginning. A mixture of chicken or buff, besan, red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, caramelised onions and a closely guarded masala blend is kneaded together thoroughly before being fried on a pan, with the spice levels adjusted to the season. They also serve kebabs that aren’t shaped into the usual round discs but served in their kheema form, which, as they say, helps them cook more evenly. The result is a melt-in-the-mouth ‘kebab’ that you can get to via its pillowy bun shell.
Bonus tip: Why stop at the bun-kebabs when you can also dig into the boti kebabs and paratha kebab rolls which are also crowd-favourites at this Boman Irani-approved eatery.
Mubeen’s
Established in the late 1970s, the shop has grown from an unassuming family-run joint in Old Lucknow into a name that locals swear by and tourists seek out, for its food that has remained rooted in the original slow, soulful techniques. Mubeen’s is best known for its nahari, pasanda and sheermal. The pasanda (lamb legs stripped into wafer-thin slices) is marinated for hours in a paste of spices and papaya in a copper vessel, and cooked gently until it turns velvety and delicate. The marinade recipe is still known only to Mohammad Mubeen, who founded the shop and continues to prepare it himself. Even his grandsons, who now run the place, have no idea how he makes it. The sheermal, a soft flatbread brushed with saffron-infused ghee, arrives warm and slightly sweet, making it the perfect companion to the rich gravies. Even on weekdays, the place stays crowded, with families, office-goers and late-night regulars queuing for a plate.
Bonus tip: After a hearty meal at Mubeen’s, you can walk off the imminent carb coma by exploring the surrounding Chowk market for chikan-embroidered clothes, wood showpieces, and junk jewellery.
Shukla Tea Stall
If you’re in Lucknow for a food trip, it’s bound to be an action-packed one because there are too many must-devour stops to cover. And in the middle of all that, refuelling with the city’s famous dum chai is the perfect way to keep going. This tiny 95-year-old shop serves tea in true Lucknowi andaaz. Hot water and chai patti are slow-brewed in a sealed kettle, because in Lucknow, dum is believed to deepen flavour. Kulhads are half-filled with hot, condensed milk, and the brewed tea is poured over it. Pair it with their white-butter bun pav, a soft, airy bite that feels like a moment of lightness amid the rich, spice-laden dishes your itinerary is packed with.
Bonus tip: If you get here early in the morning, you can get a side of their famous round chatpate samosas, whose tanginess comes from aam chur.
