Varanasi · Places to eat

Places to eat in Varanasi

Where to eat in Varanasi, all of it vegetarian: the chaat, thalis, sweets and breakfasts we send our own guests to, and when each is at its best.

Tamatar chaat in two clay bowls topped with coriander and sev, the dish Kashi Chat Bhandar is known for

Evenings

Kashi Chat Bhandar काशी चाट भंडार

Tamatar chaat, the dish Banaras is known for.

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A wide iron pan of tamatar chaat ringed with whole tomatoes, as Banarasi chaat sellers cook it

Evenings

Deena Chaat Bhandar दीना चाट भंडार

The other great tamatar chaat, a few doors along.

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Kachori with potato sabzi on a steel plate, the Banarasi breakfast Ram Bhandar serves

Breakfast, early

Ram Bhandar राम भंडार

Kachori, sabzi and jalebi: the Banarasi breakfast.

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A clay cup of lassi topped with saffron and pistachio at Blue Lassi in Varanasi's old city

Any day

Blue Lassi Shop ब्लू लस्सी

Thick fruit lassi in clay cups, near Manikarnika.

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The Pahalwan Lassi counter at Lanka, Varanasi, customers crowding under its Hindi signboard

Mornings

Pahalwan Lassi पहलवान लस्सी

Lassi topped with rabri, near the BHU gate.

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A vegetarian thali on a banana leaf with a dozen small bowls of dal, sabzi, raita and sweets

Lunch or dinner

Shree Shivay Thali श्री शिवाय थाली

A twenty-dish sattvic thali, without onion or garlic.

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A tray of baked wheat baati, the bread served with chokha

Lunch or dinner

Baati Chokha Restaurant बाटी चोखा

Baati, chokha and litti in a village-style setting.

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A North Indian vegetarian meal in a compartment plate: dal, sabzi, salad and roti

Any time

Keshari Restaurant केशरी रेस्टोरेंट

A reliable vegetarian sit-down meal at Godowlia.

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Peda and milk sweets on trays behind a sweet-shop counter

Afternoons

Ksheer Sagar क्षीर सागर

Milk sweets and rabri at Sonarpura.

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A Varanasi street vendor's pan of saffron-flecked malaiyo, served in small clay cups

Winter mornings

Malaiyo in the old city मलइयो

Saffron milk foam, sold only on winter mornings.

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Stays

Where to stay in Varanasi

All houses
Pratham, Varanasi: double bed with an ochre runner facing a leaded-glass window, wooden ceiling with a fan, air conditioning and a door open to the screened verandahPrathamOur first house: amber light, a wooden ceiling and a balcony full of flowersMinimilist, Varanasi: white bedroom with a double bed under a yellow-and-white block-print spread, saffron curtains at a barred window, two wall sconces and a marble floor with an inlaid borderMinimilistWhite walls, marigold accents and room to thinkBoutique, Varanasi: teal bedroom with gold wall mouldings, dark tufted headboard, blue cushions and runner, upholstered bench at the foot of the bedBoutiqueThree rooms, three moods: blue and gold, rose, and emeraldSantorini, Varanasi: white room with a teak bed, blue cushions and runner, blue shutters open to the balcony and a blue console table oppositeSantoriniWhitewash, cobalt and jali windows framing the Varanasi skyGardenia, Varanasi: double bed with a yellow headboard and bedspread, rolled towels laid out, mustard wardrobes either side of a white arched niche, marble floorGardeniaSunlit yellow rooms that open onto a shaded garden lawn