Lucknow Food: The Best Awadhi Dishes to Try and Where to Find Them

Tucked away in North India, the royal city of Lucknow is a destination for foodies. While the "City of Nawabs" is known for its grand palaces and spectacular imambaras (spiritual halls), it is perhaps best known for its food. 

Influenced by Persian and Mughal cuisines, Awadhi dishes date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Nawabs ruled Lucknow. With recipes passed from generation to generation, this unique cuisine is still known for its complex spice mixtures, slow-cooking methods, and fall-off-the-bone meats. 

Food vendors have been cooking up Awadhi classics in the city's historic Chowk for over 200 years. Spend some time eating your way through this chaotic marketplace and you can sample everything from impossibly tender galouti kebabs to slow-cooked Awadhi biryani, warming nihari stew, coal-fired kakori kebabs, and overloaded basket chaat. 

With its bustling markets and historic family-run restaurants, it's easy to dine like a local in Lucknow.

Not sure where to start? This Lucknow food guide will not only lead you to all the best Awadhi dishes, but you'll also learn exactly where to try them. Follow this handy guide, and you'll have no problem dining like a local during your trip to Lucknow. 

Galouti kebabs really need no introduction. This is the most famous Lucknow food. It's been a staple of Awadhi cuisine since the 18th century, when a toothless Nawab created a competition for the city's cooks to make the softest kebab for him to savour. The winner was a one-armed chef called "Tunday" (meaning "one-armed"), who went on to become the man behind Tunday Kababi.

These incredibly tender kebabs are made of finely minced meat, usually mutton or lamb, that's tenderised with raw papaya and flavoured with an intricate blend of over 160 spices, including cloves, cardamom, and ginger. 

The rounded patties are then slow-cooked in ghee on a tawa (a flat, circular pan) until they become melt-in-your-mouth soft. You can eat them straight up or pair them with a warm paratha and a dollop of green chutney.

Where to try it: The most iconic place to try galouti kebabs is Tunday Kababi, the home of the original galouti kebab. You'll find branches of this local favourite scattered around the city, but its humble original location is in Chowk, near Akbari Gate. For a more fine-dining version of these classic kebabs, The Mughal's Dastarkhwan is your best bet. 

Galauti kebabs might get most of the attention, but Lucknow is also famous for its kakori kebabs. This is another ultra-tender lamb or mutton kebab that's prepared with unique ingredients like kidney fat, cashew paste, eggs, rose petals, and khus khus (poppy seeds) before being skewered and cooked over coal.

Where to try it: Shekhawat Restaurant near the Oudh Gymkhana Club is a humble kebab shop that is well-known for its kakori kebabs, while Naushijaan Restaurant is a less-famous local favourite.

Awadhi-style biryani is another must-try Lucknow food. What makes Awadhi biryani different from the rest is that it's made using a dum or slow-cooking method. This type of biryani uses long-grain basmati rice, yoghurt or cream-marinated mutton or chicken, and a variety of spices, from cardamom to cinnamon to cumin. The rice and meat are then layered and slow-cooked to perfection. The result is a fragrant rice dish with meat that is wonderfully tender. 

Where to try it: The most iconic place to tuck into a plate of Awadhi biryani in Lucknow is Idrees Biryani in Chowk. This family-run restaurant is famous for its mutton biryani, still made from the original recipe that's been passed down through generations. Also in Chowk, the mutton biryanis from Wahid Biryani, Mubeen’s, and Tunday Kababi are also well-known in Lucknow's food scene.  

Nihari is another staple of Awadhi cuisine. This meaty stew is slow-cooked with hunks of mutton or lamb, marrow bone, long pepper, and a complex blend of aromatic spices. This traditional breakfast dish is especially popular during Lucknow's cold winter months. Whatever the season, be sure to pair it with a side of flaky and buttery kulcha.

Where to try it: Mubeen’s and Raheem’s Kulcha Nihari in the Chowk area are both iconic places to try mutton nihari, as is Alamgir in Mohan Market in Aminabad.

While much of Awadhi cuisine is meat-oriented, there are popular vegetarian Lucknow foods, too. Basket chaat is as addictive as it is photogenic. This popular snack food is made of a fried basket of shredded potatoes that is overflowing with all sorts of chaat ingredients, from cholo (chickpeas) and aloo tikki (potato patties) to papdi (crispy crackers), dahi (curd), green chutney, and pomegranate seeds.

Where to try it: There are so many places to try this famous Lucknow food, but Royal Cafe and Sharma Chai in Hazratganj, as well as Madhurima Sweets and Chhappan Bhog, are all frequented by locals and tourists alike.  

While kulfi was technically invented in the 16th century during the Mughal Empire, it has long been a staple of Awadhi cuisine. To this day, you'll find traditional kulfi and the more elaborate kulfi falooda being served up at establishments all across the city.

Kulfi is kind of like a royal spin on ice cream, though the Lucknow version has a consistency that's both denser and creamier than traditional ice cream. If you're craving something sweet to cool off during the scorching summer months, seek out the closest kulfi shop. Depending on where you go, you'll find traditional flavours like saffron, pistachio, and cream, as well as creative spins from fig to mango to rose, chocolate, or paan (betel leaf). 

Kulfi falooda takes things up a notch by adding vermicelli noodles, rose water, and basil seeds.

Where to try it: When in Aminabad, you must stop off at the legendary Prakash Kulfi. This place serves both kulfi and kulfi falooda, so you might as well try both. A few of their most famous flavours are kesar pista (saffron and pistachio), mango, and paan, but there's always something new and creative on offer. 

Back in the day, when Nawabs were told to stop using tobacco and paan, malai paan or malai ki gilori became a popular substitute. This unique confection is made from ultra-thin sheets of malai (milk cream) that are filled with nuts and mishri (rock sugar), folded like a betel leaf, and then coated in chandi ka warq (an edible sheet of silver).

Where to try it: You'll find these sweet morsels of goodness in mithai (sweet) shops around the city. But Ram Asrey in Chowk has been perfecting its malai paan gilori since 1805. You'll also find a branch in Hazratganj.

If you want to eat breakfast like the locals do, then seek out a fresh kachori from your closest restaurant or street food stall. These savoury morsels also happen to be a popular Lucknow food for vegetarians. 

A khasta kachori is a deep-fried pastry that's stuffed with ingredients like spiced potato, moong dal (mung bean), or lentil dal. They're often served with a side of aloo sabzi, green or tamarind chutney, or dahi (yoghurt).

Where to try it: Shri Kachodi in Chowk, Durga Khasta Corner in Aminabad, and Bajpayee Kachori Bhandar in Hazratganj are all excellent places to savour this traditional Lucknowi breakfast. 

The best places to eat in Lucknow are found in Chowk. Start off with a traditional kachori breakfast at Shri Kachodito before going to Tunday Kababi for a galouti kebab, Raheem’s Kulcha Nihari for a warming bowl of nihari, and Ram Asrey for malai paan gilori for dessert. 

The must-try Awadhi dishes are kebabs, specifically Lucknow's famous galouti kebabs and kakori kebabs. Other must-try Awadhi dishes are the slow-cooked Awadhi biryani, mutton nihari, basket chaat, kachori, and kulfi falooda or malai ki gilori for dessert. 

The best Lucknow restaurants for families with children are The Mughal's Dastarkhwan and Royal Cafe. Both feature excellent Awadhi dishes, large indoor seating areas, and top-notch customer service. 

Finding vegetarian and vegan food in Lucknow comes with a few challenges. Although the most famous Lucknow foods have meat,  vegetarians will have plenty of options, including Awadhi specialities like basket chaat, kachori, and kulfi. Vegans, on the other hand, will have to try hard to avoid ingredients like dairy and ghee. The free HappyCow app is an excellent way to seek out vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants in Lucknow.

Some of the best budget-friendly places to eat in Lucknow are found in Chowk. This is where you'll find iconic, yet humble, eateries like Tunday Kababi (the original location), Idrees Biryani, Raheem’s Kulcha Nihari, Mubeen’s, and Ram Asrey. Another option is to eat your way through Aminabad, where you'll find Prakash Kulfi, Durga Khasta Corner, Alamgir, and another popular branch of Tunday Kababi. 

Mercure Lucknow Gomti Nagar is set in the heart of the city and makes for a great home base while you explore everything Lucknow has to offer. In the mornings, you can fuel up on regional and international dishes at the hotel's lavish breakfast buffet before hunting down even more Awadhi classics in Chowk and Aminabad. In the evenings, enjoy dinner and drinks on the terrace of LVELL 7, then fit in a workout in the fitness centre before resting up in your modern room.