Restaurants in Hauz Khas: Dining and Nightlife Guide (2026) to Lake-View Cafés, Bars and Rooftops
Where to eat, drink and watch the sun set over the Hauz Khas lake, with the cost for two, ratings and dishes worth ordering at five favourites
13 Oct, 2026 by Shreem Nema
The best restaurants in Hauz Khas for food, views and nightlife are Hauz Khas Social, Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House, ShellBeacon Cafe, The Record Room and The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar. Dinner for two at these five costs between ₹1,400 and ₹1,800, according to their EazyDiner listings.
Four of the restaurants in this guide sit inside Hauz Khas Village, where restaurant terraces look across the lake to the ruins of the Hauz Khas Fort, and the fifth, The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen and Bar, is in nearby Hauz Khas Market.
In this guide:
- Why Is Hauz Khas One of Delhi's Favourite Dining and Nightlife Hubs?
- What Are the Best Restaurants in Hauz Khas?
- Which Are the Best Affordable Restaurants in Hauz Khas?
- Where Can You Find the Best Nightlife in Hauz Khas?
- What Should You Eat at Hauz Khas Market?
- How Do You Discover, Review and Book Hauz Khas Restaurants?
- How Do You Plan the Perfect Night Out in Hauz Khas?
- FAQs
Why Is Hauz Khas One of Delhi's Favourite Dining and Nightlife Hubs?
Hauz Khas is one of Delhi's favourite places to eat and drink because it puts lake-view restaurants, bars and cafés inside a medieval village in South Delhi, a short ride from two metro stations. Here you can watch the sun set over nearly 700-year-old ruins, cocktail in hand, then walk to dinner in the next lane.
The name means "royal tank" in Persian. According to the Delhi government's heritage notes on Hauz Khas, the reservoir was first built during Alauddin Khalji's reign (1296 to 1316) to supply water to his new city of Siri, and Firoz Shah Tughlaq later re-dug it and founded a madrasa on its banks in 1352. That ruined madrasa and tomb complex is what most people call the Hauz Khas Fort, and it is the view the village's lake-facing terraces are built around.
Today the lanes behind the ruins are lined with boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and bars, so a single evening in Hauz Khas Village can move from a sunset drink by the lake to a late dinner without leaving the neighbourhood.
Hauz Khas at a glance:
- Where: Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi, beside Deer Park and the Hauz Khas lake
- Getting there: Hauz Khas metro station (Yellow and Magenta Lines) and Green Park metro station (Yellow Line), each a short auto ride from the village
- Opening hours: all five restaurants in this guide open at noon
- Best season: October to March, when evenings are cool enough for terraces
- Good for: sunset drinks, date nights, group dinners, and Himalayan and Bihari food
What Are the Best Restaurants in Hauz Khas?
For food first, the best restaurants in Hauz Khas are Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House for Himalayan cooking and ShellBeacon Cafe for Mediterranean plates on a rooftop, both in Hauz Khas Village. Here is how they compare with Hauz Khas Social, The Record Room and The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar on cuisine, cost for two and rating.
| Restaurant | Area | Cuisine | Cost for Two | Rating |
| Hauz Khas Social | Hauz Khas Village | North Indian, Chinese, Korean, Pizza, Cocktails | ₹1,600 | 4.3★ (Good) |
| Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House | Hauz Khas Village | Nepalese, Tibetan, Bhutanese | ₹1,800 | 4.1★ (Good) |
| ShellBeacon Cafe | Hauz Khas Village | European, Mediterranean, Italian, Chinese | ₹1,500 | 4.8★ (Excellent) |
| The Record Room | Hauz Khas Village | North Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Pizza | ₹1,400 | 4.3★ (Good) |
| The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar | Hauz Khas Market | Bihari, North Indian | ₹1,500 | 5.0★ (Excellent) |
Costs, ratings and timings in this article are taken from each restaurant's EazyDiner listing as of October 2026.
Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House, Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi
Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House is a cosy dining room at 50 A in the village, and its tables look out to the Hauz Khas Fort and lake. Come for an unhurried lunch or a relaxed dinner with friends who want pahadi food that goes well beyond momos and noodles. The kitchen cooks Nepalese, Tibetan and Bhutanese food, from the Newari-style Chicken Choila and Gundruk Sadeko, a spiced salad of fermented leafy greens, to Mothuk, momos served in broth.
Must-haves: Tom Yum Chicken Soup, Mothuk, Piro Aloo, Gundruk Sadeko, Gyuma, Tibetan Stir Fried Pork, Chicken Choila
Cost for two: ₹1,800
Rating: 4.1★ (Good)
ShellBeacon Cafe, Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi
ShellBeacon Cafe is a rooftop café and bar at 1A/1 in Hauz Khas Village, with outdoor seating up top. It suits a slow afternoon coffee or cocktails on a date night, and it stays open until 1 AM. The menu covers European, Mediterranean and Italian plates, with Chinese dishes, desserts and bar food alongside a cocktail list.
Must-haves: Mexican Sizzler, Arrabbiata Pasta, Oeuf au Plat, Channa Masala, Veg Vietnamese Rolls
Cost for two: ₹1,500
Rating: 4.8★ (Excellent)
Which Are the Best Affordable Restaurants in Hauz Khas?
The best affordable restaurants in Hauz Khas on this list are The Record Room at ₹1,400 for two, The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar and ShellBeacon Cafe at ₹1,500 each, and Hauz Khas Social at ₹1,600, per their EazyDiner listings. Hauz Khas Village is not a budget street, so affordable here means a sit-down meal with a view at about ₹700 to ₹800 a head.
Three ways to eat well for less in Hauz Khas:
- Go for lunch. All five open by noon, and the village is calmer before the evening crowd arrives.
- Share starters and kebabs. A table of shared plates goes further than one main course each.
- Order a thali. The Bhojpuri Thali at The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar puts a full Bihari meal on one plate.
The Record Room, Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi
The Record Room sits on the first floor at 9A, on the lake side of the village, with balcony tables that look straight over the water. As the sun goes down, warm lighting and music make it an easy sundowner spot for friends, families and small groups, and it stays open until 1 AM. The menu covers North Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and pizza, with smoky tandoor kebabs leading the order.
Must-haves: Royal Smoky Chicken Tikka, Himalayan Crown Mutton Kebab, Mexican Pizza, Cheese Cake
Cost for two: ₹1,400
Rating: 4.3★ (Good)
Where Can You Find the Best Nightlife in Hauz Khas?
The best nightlife in Hauz Khas is inside the village itself, where bars, lounges and restaurants share the same few lanes beside the lake. Hauz Khas Social draws a big crowd for cocktails and music, ShellBeacon Cafe serves cocktails on a rooftop until 1 AM, and The Record Room pairs drinks with a lake-facing balcony.
Hauz Khas Social, Hauz Khas Village, South Delhi
Social has 15 outlets across Delhi NCR on EazyDiner, but the Hauz Khas Village one is the address people make the trip for, with indoor and outdoor seating that looks across the lake to the Hauz Khas Fort. It found wider fame after featuring in the song "Agar Tum Saath Ho" from the 2015 film Tamasha, and it still runs as a laid-back café by day and a loud, busy bar by night, so walk-ins on weekend evenings can face a long wait. The menu is built for sharing over drinks, mixing North Indian, Chinese, Korean, biryani and pizza with a long list of signature cocktails.
Must-haves: Banarasi Patiala, Candy Crush, South Pacific Rim, Popcorn Momos, Death Wings
Cost for two: ₹1,600
Rating: 4.3★ (Good)
If Social's crowd is not your scene, the rest of the list covers quieter moods after dark:
- ShellBeacon Cafe for cocktails and a date night on a village rooftop
- The Record Room for drinks on a balcony facing the water
- Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House for an early, food-led night out
- The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar for cocktails in Hauz Khas Market, away from the village crowds
What Should You Eat at Hauz Khas Market?
At Hauz Khas Market, about a kilometre east of Hauz Khas Village, the place to eat is The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar, and the order is Bihari: Litti Mutton, Googni Churra, the Bhojpuri Thali and a Sattu Cooler. The market is quieter than the village, so it suits a long lunch or an early dinner.
Bihari cooking leans on mustard oil, slow-cooked meat and sattu, a flour of roasted gram that turns up in everything from stuffed breads to cooling summer drinks. Its best-known dish, litti, is a ball of wheat dough filled with spiced sattu and baked or roasted over coals.
The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar, Hauz Khas, South Delhi
The Potbelly began as a rooftop café in Shahpur Jat and now runs as a full kitchen and bar on the third floor of a Hauz Khas Market building, with rooftop seating and a bar that turns out cocktails. It is calmer and more food-focused than the village, an easy pick for a thali lunch with family or dinner and drinks with friends, and it stays open until 12:30 AM. Puja Sahu Iyer started The Potbelly to share the food of her native Bihar, so the menu centres on Bihari home cooking with North Indian dishes alongside, from Litti Mutton to Ranchi ka Pulao.
Must-haves: Litti Mutton, Googni Churra, Bhojpuri Thali, Ranchi ka Pulao, Sattu Cooler
Cost for two: ₹1,500
Rating: 5.0★ (Excellent)
How Do You Discover, Review and Book Hauz Khas Restaurants?
You can discover, compare and book Hauz Khas restaurants on EazyDiner in a few minutes, and reserving a table is free. Every listing shows the menu, photos, reviews, cost for two and opening hours, so you can check a place properly before you commit.
- Open the EazyDiner app or website and search for Hauz Khas Village, or go straight to the Hauz Khas Village restaurants page.
- Narrow the list with filters such as Bars, Veg or a cuisine like North Indian or Chinese.
- Open a restaurant to read its reviews, scan the menu and photos, and check its cost for two and timings.
- Choose your date, time and number of guests, and confirm the booking.
For The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar, search under Hauz Khas rather than Hauz Khas Village, since EazyDiner lists it in Hauz Khas Market.
How Do You Plan the Perfect Night Out in Hauz Khas?
The easiest way to plan a night out in Hauz Khas is to start at a lake-facing table around sunset, move on to dinner, and finish somewhere that stays open late, booking each stop on EazyDiner if it falls on a weekend. Pick your stops by mood:
- For Himalayan food and a quieter table: Lama Kitchen - Himalayan Cook House
- For cocktails and a crowd: Hauz Khas Social
- For balcony views on a smaller bill: The Record Room
- For a Bihari thali away from the village rush: The Potbelly Bihari Kitchen & Bar
- For a rooftop date night: ShellBeacon Cafe
Weekend tables by the lake go first, so check availability on the Hauz Khas Village restaurants page on EazyDiner before you head out.
Written By
A storyteller at heart, Shreem is a writer who finds magic in life's smallest moments. She devours stories in every form, movies, shows, books, or comics; she loves diving into narratives that spark imagination. She often geeks out on space and food trivia, and loves travelling while learning about new cultures and languages.
