We hear the best things in life are free, but considering today’s economic situation, we’re taking the liberty of saying the best things in life are under 200 rupees. Trying to eat on a budget? Here are 15 places that’ll satiate both your appetite and monetary constraints.
PS: All price points refer to meals for one person.
For when the pouring rains remind you of a Bombay holiday, the only thing to do it justice really is vada pav. Goli Vada Pav has quickly increased its presence through Delhi & Gurgaon, with the classic and some fancy variants of this humble bread-and-potato beauty. You could try the Makai Palak Vada Pav, or the Schzewan one – although if you want to keep it simple, you can’t really go wrong with the Sabudana Vada, with fried green chilli et al.
Where: Multiple locations across Delhi & Gurgaon; Find a location here.
We’ll say at the start, we don’t want to ring the gong on the battle of the rolls. But sometimes, old is golden. We found ourselves returning for Khan Chacha’s Mutton Tikka Roomali Roll. Why mess with perfection?
We know you will probably default to your tried and tested samosaguy, but in the event that he’s running from the rain, try Alwar Sweets at Vyapar Kendra for this and other fried-in-a-good-way snacky treats. They open shop only after 4pm, when they start a fresh batch of cooking for the day. So we’ll see you there at 4.07pm then?
We scratched our heads trying to work out what the official name of this place was, but we figured this parantha joint known by any other name would be just as sweet. Aloo, gobi, aloo gobi {if you’re living on the edge} are among the staples. With a dollop of butter and pachranga pickle, it’s anytime goodness.
Where: Just before Park Plaza hotel, if you’re heading towards Regency Park-I, Gurgaon
Evergreen Sweets got a hygiene makeover, so you can be sure of sanitary cooking conditions. Besides their exhaustive range of mithais, namkeens, cookies and chocolate, somewhere between the giant wedding packages’ display, they have a stellar vegetarian Indian, Chinese and Street Food menu. The Chinese will set you back a little over 200 rupees, but we can safely say its worth it. We recommend staying away from the street food, as ironic as this sounds; the sterilized conditions have taken away from the flavour we’ve all come to love.
Another pure vegetarian restaurant down the road from Evergreen, they nail their gol gappas and deserve a special shout out for their pav bhaji. Also, since it is a South Indian joint, they retail traditional South Indian spices and masalas, because who doesn’t love to shop while they eat.
The crew behind Mamagoto gave us a present; a taste of their food in under 200 rupees. The oriental starters, soups and salads are all under the 200 price bracket, but if you have your eye on a non vegetarian variant, add another 150. We’re being pushy about ordering the Chowman’s Khow Suey.
By every stretch or inflexible move of the imagination, this is a quintessential dhaba. The rajma chawal and paneer stuffed kulchas almost distract from the lack of air-conditioning. Almost. Ask for seating indoors. Picking up a snack? Ain’t nothing like their butter toast.
Closest we come to the food truck concept, Hawkers has our vote for the best Indian Chinese food in the city. The momos {especially the sauce} and the chilly garlic noodles have more oil than the Middle East, but hit the spot every time. What works is the ability to place this order from the luxury of your car, but we suggest eating it elsewhere; the smell will knock your co-passengers out.
A hole in the wall in the middle of New Friends Colony, we advise you stick to their Shawarmas; probably one of the best in the city.
Shakes, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, fries and ice-cream sundaes, no one organically evokes #throwback quite like Kent’s Fast Food. A ham and cheese sandwich accompanied by a cold coffee for the win!
They use the word dhaba for posterity, because it looks nothing like one. Their galoutis, tawa mutton and mutton curry will give you something to write home about and if you live here, then just put it on Facebook. Fair warning: it’s always crowded, so you might have to come to terms with not scoring a table, but there’s always home delivery.
You’ve probably seen it on one of your many Meherchand Market exploits; they’re the ones with all the Skewers at the entrance. MI serves up a mix of Indian and Chinese fare, but we suggest sticking with the Indian. There’s limited outdoor seating and no delivery; bookmark them for massive takeaway orders.
Also have a look at our South Indian Food Trail for more options.
Also have a look at our Student Food Trail fr more options.