best kebabs in delhi (2026) - honest rankings

tldr: delhi’s real kebab map is three clusters. jama masjid for seekh - qureshi kabab corner (rs 400 for two), abdul ghani qureshi (rs 200 for two), babu bhai kebab wale (rs 300 for two). nizamuddin for shami at ghalib kabab corner (mutton seekh rs 210 for four, shami rs 120 for two). and south delhi’s after-dark meat shops - janta meat depot (rs 300 for two), mutton mahal (rs 500 for two). khan chacha is the skip.

delhi is a kebab city in a way it is not a biryani city. the argument is simple: the kebab is what survived the mughal kitchen intact into working-class street cooking, and delhi has at least four distinct living traditions of it running at once. the old delhi seekh - minced buff or mutton moulded onto a skewer over charcoal, served with sliced onion, chutney and a splash of melted butter against roomali roti. the lucknowi kakori, finer-ground and far softer, which travelled here with awadhi cooks and now lives in chanakyapuri and khan market. the shami, a flat dal-bound patty, which nizamuddin does better than anyone. and the newest one, which nobody writes about properly: the south delhi butcher-shop kebab, where a meat depot in kailash colony or gk-1 fires up a grill after sunset and sells seekh at a third of restaurant prices.

that last category is the actual insight in this guide. the best rupee-for-rupee kebabs in delhi are not in old delhi and not in restaurants - they are at butcheries that only grill after dark, which is why they almost never appear on aggregator lists.

a note on money. every figure here comes from recent published listings and roundups - timeout, zomato, swiggy, magicpin, district and food blogs. indian food prices online age badly, and some of the per-piece street figures (rs 30 for a seekh kebab, rs 120 for a full plate of chicken kebab at aslam) come from older listings that are almost certainly out of date. counter prices have crept up. treat these as the right bracket.

and to be straight: nobody from this site has eaten at these places. the verdicts are composites of published reviews, cross-checked where sources disagreed, and the x/10 numbers are composites of what reviewers reported rather than anyone’s personal score. for the neighbouring categories see best mughlai restaurants in delhi, best biryani in delhi and best butter chicken in delhi.

the awards

• best overall: ghalib kabab corner, nizamuddin - shami kebab from minced goat, rs 400 for two, 4.0 from roughly 6,367 ratings
• best old delhi seekh: qureshi kabab corner, opposite gate 1 jama masjid - 4.5 dining on zomato from about 1,452 ratings
• best cheap plate: abdul ghani qureshi kabab corner, jama masjid - about rs 200 for two, per timeout
• best kakori: alkakori alkauser, chanakyapuri - mutton kakori and galouti with varqi paratha, rs 1,000 for two
• best after-dark find: janta meat depot, kailash colony - butchery by day, chicken seekh and mutton kakori after sunset, rs 300 for two
• best galouti: swagath, defence colony market - mutton galouti and mutton burrah, rs 1,600 for two
• best hard-to-find: babu bhai kebab wale, jama masjid - rs 300 for two, and small enough that two steps the wrong way and you miss it
• best tandoori chicken instead of kebab: aslam chicken, 540 bazaar matia mahal - about rs 500 for two
• most overrated: khan chacha - published criticism says it lost quality after expansion, the offerings are quite ordinary, and it runs on reputation

the full list

ghalib kabab corner, nizamuddin

what to order: mutton shami kebab, listed at about rs 120 for two pieces. mutton seekh kabab at rs 210 for four. chicken seekh kabab malai at rs 250 for four. buff tikka at rs 100 for sixteen pieces, which is the single most absurd value figure on this page. reviewers’ own order lists run mutton tikka, mutton seekh, chicken tikka and sheermal, finishing with phirni or shahi tukda.

what reviewers say: named after the urdu poet, running roughly 45 to 60 years depending on the source, at shop 57 ghalib road near lal mahal, behind the hazrat nizamuddin dargah, roughly noon or 1 pm to 1 am. rated 4.0 from about 6,367 ratings. the shami kebab - minced goat bound with spices - is what the place is known for, and it also serves nihari and biryani late. it is halal, and it serves beef, which reviewers note matters if you are struggling to find decent buffalo in delhi.

honest caveat: reviewers are candid that the curries are good but nothing special, so build the order around grilled items. seating is basic - a narrow lane with outdoor benches, no big tables, no comfort. the lane behind the dargah is genuinely hard to find the first time. the upside, which reviewers repeat, is that it delivers old delhi quality without old delhi crowds or traffic.

qureshi kabab corner, jama masjid

what to order: mutton seekh and buff seekh, charcoal grilled. older street listings put a seekh kebab at around rs 30 and a chicken seekh kebab roll at rs 45, which should now be read as a floor rather than a current price.

what reviewers say: rated 4.5 for dining on zomato from roughly 1,452 ratings, which is the highest aggregate of any old delhi kebab counter here. generations of kebab-making are the pitch, and published write-ups treat the charcoal-grilled mutton seekh and chicken tikka as the old delhi benchmark. listed at about rs 400 for two, open roughly 5 pm to 12:30 am. the address is given variously as opposite gate 1 of jama masjid, gali kababian, and urdu bazar.

honest caveat: it is a hole in the wall, the hours mean it is a dinner-only proposition, and the matia mahal stretch outside is dense enough that published guides warn about pickpockets. there are multiple shops in the area using the qureshi name - the khan market branch is a separate, pricier thing at about rs 450 for two.

abdul ghani qureshi kabab corner and babu bhai kebab wale

these are the two cheapest serious kebabs in delhi on published evidence. abdul ghani qureshi near jama masjid serves chicken, mutton or buff seekh with sliced onions, chutneys and a splash of melted butter, best with roomali roti, at about rs 200 for two per timeout - there is also a khan market branch at about rs 450 for two, open 11 am to 11 pm near khan market metro gate 4 on humayun road. babu bhai kebab wale does buff seekh and mutton seekh at about rs 300 for two, and timeout’s warning is the useful detail: the place is so tiny that a step or two in the wrong direction and you would walk by it entirely.

honest caveat for both: buff is the default and the cheapest item at these counters. if that is not something you eat, the mutton versions cost meaningfully more and the price advantage narrows.

alkakori alkauser, chanakyapuri

what to order: mutton kakori kebabs, galouti kebabs, varqi paratha. about rs 1,000 for two.

what reviewers say: the shop claims century-old recipes, and it is the name published roundups reach for when the question is kakori specifically rather than seekh. the related al kauser at vasant place market, rk puram is one of delhi’s oldest mughlai establishments at about rs 1,200 for two, doing kakori kebabs alongside biryani, sheermal and phirni with indoor and outdoor seating.

honest caveat: rs 1,000 for two is five times abdul ghani qureshi. the kakori is a genuinely different and more delicate thing than a street seekh, but the gap is technique and grind, not quality of meat, and reviewers do not claim it is five times better. the century-old-recipes claim is the shop’s own.

the after-dark meat shops

this is the tier worth knowing about. janta meat depot in kailash colony is a butchery by day that grills chicken seekh, mutton kakori and chicken kalmi kebabs only after sunset, at about rs 300 for two. mutton mahal shahi kebab in greater kailash 1 does the same thing - butchery by day, then seekh kebabs, mutton burrahs and peshawari chicken tikkas at about rs 500 for two. aap ki khatir in safdarjung development area does mutton kakori at about rs 600 for two, and timeout describes it plainly as an unlicensed establishment operating after sunset.

what reviewers say: the logic is obvious once stated - the shop already has the meat, the staff and the cold chain, so the kebab is a margin business on inventory rather than a restaurant with rent. that is why rs 300 buys what rs 1,000 buys in khan market.

honest caveat: no seating, no hours you can rely on, no recourse if the grill does not fire that night, and in at least one case no licence. these are not places to plan an evening around - they are places to go to when you are nearby after 8 pm.

the sit-down tier

swagath in defence colony market is the galouti pick at about rs 1,600 for two, with mutton galouti kebab, bhatti ka murgh and mutton burrah named repeatedly. al qureshi’s at narmada shopping complex, gk-2 is a rooftop setup at about rs 1,000 for two doing chicken seekh kebabs, chicken wings, chicken malai tikka and mutton seekh. pindi in pandara road market is a seven-decade establishment with three branches, about rs 1,850 for two, where mutton seekh kebab and rara mutton are the orders. gulati on pandara road rates 4.3 and published rankings specifically describe it as specialising in kebabs. azam’s mughlai in khan market does mutton kakori kebab rolls in roomali roti at about rs 500 for two - and timeout’s description is worth quoting as a warning: no tables, no chairs, no social media presence, no upi payments. kikli in connaught place is the expensive outlier at about rs 2,000 for two, doing chapli kebab, mutton seekh and a pataka chicken dhaga roll.

aslam chicken, matia mahal

what to order: the buttered tandoori chicken, not a kebab in the strict sense. listed variously at about rs 500 for two and rs 250-400 a plate; older listings put a full plate of chicken kebab at around rs 120.

what reviewers say: the draw is tandoori chicken drenched in a butter-and-cream glaze, and published guides call it a social media sensation and warn to expect a queue. address is 540, bazaar matia mahal, also cited as opposite gate 1 of jama masjid.

honest caveat: this is a butter dish with chicken in it. the quality of the grilling is not what is being judged, and if you came to old delhi for charcoal-grilled minced-meat kebabs, qureshi four doors away is the more honest version of what you wanted. the queue is real and the glaze is extremely rich - one plate between two.

the ones to skip

khan chacha is the clearest call. published criticism is that it lost quality after expansion, that the offerings are quite ordinary, and that it relies on past reputation rather than current merit. it is the default answer when someone asks a tourist where to get kebab rolls in delhi, and on current published evidence it should not be.

karim’s is a more nuanced case. the kebabs are the good part - aggregated reviews name kebabs and butter chicken as the standouts while panning the biryani, and shami kebab, mutton korma and shahjahani korma come up as flavourful. but the overall picture is split rather than glowing. critics call it overhyped on historical claims, servers hassled and slow, and one review flagged hygiene including rats on the floor. another called it overrated and overpriced. the branch outlets draw noticeably worse reviews for high prices, small servings and declining quality versus the jama masjid original, with one review alleging nihari that was old and microwaved. go to the original, order the shami kebab and mutton seekh, and do not expect the legend.

tips

• carry cash in small notes. azam’s in khan market takes no upi at all per timeout, and the jama masjid counters and south delhi meat-shop grills are cash-first.
• the old delhi kebab window is evening. qureshi kabab corner runs roughly 5 pm to 12:30 am, and the whole matia mahal and gali kababian stretch is a dinner proposition rather than a lunch one.
• the south delhi butcher kebabs - janta meat depot, mutton mahal - do not exist before sunset. do not turn up at 5 pm expecting a grill.
• buff is the cheap default at jama masjid. if you eat it, abdul ghani qureshi at about rs 200 for two and ghalib’s rs 100-for-sixteen buff tikka are the two best-value orders in the city.
• skip the curries at the street counters. ghalib’s reviewers say the gravies are good but nothing special, and the same pattern shows up at most kebab-first shops - order grilled, eat with sheermal or roomali roti.
• one plate between two at aslam chicken. the butter glaze is extremely heavy and reviewers consistently underestimate it.
• nizamuddin is the crowd-free alternative to old delhi. reviewers specifically recommend ghalib kabab corner as the way to get jama masjid quality without jama masjid traffic.
• watch your pockets on matia mahal. published guides flag pickpocketing on the crowded main street outside jama masjid, and the original karim’s alley is easy to miss entirely.

related delhi guides

• best mughlai restaurants in delhi
• best biryani in delhi
• chandni chowk food guide
• best restaurants in lajpat nagar delhi
• best butter chicken in delhi
• best street food in daryaganj delhi
• best nonveg food in north delhi
• best dhabas in delhi