Best Restaurants in Dehradun: Where to Eat, From Local Thalis to Rooftops
Beyond the cafés and street carts, Dehradun has a proper dining scene: old-school institutions, buzzy rooftops and brewpubs. Here's where to eat, sorted by craving.
Sanchit · Starfish Homestays · 25 June 2026 · Updated 25 August 2026 · 2 min read
In short
Dehradun's dining scene runs from old-school thali institutions and Garhwali kitchens serving pahari specialities to rooftop gastropubs, brewpubs and the bakery institutions that predate them all. Most of it sits along the Rajpur Road belt, with the honest local plates hiding in the bazaar lanes.
Dehradun eats well. Between the cafés and the street-food carts sits a full-blown restaurant scene: decades-old institutions in the bazaar, glossy rooftops on Rajpur Road, craft breweries, and quiet spots doing proper Garhwali food. Rather than a rankings list that goes stale, here's how to eat your way through the Doon valley by mood and craving, and we'll always send you the current favourite on WhatsApp.
For a proper local thali
The most satisfying, best-value meal in Dehradun is a home-style North Indian thali: dal, a seasonal sabzi, rajma or chole, rice, hot rotis and a sweet, all on one steel plate. You'll find these in the lanes around Paltan Bazaar and near the Clock Tower, where old-school dhabas and family restaurants have been feeding Doon for generations. Cheap, filling, and the truest taste of the city.
The everyday hero of Dehradun dining: a fresh, home-style veg thali.
For Garhwali & Pahari flavours
Don't leave without trying the hills' own cooking: Garhwali specialities like kafuli (a green spinach-and-fenugreek curry), phaanu, chainsoo (roasted black-gram dal), jhangora (barnyard millet) and bhang-ki-chutney. A handful of restaurants around town now do a dedicated Pahari thali. Ask us who's doing it best the week you visit, because these menus rotate with the season.
Flaky, ghee-rich parathas, breakfast of champions across the Doon.
For rooftops, multi-cuisine & a night out
For a proper dinner out, Rajpur Road is the strip: rooftop restaurants, multi-cuisine dining, North Indian and Mughlai, plus Chinese, continental and pan-Asian. This is also Dehradun's brewpub belt, where a growing clutch of microbreweries pour fresh craft beer alongside sizzlers, pizzas and live music at weekends. It's where the city goes to celebrate. Pair it with our nightlife guide for bars and lounges nearby.
For bakeries, sweets & old institutions
Dehradun has a serious sweet tooth and a British-era bakery culture. Track down the city's legendary bakeries and sweet shops for fresh bread, plum cake, bal mithai, singori (mithai wrapped in a leaf) and Dehradun's famous chocolates and cashew fudge. They make perfect gifts to carry home, and a mid-afternoon sugar hit between sightseeing.
Eat in, some nights
One of the quiet joys of a homestay over a hotel is that some evenings you'll want to cook. Grab vegetables and hill fruit from the local market and eat in on your own balcony. Every Starfish home has a full kitchen for exactly that. Between the markets, the thalis and the rooftops, you'll never eat the same meal twice in Dehradun.
Quick answers
What food is Dehradun known for in restaurants?
Look for the Garhwali and pahari plates (aloo ke gutke, kaladi cheese, jhangora kheer) alongside the north Indian thali institutions, Tibetan kitchens, and a newer wave of rooftop gastropubs and brewpubs on and around Rajpur Road.
Which area of Dehradun has the best restaurants?
The Rajpur Road belt is the dining spine, from old institutions near the centre to rooftops and brewpubs further up. Paltan Bazaar's lanes hold the legendary cheap eats, and our restaurant guide sorts the whole scene by craving.
Are Dehradun restaurants family-friendly?
Very. Thali houses and garden restaurants suit multi-generation tables, and most Rajpur Road places are relaxed about kids at dinner. For a family group with a kitchen of your own to fall back on, a whole-home stay makes eating out a choice rather than a necessity.
Written by Sanchit, founder & host at Starfish Homestays
Sanchit lives in Dehradun and runs all six Starfish homes. Every guide in The Doon Journal comes from hosting real guests in the valley and answering their questions on WhatsApp, week after week.
Coming to Dehradun?
Stay with the people who wrote this guide: six hand-styled homestays in Dehradun across Canal Road, Rajpur Road and the Mussoorie climb.
· 25 June 2026 · Updated 25 August 2026 · 2 min read
