11 Food Tour Cities in India Foodies Will Love

4. Lucknow — Awadhi royal food trail

Lucknow’s culinary scene carries the elegance of Nawabi cooking. Food tours here focus on dum pukht biryanis, melt-in-the-mouth kebabs, and kormas that reflect slow-cooking techniques from royal kitchens. A typical tour will visit heritage eateries and local bazaars, and some operators include a demo at a traditional kitchen where chefs explain marination, slow heat, and aroma-building. Evening bazaars come alive with food stalls, making late afternoons a good time to join a guided walk that shows how royal flavors migrated into street dishes. Practical tips: try small pieces of kebab and sip roomali roti with your meal to see how textures pair. Tours often recommend specific, long-standing restaurants that have preserved recipes for decades; TripAdvisor listings can confirm operator reputations. For many travelers, Lucknow blends history and taste in a single plate, and the measured cooking style makes dishes feel layered rather than aggressively spiced.