Taste
Guide de Cuisine de Rue
Varanasi's street food is ancient, specific, and extraordinary. These dishes exist nowhere else on earth in quite this form.
Must-try dishes are marked with a star
These are the dishes that define Banarasi food culture. Don't leave without them.
Kachori Sabzi
The definitive Banarasi breakfast. Crispy fried kachoris with spiced potato sabzi and jalebi on the side.
📍 Where: Kashi Chaat Bhandar, Ram Bhandar, Deena Chat
⏰ Timing: 5:30 – 11 AM (closes when sold out)
💰 Price: ₹30–60
Tamatar Chaat
A uniquely Banarasi dish — tangy tomato gravy with crispy puri and an explosion of spices. Nothing like it anywhere else.
📍 Where: Kashi Chaat Bhandar (Godaulia), Deena Chat Bhandar
⏰ Timing: 11 AM – 8 PM
💰 Price: ₹40–80
Banarasi Paan
The iconic betel leaf preparation that ends every Banarasi meal. The meetha paan (sweet pan) is a revelation.
📍 Where: Godaulia Chowk, all major intersections
⏰ Timing: All day, most active after meals
💰 Price: ₹10–200
Thandai
A cooling spiced milk drink with almonds, pistachios, fennel and rose. Available plain or with bhang (cannabis) during Holi.
📍 Where: Thandai shops near Assi Ghat and Dashashwamedh
⏰ Timing: 10 AM – 10 PM
💰 Price: ₹50–150
Malaiyyo
Winter-only foam dessert made from whipped milk and saffron. So light it melts before you can finish it. Only Nov–Feb.
📍 Where: Godaulia, Thatheri Bazaar — look for vendors with clay pots
⏰ Timing: 6–10 AM only, Nov–Feb
💰 Price: ₹30–60
Litti Chokha
Baked wheat balls (litti) with roasted eggplant mash (chokha). An earthy, smoky dish from Bihar that Varanasi has adopted.
📍 Where: Railway station area, Sigra, evening street stalls
⏰ Timing: Evening, 5 PM onwards
💰 Price: ₹40–80
Banarasi Chaat
A category of its own — papdi chaat, dahi puri, and aloo tikki with a distinctly Banarasi tamarind and green chutney combination.
📍 Where: Blue Lassi shop area, Kashi Chaat Bhandar
⏰ Timing: 11 AM – 9 PM
💰 Price: ₹30–80
Blue Lassi
Legendary yogurt-based drink at the famous Blue Lassi Shop — a tiny, Instagram-famous stall in operation since 1925. 70+ flavours.
📍 Where: Blue Lassi Shop, Kachori Gali near Vishwanath Gali
⏰ Timing: 8 AM – 8 PM
💰 Price: ₹60–150