Agra Restaurants

OK, by now you see the "only restaurant in Agra" joke. This place is called "ONLY". It was recommended to us by our local host (Mr. Nadeem Khan, see my separate tip concerning Nadeem) in Agra. We asked for a nice local place with good food and excellent food safety standards. He said that Only would make us happy, and that it served Indian food, along with other Asian dishes.

The ride to Only from our hotel (which is out near the East Gate of the Taj) only took about 10 minutes, and that's because of heavy traffic. Only is a pleasant little place with an interesting and simple interior.... the entire ceiling on the inside is made up of heavily lacquered bamboo. We were in Agra during a dry season, and we surmised that Only MIGHT have a little leak problem when the monsoons happen. Confirming our suspicions, we saw a "roped off table" and some strategically placed buckets over in the corner. :)

The food at Only is good and tasty. It's nothing fancy, and it's probably geared a little more to the Anglo-American visitor than the native Agran, meaning that it's not quite as spicy as you'd probably find in some less-tourist-visited spots. Still, there's a nice kick to many of the dishes, and I have to tell you that Only had THE best Butter Chicken that I had on my trip. A perfect sauce with a nice complexity - one of those items that each time you savored it, another of the spices would get your attention. VERY good. As for the tourist label, do consider this... Only is a recommended entry in the Rough Guide to India, 2008. These guys generally have a true disdain for anything they feel is totally tourist, so perhaps Only is a bit more genuine than I may have indicated. Whatever its culinary DNA, I think you'll enjoy your visit.

My daughter had one of the Chinese dishes, and she was pleased. There was one very funny part. Sara wanted an egg roll, and when it came, it was maybe 10 times larger than the sort of egg roll you'd see at a Chinese restaurant in America. It's a good thing that we didn't get her two, I'd say. The photo below shows Sara's giant egg roll.

Only is a good place to go if you'd like to eat somewhere other than your hotel. Good food, friendly service, moderate prices and excellent food safety. Oh yes, one other important thing.... they have a very functional air conditioner.

As I say above, their Butter Chicken was the best I've ever had. Perfect. I'm still thinking about it. Like I say, the sauce was layered in complexity. I think that it's really cool when you can keep getting different sensations and tastes as you eat the same sauce... that's really a mark of very special spicing and blend.

As for drinks, I highly recommend - anywhere in India - to get yourself a cold Kingfisher Beer. Tasty brew indeed.

Dishes are reasonably priced. Most of the main dishes were approximately 150-200 Rs, meaning (at the time) about US$3-$4.

Agra Hotels

Agra Restaurants

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Visiting Agra?

Agra Hotels