Olive Bar & Kitchen

Olive Bar & Kitchen, often called Olive Qutub after the minaret nearby, has been one of Delhi's favourite places for a long, relaxed lunch or a romantic dinner for more than two decades. It occupies a Mughal-era mansion in Mehrauli that has been converted into an open-air Mediterranean restaurant, and it was rated among the world's best new restaurants by Conde Nast Traveler in 2004.

The setting is a big part of the appeal. White walls enclose a pebbled courtyard with bougainvillea climbing the walls, blue-and-white furniture and a large banyan tree overhead, and a terrace bar sits among the treetops. On a winter afternoon or a warm evening it feels a world away from the traffic outside.

The kitchen is overseen by culinary director Dhruv Oberoi, who began his career here and later trained in Spain with Ferran Adria. The menu of European and Mediterranean dishes changes over time, but recent highlights have included a spiced beetroot and sea buckthorn salad, seaweed and avocado ceviche, a crab and mango tart, sand lobster cooked with Berber spices, and rose-glazed pork belly, alongside homemade pastas and risottos. There are separate cocktail and wine menus, and the bar's signature drinks include the Parisian Bling, made with lavender gin and citrus.

The restaurant is open every day from 12.30pm until 1am, serving lunch, dinner and drinks. Sunday brunch is something of an institution and won the Time Out Food Awards title for best Sunday brunch in India in 2014. Reservations can be made online and are a good idea at weekends and for courtyard tables in the cooler months.

It suits couples, groups of friends and anyone celebrating, and works well after a morning at the Qutub Minar. Prices are mid to high for Delhi. Evenings are livelier and better for the terrace bar, while lunch is the best time to enjoy the courtyard in daylight.

Olive is part of One Style Mile on Kalka Das Marg in Mehrauli, a short drive from the Qutub Minar and Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Taxis and ride-hailing cars are the easiest way to get there and back.