About The Spice Route
The Spice Route at The Imperial Hotel is, quite simply, the most beautiful restaurant room in New Delhi. It took seven years to build — the walls are covered in hand-painted murals executed by artists brought from Kerala, the wood carvings are the work of traditional craftsmen, and the overall effect is one of archaeological treasure rather than designed environment. You feel you have stepped into a palace that existed before the hotel was built around it.
The cuisine traces the ancient spice trading route from Kerala through Southeast Asia, incorporating the flavours of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia — cuisines united by their relationship with spice, coconut, and the sea. Chef Veena Arora, who has helmed this kitchen for decades, brings academic rigour to her research: the Thai and Vietnamese preparations here are as authentic as any in Delhi, executed with the same care as the Keralan specialities that anchor the menu.
The Malabar crab curry is the signature — a preparation that has inspired imitators across the capital without ever being successfully replicated. The Vietnamese pho is similarly canonical, using a broth built over many hours in the traditional manner. The presentation throughout acknowledges the room: dishes arrive in vessels that seem chosen to sit naturally among the murals and carvings that surround them.
The Imperial's heritage — a 1930s colonial-era luxury hotel that has served as a backdrop for diplomatic history and literary gatherings for nearly a century — lends The Spice Route a gravity that modern hotel restaurants cannot manufacture. This is a room with a biography.
Best Occasion Fit
The Spice Route is the answer when you need to make an impression that cannot be forgotten. International clients who have dined across Asia will recognise and respect the depth of culinary research. For first dates, the room creates an atmosphere of transported romance — you are technically in a New Delhi hotel dining room, but the murals transport you to another century and continent entirely. No other restaurant in the capital delivers this quality of environmental storytelling.