Food guide
Prayagraj eats early and eats on the street. Breakfast is fried, evenings are for chaat, and the winter belongs to guava and sweets. This guide covers the dishes and the lanes rather than individual prices.
Kachori with sabzi
The classic Prayagraj breakfast — a fried kachori with a thin, peppery potato curry, usually eaten standing up before 10am.
Chaat
Aloo tikki, palak patta chaat and dahi-based chaat are city staples, strongest in the old-city lanes in the evening.
Lassi and thandai
Thick sweet lassi in summer; thandai around Holi and the Mela season.
Allahabadi amrood (guava)
The region's guava is genuinely famous and is in season roughly through the winter months.
Namkeen and sweets
Long-standing shops around Katra and Chowk sell namkeen, pedas and winter sweets like gajak and rewri.
Puri-sabzi and thali meals
Simple vegetarian thalis are easy to find near the railway station, Civil Lines and the university area.
Area
Katra
Student-heavy market near Allahabad University. Kachori, chaat, namkeen, sweets and small eateries, busiest in the evening.
Area
Loknath lane (Chowk)
A narrow old-city lane known for chaat, kachori and sweets. Best on foot — vehicles cannot enter comfortably.
Area
Civil Lines
The newer part of the city: cafés, bakeries, restaurants and chain outlets, along with street carts in the evening.
Area
Chowk and Johnstonganj
Traditional bazaar food, mostly vegetarian, and older sweet shops.
We deliberately do not list shop names, opening hours or prices yet. Those change often and we would rather confirm each one before publishing it.
Through Magh Mela and Kumbh the fair area runs its own food arrangements, including free community kitchens run by akharas and organisations. Alcohol and meat are not appropriate in the fair area.