I thought Agra was all about Mughal monuments. That’s what I had noticed during my past two visits to Agra where I visited the Taj Mahal twice and Agra Fort once. Though in every city, you will find streets filled with the aroma of delicious cuisines. You go to Old Delhi and you will see it. It’s not new. But there are a few places which are iconic and which are only known for their lip-smacking street food options. Never have I known that I would find something like this in Agra. A lot of people asked me to visit Sheoroes at least once which I missed during my last visit. Food is a part of the culture of any place and gives it a unique identity. I have been living around Delhi for over a decade and I am familiar with some of such places which are an integral part of Delhi’s culture. When my friend, Anupam, decided to do an Agra food tour with me, he planned out all the iconic food joints of Agra, and on the other side; I planned the historic places to visit in Agra.
It was the first time that I was visiting any place, especially for food. As I mentioned earlier, I have visited Agra twice but I never got to visit the eateries of Agra which make it special. I had only thought Agra was just all about monuments. I never thought that this city has a lot more to offer to a traveler like me, other than just ancient sites, yes that’s something I can’t ignore too. So, this Agra food tour was well-planned. All thanks to Anupam, who planned everything from train tickets to hotel bookings and he even planned the places we would visit on our Agra food tour. Had I been all by myself, I would have literally done an unplanned journey and I would have done it differently.
Well, since I was traveling with a friend, things went different this time. But we did have a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves a lot. Yeah, planned trips with friends too can be fun though I am more into solo traveling. So, everything was planned and we took a train from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station. It was two days journey to Agra thus; we planned our visits to food joints accordingly.
Day 1
A Journey to taste Agra’s lip-smacking foods – Agra Food Tour
We boarded the train from Nizamuddin railway station and reached Agra on time. However, when we reached Agra and booked an auto, we got stuck in traffic and spent around an hour or so in the traffic. We were told that the Vietnamese Prime Minister had come to visit the Taj Mahal and for him, the roads were blocked. This wasn’t a good start of our Agra food tour but it was what it was. While we were sitting in the auto-rickshaw, waiting for the traffic to get smoother, we had a good conversation with the driver. Anupam had planned the food tour of Agra and has made a list of the food joints, restaurants, cafes, etc. which we were supposed to visit on our food walk.
It was his idea to start the tour with the first place on the list rather than going to the restaurant straight from the railway station. So, we started with breakfast. This food joint of Agra was on our way so we at first stopped there and tried the things for which this place was known.
Read Here – How to plan one day trip to Agra from Delhi?
Breakfast at Devi Ram Sweets – First place in our list of Agra Food Tour
Devi Ram Sweets is one of the most famous food joints in Agra. The place is known for its legacy of years and its brand value among the people of Agra. Devi Ram Sweets owns big sweet shops, restaurants, etc. in the city and is a well-known name. The one we visited is located on Mahatma Gandhi Road. The place often remains crowded. We started our Agra food tour by having breakfast there at Devi Ram Sweets. We tried the famous Dahi Kachori and lassi for which this place is usually recommended. And yes, we had to wait since it had a huge crowd waiting for their orders. We saw kachori being prepared in a big pan and lassi being prepared from curd. The sun was shining to its glory and the chilled Kullhad (earthen pot) of lassi was a great relief.
Deviram Sweets
Lunch at Sheroes Hangout – Second place in our list of Agra Food Tour
After breakfast at Devi Ram Sweets, we headed to the hotel which Anupam had booked online. We checked in, took shower, some rest, and started our Agra food journey to visit the second place on the list. I was asked by many people to visit Sheroes Hangout and this time I did it. We both headed to Sheroes Hangout Agra for lunch. This café is managed and run by acid attack survivors and that makes it a unique place to visit. Dedicated to these survivors, the café had a ‘pay what you want’ theme earlier where the menu didn’t have any price list. We tried noodles and pasta here at lunch. The café runs a documentary which showcases the life of these survivors.
Sheroes Hangout Café
After this, we headed to Agra Fort, which was my recommendation. We booked a cab and reached the massive fort of Agra. After spending some two hours there, we headed to our next destination of Agra food tour which is perhaps the most iconic street food place of Agra.
Jahangir Palace at Agra Fort
Evening Snacking at Chaat Gali Agra – Third place in our Agra Food Tour list
Agra’s Chaat Gali is a heaven for street food lovers. Full of street food eateries, this place in Sadar Bazar Agra is something you shouldn’t miss when you are in the city. By the time it is evening, the place gets crowded with locals and visitors and remains full of hustle-bustle till the night. I tasted lots of street foods and desserts such as pani puri, aloo chaat, chuski, faluda kulfi, etc. A must-visit street food place in Agra, Chaat Gali has lots of options from street, food, desserts, vegetarian, non-vegetarians, etc.
Aloo Tikki – Chaat Gali
After this, we decided to go back to the hotel. It was getting dark. Thus, we booked a cab and reached the hotel. After resting for a while, we moved out for dinner. Anupam hadn’t planned any place specifically for dinner. So, we just checked on Google and roamed around. While we were strolling around, we came across this beautiful looking rooftop restaurant where we went for dinner.
Dinner at Bambino Café and Rooftop Restaurant – Fourth place on our Agra Food Tour list
The rooftop restaurant & cafe of Bambino was well designed and decorated with lights and lots of other kinds of stuff. This restaurant looked cozy and a nice place for sitting and hanging out with friends. I ordered a veg thali for dinner while he ordered shakshuka with pita. We spent around an hour or so and clicked lots of photographs to document the visit. Actually, the ambiance of this place was very cool and perfect for some Instagram worthy clicks.
Bambino Café and Rooftop Restauant
After dinner, we left the café and we were again on the road. It had started drizzling by the time and felt an urge to have hot coffee in that weather. So, we were just looking for a nice café where we could sit till the rain stopped and have some coffee. And that’s how we found this café by the roadside.
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Late Night Coffee at Good Friend Café – Fifth place on Agra Food Tour list
Good Friend Café had the same vibes as Bambino had. I ordered coffee and Anupam went for tea. There, I tried both hot and cold coffee. We must have spent one more hour sitting and chatting here. This place had rustic look with painted walls and chalet type roof. We could have had coffee at Bambino too but we thought to try some other place to add more to our list. Though we wanted to visit more places but it didn’t happen.
We were done for the day one and had explored some of the most iconic places of Agra every food lover should visit. It was a late night, thus, we reached our hotel and slept.
Day 2
It was the second and last day of our weekend trip to Agra. We visited Agra in the morning. I had heard that the Taj Mahal looks magnificent during sunrise so thus we both went there clicked lots of photos. After this, we came back. Anupam planned our first day of the Agra trip. I was the captain on the second day though Anupam decided breakfast for the second day since food was his forte. Thus, he got one spot on the second day. Well, on the second day, I had my one spot too since we visited Agra Fort so we were square.
A visit to Taj Mahal in the morning
Breakfast at Ram Babu Paratha Bhandar – Sixth place on our Agra Food Tour list
Anupam had planned that we would have breakfast at Ram Babu Paratha Bhandar. Now, this food joint is famous in Agra for its palatable paratha which comes in different types from normal aloo, paneer, to bhujiya, mava, etc. We both ordered aloo and mix veg paratha. The plate comes with lots of side dishes such as three different types of veg curries and pickles to go with. Don’t forget to order lassi which finds a perfect place with paratha.
Ram Babu Paratha Bhandar
After having breakfast, we left for Sikandra to visit Akbar’s Tomb. After visiting Akbar’s Tomb, we headed to Fatehpur Sikri. We had lunch on the way at Govind Plaza which I didn’t like. The food wasn’t tasty and the restaurant had mentioned that it was an AC restaurant but there wasn’t anything.
We spent a lot of time at Fatehpur Sikri and after visiting all the monuments, we came back to Agra. There we bought the famous sweet of Agra, petha from Panchhi Petha. Make sure that not all the Panchhi Petha outlets are original. Anupam knew this and we visited the original one only. I bought packets of petha. Then, we took a bus back to Delhi.
So, this was our Agra Food Tour. Have you been to Agra and visited any of these places mentioned? How was your experience? Do let me know in the comment section below.
