Nisaba

Dishy Delhi

Text: Rupali Dean

Chef Manish Mehrotra doesn’t shout from the rooftops, but his impact is unmistakable. For nearly three decades, his work has shaped how Indian food is cooked, presented and talked about, whether at Indian Accent in Delhi, Bombay and New York, or Comorin in Gurgaon. His food isn’t driven by theatrics or nostalgia, it’s confidently modern, always thoughtful, never overdone. Now, he’s back with Nisaba, at the Humayun’s Tomb Museum complex. This isn’t a reinvention, it’s a quiet evolution.

The menu feels familiar at first, but dig in, and it’s clear every dish carries Mehrotra’s signature layers. Take the Mushroom Chop, it’s humble, until Mushroom Makhani and Mushroom Achar appear, deepening the flavours without overcomplicating things. Butter Chicken, a dish that’s been done to death, feels fresh again with smoked makhani and a punch from achari mirch. Even the Mutton Seekh kebab, paired with blue cheese butter and baked naan, strikes the balance between indulgent and restrained. The drinks are quiet overachievers, balanced, clever and unflinchingly cool. Mocktails lean into tea, botanicals and fermentation, fennel thyme water with lemon grass tonic, chamomile tangled with passion fruit and mint, or Yakult meets oat juice with a banana twist (yes, really, and it works). Cocktails? Just as sharp. Mezcal softens under the spell of strawberry and Assam tea kombucha, tequila gets flirty with pickled pear and chamoy sauce, while gin, banana and green chilli somehow find harmony in the chaos. But here’s the magic, nothing fights for attention, drinks flow with the food, like a well-rehearsed cast. Add a show-stopping sculpture by Dhananjay Singh, and it all clicks. Even the name Nisaba, a Sumerian Goddess of grain and writing, has roots in history but wings for global ease. Nisaba is proof that art, food and intention collide in a most simple and memorable way.

Address: First Floor of the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum,
Sundar Nagar, New Delhi, Delhi 110013
Mob: 0 98109 06091
Meal for two: Approximately Rs. 5000 + taxes, without alcohol