Midnight diners: what chefs eat after work

Late nights are a daily affair for chefs, and when they clock out, they hunger for kebabs, Indian-Chinese and tall glasses of 'doodhcola'

- Jahnabee Borah

Late-night shifts are part of the fabric of a chef's life. Dinner service ends by 11.30pm, and the kitchen teams wrap up after midnight. Then, they take a breather, and hunger creeps in—some make a quick meal, others head home, and a few order in or go out for a bite. In that sense, chefs know the most popular, pocket-friendly and under-the-radar late-night food haunts in their cities.

Chef Vicky Ratnani will be opening a global restaurant, Omny, in Delhi later this month. One of his favourite midnight foods is the kurkure (crunchy) chicken shawarma at Bhai Ji Shawarma, a 24/7 dhaba in Gurugram. The "Kurkure" section features shawarmas stuffed with crispy strips of paneer and chaap (soya). Some nights he visits Al-Jawahar at Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. It's an old, family-style restaurant specialising in Mughlai food. "They are famous for khameeri rotis which can be paired with any of their salans. My favourites are the mutton korma and the spicy chicken achaar biryani," he says.

In Delhi and Mumbai, areas near railway and Metro stations double as late-night food hot spots, especially since there are crowds of people through the day and night. Hawkers and eateries selling everything from dosas, parathas and biryanis to sandwiches and piping hot chai are the most popular.