Rooftop restaurants inside Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan || An opportunity to enjoy food with amazing views of the fort and the city around

When we travelled to Jaisalmer, we had debated quite a bit about where to stay. Staying within the walls of the living Golden Fort was one of the options. But we chose to stay outside. The various considerations and the reason behind the decision are documented in Why we chose to stay outside the Jaisalmer Fort.

But at the same time, we wanted to explore the Fort well because it sounded really interesting. Imagine an entire city still living within an old fort. And we had also heard about some rooftop restaurants in the Fort premises that offered excellent view and a good experience. So we wanted to try one of those restaurants. 

During our exploration of the fort, we asked several people for a recommendation of the restaurant. One valuable information that we got from these queries was that there is a Brahmin and a Rajput part of the fort. While in the Brahmin section, you cannot find any restaurant serving non-vegetarian food, in the Rajput section, that lies near the Rani Mahal area, you may find some good non-vegetarian option too.  

While we hadn't decided whether we wanted to have non-vegetarian food or not by then, we definitely wanted to keep the option open. So we decided to head towards the Rajput part of the Fort. We got several recommendations for The Mand, so after checking out some restaurants, we decided to head toward that.

The restaurant is in a four-story building with seating on 3rd and 4th Floor. We headed to the top because we wanted to enjoy the roof-top experience. However on our way, we crossed some really good quirky and at times rustic decor. The colors turquoise and yellow were used in abundance and that really brightened the interiors. 

And there was also a pot in which Madhumalati had been planted and it seemed to be doing well. It was climbing one of the pillars and this sight made me happy. I was imagining how the place will look once the vine starts sending out its pink and white fragrant blooms. But it seemed to be quite a distance from that for now. 

There was also a painting of Dapu Khan on the walls. Dapu Khan was a Rajasthani Folk Singer and one of the very few players of the Kamaicha, the oldest bowed instrument in the world. Dapu Khan used to perform in the Jaisalmer Fort until his death on March 13, 2021 at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack.

We were the only people eating at the restaurant at that time. Tourism was still recovering post covid and not many foreign tourists were around. We were wondering if the vibe of the place is any different in "normal" times. At this time, it looked sad. The views of the fort from the restaurant are great though and the candles that the staff lights on the table add to the feel substantially.  

We ordered Garlic Naan with Chicken Curry. While the Curry was okay, the Naan wasn't naan at all. It was some weird roti. Also, the restaurant only had strong beer and that too not chilled. And the booze was expensive. 

Not sure why this happened, because online reviews of the restaurant are pretty good. Anyhow, slightly disappointed with the food, we left the rooftop restaurant. 

We also explored some other restaurants (though we did not eat there) and saw that many of them offered really good views of the city and the faraway dunes as well. One of them was the Shanti the Peace Restaurant. 

Their setting was much humbler than that of the Mand, but their view was good. The owner mentioned to us that the food there is cooked by his wife so is truly homecooked. They also served non-vegetarian food. We did not try food at this place so cannot comment about it but the hospitality seemed commendable. 

There are many options when it comes to rooftop restaurants in Jaisalmer. Make sure you are going there with some time on your hands so that you can actually enjoy the view and feel. Do not go there in a hurry. If you are in a hurry, there are many other good restaurants around that might be cheaper and the food might be better.