Ananda

One of the best views in rishikesh. Good staff (not all places have a good staff around here). Bookshelf with books you can lend while sitting there. Good food. The music from the bridge-"plaza" below is annoying. Two competing sales boots both play the same video (one song!) over and over the whole day! I brought my ipod last time. You can also bring an interesting friend...

I stayed at the Jaipur Inn for a month and usually had at least one meal per day at Ananda, which was right down the hall from my room. The food was good (not great except for the palak paneer) and I never got sick from anything I had there. The waiters are friendly and competent, so I felt the nice service deserved a tip. A little on the expensive side compared to the other restaurants in the area serving western-style food but it was a safe haven for my delicate stomach.

Our friends liked this place, but I did not... the night my husband and I dined there, we had to wait about 1 hour for our meal. My order of Chinese-style stir fry noodles was too salty and tangy (not at all Chinese), but my husband's rice pulao (rice & vegetables) was aromatic and tasty. But in the end we both had diarrea the next morning. I did not go back again, but other friends have and were okay.