Ahdoos has been a Srinagar institution since 1918, when it was founded as a hotel and restaurant on Residency Road. The dining room is old-school formal — white tablecloths, attentive service, a menu that has not changed much in decades — and the Kashmiri food here is genuinely good. The rogan josh arrives in a copper bowl with a deep red gravy that has more depth than the versions served in tourist-facing hotel restaurants. The tabak maz (fried ribs) are rich and distinctively spiced.
The restaurant serves both Kashmiri and Mughlai dishes; stick to the Kashmiri side of the menu. The gushtaba — large minced lamb balls cooked in yogurt gravy — is one of the better versions available in a restaurant setting in Srinagar, since it normally appears only at weddings. The hotel above the restaurant is also one of the older properties in the city. Residency Road is the main restaurant strip; Ahdoos is the most established of the options on it and the one least likely to disappoint a first-time visitor to Kashmiri cuisine.