Prateek Tanmay
4 min readNew DelhiJun 13, 2026 09:59 AM IST
Glowing neon signs of the rooftop cafes and restaurants are not lighting up the streets of Humayunpur in South Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave anymore. Food buffs, who frequent the area, miss the nightlife and flavours from North Eastern states, Nepal and Tibet, which many popular restaurants offer here. Among the Capital’s major food hubs, Humanyupur this week witnessed a crackdown from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) with notices on violations pasted outside more than 20 restaurants. The action followed a major fire last week at a bread and breakfast facility in Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar, which killed 23 people, including 14 foreign nationals.
As a majority of popular eating outlets in Humanypur continued to have their shutters down on Friday, the staff working at the restaurant expressed concern about an uncertain future. Among the popular outlets, which are closed in the area, are Chak-Khum, Tuoi Moi Eats, Soul Plate, Lha Kitchen, Haomee Cafe, the Roof Eatery, and Pema’s.
On June 9, according to restaurant owners, MCD officials pasted sealing notices outside their premises. “…Total violation of permissible/sanctioned use of the said property… against the Master Plan-2021/ Zonal Plan/ Sanctioned plan and amounts to misuse of premises under reference,” read the notices. This pertains to ‘mixed use regulations’ in the Delhi Master Plan 2021, which has set guidelines for commercial activities within residential areas. The properties have been found to be allegedly violating the guidelines, according to the notices.
Staff members claimed that this is the first time that they have faced such a situation. Amugha (28), from Nagaland, is working a part-time job at the Boba Tea shop in the area currently. He has been in Humayunpur for three months and was working at a rooftop dining cafe till earlier this week, until the shutter went down earlier this week. “We got no prior warning. The fire happened in Malviya Nagar, so we had to shut down. That’s what the boss told us. I am helping out here at the Boba for now. But I am hopeful that the restaurant will open up soon, and I can go back to work,” he said.
Lha Kitchen, a popular outlet offering Himalayan cuisine, was among the handful of restaurants that opened on Friday. The MCD notice is still pasted outside the shop. The staff said they are unsure of the rules that have been violated.
A majority of these establishments are on rooftops or in the basement. An employee at a well-known Manipuri Cuisine restaurant claimed that some restaurants have opened with the permission of building owners and “due to good relations”. According to him, restaurants operating out of rooftops and basements are mainly targeted and surveilled by the authorities due to the possibility of more violations.
The Indian Express reached out to the South MCD office to get the total number of restaurants which have received such notices but could not get a response.
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Much like Hauz Rani, Humayunpur is a densely-packed residential and market area, which consists of narrow alleyways, tangled overhead wires and buildings extremely close to each other.
The crackdown on illegal constructions by the Delhi government, which began on June 5, still continues across the city with MCD issuing show-cause, sealing notices and demolition orders.
Residents and visitors of Humayunpur are optimistic that the nightlife will return to the area that has fallen into a deep slumber.
