Darbar Fine Indian Cuisine

Food here is like a joke. Most guests are tourists walking by who walk out disappointed. It’s a noisy and small place. Lousy waiter service. Buffet is cold and looks like left over, only few choices, doesn’t look fresh and in fact they all look disgusting. I have no appetite by looking at them. It’s not even worth $ 5. Unless they pay me, I am not walking in there again ever.

I’ve ordered from here twice and twice threw up shortly afterwards. Not sure if it was food poisoning or whether I was just not feeling well. =/
Pros:
Good Price
Good Portions
Seasoned Well
Cons:
Took over an hour for delivery
Food came cold
Naan (which I paid $ 4) was old, stale, cold, and seemed like two leftover broken pieces were thrown together — HUGE disappointment!
The guy that answers the phone could benefit from training — very poor customer service skills

One of my favorite spots in NYC…
I fell in love with Indian cuisine when I had visited India for the first time.
I like it so spicy …
Wonderful chief, nice stuff, fast and delicious — all you need in crazily busy NYC.
Love it and highly recommend.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city when I’m craving indian food. The atmoshere is upscale but not uptight. The staff is very friendly and will make you feel welcome. I usually order veg samosas, mataar paneer (extra spicy) and paratha. It never disappoints. I recently went to Darbar after a long day of work and it totally hit the spot. The owner even noticed my craving for VERY spicy food and brought out some special chiles for me on the side. That was just what I needed. I will definitely be back again and again.

Unclear. As an Indian I feel like I should know more about Indian food. But I didn’t appreciate this place for two reasons: lack of service (given for an Indian restaurant, but being in a location like this, I think they should step up their game), and the dish that we got wasn’t very good at all. Beet balls in some curry — but there were only three balls. Didn’t matta cause neither me NOR my dad wanted to grab the 3^rd one. Odd taste — maybe I just don’t like cooked beets.
I WILL SAY THOUGH, their samosas are FRESH AS CRAP! Honestly, best tasting samosas I’ve ever had (and these, I know like the back of my hand).

The statement that the customer is always right is about as valid as the statement that the lion is the king of the jungle. Both are equally baseless, have been handed down for generations, and are mindlessly parroted despite having no basis in fact or reason. A lion doesn’t even live in a jungle, and is not even the largest or most powerful cat, let alone the most powerful animal. There is no truth to the statement that the customer is always right. When a business states that, it is simply trying to establish goodwill with us as its customers; when a customer states it, he or she is just a worthless cretin with an inflated sense of entitlement.
Some of the negative reviews of restaurants like Darbar are a reflection of how wrong customers can be. When you go to an Indian restaurant and order something that is not traditionally Indian, it is preposterous to complain that it was not authentic. For example, cheese naan is not even a thing in Indian cuisine. If you order it, it’s ludicrous to complain that it was Americanized.
Due to the fact that this Darbar location is close to my office, I have had a few lunches and dinners here. I have always been satisfied with the taste of the food, the portion sizes, and the service. Hence the A-​OK 3 star rating.
The dish that stands out at Darbar, which warrants a repeat visit, and by itself may even bring Darbar to a 4 star experience, is the chicken kali mirch, which is available only on the dinner menu. Cubes of chicken breast are cooked in a creamy sauce that contains a mix of black pepper and a green chili paste. The heat indices of the black pepper and the green chillies combine to cover the various areas of the mouth’s geography, and give this dish an interesting level of spiciness. The all white meat chicken tends to get a little dry, but that’s where the creamy sauce helps to moisten it.
If you do find yourself in the area and find yourself wanting Indian food, try the chicken kali mirch at Darbar. Everything else on the menu is pretty standard and consistent with the other Indian restaurants around town.

Excellent lamb bhuna! Very good chicken tikka masala as well. Service was impeccable. Highly recommend

Food was not the best Indian food and the service was quite mediocre. I went to the buffet too and the food was gross.

We had been here for buffet and half the items on the menu was not there and the remaining half didn’t taste as expected. Most the dishes tasted the same and there was no much variety. The service was really bad as well. We had to wait for 15 minutes to just get the plates as there were no plates available on the buffet table and the waiters didn’t respond well.

We went for the buffet lunch. Decent food but not spicy enough for me. It wasn’t anything special. I personally thought it was overpriced for the quality of the food but they did offer a wide variety. I didn’t like how they left the lids of the buffet open if people left it open.

I eat a lot, and I love food. A 2 stars for me means I will not go back because it is below mediocre… And this place is. I feel like everything tastes the exact same. Literally from one dish to the next it was the same damn flavor. Indian food is about diversity of flavor and this place did not deliver that.
Pros: near grand central.
Cons: read above.
Cheers.

Love the food here but I feel like the 157 E 55^th St location gives larger portions. Either way, great food. As a starter got vegetable and chicken samosas and as an entrée we ordered Chicken Korma, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Eggplant Bhartha. If you check in on Unilocal you get a free order of Naan.

Just returned from fine dining. The Hotel Boutique at Grand Central has this restaurant’s take out menu in the room booklet. We ventured around the corner. The pleasant lady greeted us and asked «upstairs or down?». Since I was confused by the book and movie «Up the Downstair case», I asked what she advised. Upstairs it was and was very cozy.
As my wife is lactose intolerant, she enjoys Indian cuisine as she simply avoids the yogurt. The waiter even went further and brought some roti while I devoured the garlic naan.
My wife’s chicken biryani was made without any dairy products and was even more flavorful than our favorite local haunt back home. I had the shrimp dish which is one of their house specialties. It was most flavorful albeit with a bit of a bite; ergo the refreshingly cool yogurt sauce accompanying the dish.
We were stuffed and disappointed that we weren’t able to take it with us as we were shipping out the next day. Fine atmosphere, gracious obliging service and delicious cuisine. If you’re in the mood for exquisite Indian dining, come here.

I’ve been going here at least once per month for the 11.5 years I’ve been in the neighborhood. This is kind of my «Cheers», where I’m known and treated like a valued customer, if not family. I go to satisfy my cravings for delicious meals I don’t have to cook, but I always get much more. I’ve never had a bad meal here. The Beet Root Malai Kofta is a house specialty that I always introduce when I have guests with me. I also enjoy the Paneer Pasanda, Saag Paneer, Chana Saag, and Tandoori Mixed Vegetables. Friends love the Chicken Tikka Masala and Shrimp Vindaloo. If you’re an Indian Food newbie, go for lunch and try any of the delicious dishes on the lunch buffet.

I usually go to Joy next door when I need an Indian fix for lunch but found the food here to taste much much better. $ 15 for a buffet isn’t cheap but isn’t too bad either for a really good Indian lunch buffet in Manhattan. The chicken tikka masala and goa fish curry I really liked as well as one of their paneer dishes. Nan is served to the table and went well with the meal. Gulab jamun were nice warm and soft just like I like.

Darbar is quietly tucked in Midtown East. I was invited to a dinner party here and unfortunately, the food really fell short of my expectations. I see the high ratings went to lunch buffet, so perhaps dinner was a bad choice to begin with.
Chicken Tikka Masala is my all-​time favorite dish at any Indian restaurant. This British-​Indian fusion dish is usually made with marinated chicken slow-​cooked in a creamy, spiced, and orange sauce. Essentially, tomato is the most apparent taste of all ingredients. I have a very soft spot with this dish and with all the high ratings I see, ordering this dish is a no brainer. The balance of ingredients of the dish was way too off for I tasted too much tomato purée with a strong sour tomato aftertaste. It was really just tomato soup. Not to mention, the chicken came in huge, chunky pieces but was way too dry. I had trouble cutting it.
Mango Lassi is always a safe choice but their version of it was way too thick. It was really hard drinking it from the straw. I thought there was too much yogurt and not much mango.
Service was very attentive and we were very well taken care of. I almost feel bad for giving this place a two-​stars review but I really could did not enjoy the food at all.
I will stick to my Indian spots in Jackson Heights, Queens.

I absolutely love Indian food and have always frequented curry row down in Murray Hill. However, instead of going to my usual spot I decided to give 1 Darbar a chance. Made a reservation for 6:30pm and when I arrived, it was pretty quiet. Sat at a table upstairs which was empty. I actually prefer environments that I can sit and talk to my friend so I wasn’t the least bit upset.
It was happy hour and the waiter explained that it was only valid at the bar. He came back a few minutes later and said he’ll still honor it for us. Super sweet. My friend and I each got a cocktail and they both definitely had a kick to it. Thumbs up.
We ordered an order of garlic naan to share between the two of us and I got my butter chicken and she got the goat with spinach. I’m usually a chicken tikki masala girl and the butter chicken is quite similar but not quite as acidic. Still yummy though. They even ended the night with an indian dessert which resembled rice pudding. That was tasty too… never had it before.
All and all, I’m glad i ventured out of my comfort zone and gave this restaurant a try. The food and service was great and if i’m up in midtown east again, i will for sure be back.

Dining at Darbar is always an amazing experience. They have really delicious authentic Indian food, all for an extraordinary value for the price. Darbar is pretty family style oriented so the more people in your group, the better. They have a $ 13 unlimited lunch deal. The cauliflower dumplings appetizer is awesome. The naan bread is amazing. You really can’t go wrong with anything. The service is super quick and the staff is nice.

Real time lunch review, y’all! Thought I’d try another of the Darbars. Ordered up Mulligatawny Soup, Crab Cakes, and Keema Matar.
Order arrived about 45 minutes after I placed it. Soup spilled a bit… was completely creamed, like the first time I ordered from the other Darbar… but more flavorful. Well-​balanced, and satisfying!
Crab cakes… wouldn’t order again. $ 10 for rubbery patties. Looking at the menu and Unilocal pics, I’m thinking they just took the base for the potato cheese cake and put a crab mixture inside. Some may like. Perhaps this is the cultural interpretation of a crab cake. But didn’t work for me. Flavor was fine… but such a gummy texture. Couldn’t get past it. Had the potato cake been soft and more fresh tasting, perhaps. Makes me wonder if they were made fresh, or pulled from the buffet.
The Keema Matar was VERY plentiful in portion. Definitely given my money’s worth. Nice flavor. Some spice… though definite sweetness to the dish… was hoping for more spice. Kinda like Indian Sloppy Joe’s with nice, soft potatoes thrown in. I actually liked it… would order again, now that I know how they do it up.
Nice portion of rice. Fluffy. Didn’t stick. Quality.
Overall, 3.5 stars. I’m thinking better for the lunch buffet than for delivery. Would round up to a generous four stars, if it weren’t for those crab cakes…

I was jonesing for a palak paneer at work and hopped on Seamless to see which Indian restaurant could deliver that spinach and cottage cheese goodness in as little time as possible. Darbar was a top choice for delivery estimate so I went with it.
You don’t get to choose the spiciness level of the palak paneer but it was mild (which I would have chosen anyway). It was packed into one of those round plastic containers, and comes with a similar-​sized container of WHITE rice. It does not look like Basmati or brown rice is an option on the menu, but they have a few other types of rice (lemon, vegetable biryani) that you can order as a side dish.
You could alternately order a garlic and cheese naan like I did for dipping in the palak. Most Indian places have garlic naan and cheese naan, but the two are great together in one delicious pillow of dough.
It’s a little on the expensive side for how much food you get but it is take-​out and this is midtown. I would order again, and I’m sure that eating in person will be a different experience entirely.