Reviewers consistently praise Darbar for meticulously crafted flavors and dishes that feel both authentic and thoughtfully modern, from butter chicken and dal makhni to nihari, murg malai, seekh kebabs, and a variety of naans, all prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients. The atmosphere is described as intimate and cozy, with warm, attentive service and a welcoming, family run vibe, and the chef often greets tables to discuss the menu and tailor dishes to spice tolerance and dietary needs, including gluten free and vegan options. The dining experience is frequently complemented by personal touches such as table conversations, seasonal recommendations, and occasional live jazz or a refined beverage program, making it a strong choice for dates and gatherings alike. Many reviews call it a hidden gem and among the top Indian eateries in Montreal, noting high consistency over years and a sense of warmth that balances flavor, presentation, and value. While most responses are glowing, a few criticisms surface regarding occasional slower service, smaller portions relative to price, or limited vegetarian options on some menus, yet these do not substantially dampen the overall impression of a special, chef led dining experience.
Best Indian food we tried in Montreal, we were there with friends last weekend & tried Indian food at two places, Darbar & Le Taj (one which is rated as #1 restaurant in Montreal). Darbar food & the service hands down beat Le Taj. The warmth & love with which chef welcomes you & takes care of you, it feels almost like you are eating at your family home. Space is limited so please do reservation. We will definitely be back for food at Darbar, wont mind driving from upstate NY all the way to Montreal just of the dinner - with regards to Le Taj, not so much.
Amazing food especially loved the Aloo Tikki & Baingan Bhartha.. Last but not the least hospitality by Simar was next level. He made us feel so comfortable & was so service driven ensuring to give us the time we needed to understand & decide what it is we wanted. Kudos to the entire team at Darbar❤️👌100%
Oct 20, 2024
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Darbar deserves all the stars! From the moment I walked in, the atmosphere was warm & inviting. The food was simply incredible-authentic Indian cuisine at its finest. The attention to detail in the flavors made each bite unforgettable. You must also try their one-of-a-kind drinks! The service was just as impressive-attentive, friendly, & efficient. They went above & beyond to make sure our dining experience was perfect. If you're looking for an exceptional Indian meal, Darbar is the place to go. Highly recommend!!!!!!!
I am visiting Montréal for work & was looking for a good Punjabi/Indian food! Ate vegetarian thali at Darbar today! A sumptuous meal with a portion each of dal makhani, saag paneer & baigan bharta (went with the server's recommendations), along with butter naan & basmati rice & a couple of veg pakoras! Was my only meal for the day, so ordered a lachha parantha as well. Everything was absolutely delicious! Authentic North Indian flavors! Simar who runs the restaurant (& is the chef) was very gracious, welcoming & super friendly! He runs this business as a passion which was clearly evident in the food flavors! Maza aa gaya yaara! Will definitely come back next time I am around!
I came from Toronto excited to try Darbar & it did not disappoint! We met with the chef to get his recommendations & had the malai kofta & a beautiful sweet & spicy shrimp dish. The food is amazing & is clearly made with love. The ingredients are fresh & local therefore the menu changes throughout the year. I can't wait to come back on my next trip!
One of the best Indian restaurants around (probably the best in Montreal). My family & I ate here last night & everything we ordered was delicious, authentic, & spiced exactly according to your taste. Love the ambiance & decorations (like a place court, as reflected by the name Darbar). Great cocktails & the best mango lassi I can remember having, ever! We started with the Samosa Pakoray then went with the saag Gosht, shahi paneer, Bhindi Bhaji, Chole Buturay, butter naan & onion kulcha, & veg biryani. Everything was great! The chef personally came out to the table to welcome us & manage our experience throughout the night. As a family owned restaurant, they really seemed committed to having each guest have a wonderful experience from start to finish. & the best part on top of the great food was how affordable it was for a family of 4! With inflation & prices going crazy everywhere, this place is a rare exception where you get high quality, authentic, high class food at a reasonable price. Great food, ambiance, price & most importantly, great people. As I'm from New York & have experienced an eclectic & wide variety of Indian food, this place ranks as one of the best without a doubt!
My group & I had another incredible dining experience at Darbar. I am a regular at this restaurant, the chef/owner came out to personally greet us & welcome us to the restaurant & go through the menu with us. The service & atmosphere were excellent as well, & my group couldn't stop raving about the food. All items we ordered were on point & came out piping hot, the team also took all of our dietary restrictions into consideration & adapted the menu accordingly. Make sure to make a reservation as this restaurant can get quite busy!!
Sep 29, 2024
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Darbar, c'est un voyage culinaire en Inde, riche en saveurs & en sensations fortes ! Premier date avec mon mec, moi en mode'je gère les épices, no problemo'. Alors là, dès la première bouchée, BAM ! Le volcan en éruption ! J'avais l'impression d'avoir léché le soleil. La goutte au front, l'alarme incendie prête à se déclencher à cause de la vapeur qui s'échappait de mes oreilles. & pendant ce temps-là, mon copain ? Le nirvana ! Il était en train de communier avec Shiva & les épices, genre il les connaissait tous personnellement. Il m'a regardé comme si j'étais un enfant qui goûte à la moutarde pour la première fois. Moi, je luttais pour ma survie avec un grand sourire figé, j'ai failli pleurer dans mon naan. Deuxième fois, on décide de faire les choses'à l'indienne', assis par terre. Sauf que là, surprise ! Lui, en mode contorsionniste, les jambes derrière la tête, genre'Regarde, je suis un croissant'. Moi, par contre, j'étais plié comme une chaise de camping. En vrai, un poteau électrique a plus de flexibilité que moi. Les jambes engourdies en moins de dix minutes, & chaque bouchée devenait une épreuve d'équilibre. Mon copain rigolait en voyant mes tentatives désespérées pour rester assis sans tomber en avant. Ça m'a pris trois jours pour m'en remettre. Mais bon, faut avouer, leur butter chicken, c'est de la bombe, ça valait bien une séance de kiné après. & le curry d'agneau... mon dieu ! T'as l'impression que ton palais danse le Bharatanatyam. Mais le clou du spectacle, c'est la variété ! Chaque plat, c'est une surprise. Tu te demandes si cette fois tu vas te transformer en dragon ou simplement fondre de plaisir. & le personnel ? Adorables, ils te regardent avec ce sourire complice genre'Oui, tu as sous-estimé nos épices, jeune padawan.' Franchement, c'est le paradis des papilles & l'enfer des amateurs de positions de yoga. & je vais le dire direct : c'est parfait, rien à redire ! Le service, l'ambiance, la bouffe... 5 étoiles partout, les yeux fermés ! Juste un conseil d'ami : si t'es aussi souple qu'un parpaing & que ton seuil de tolérance aux épices s'arrête au paprika, prévois une table, beaucoup d'eau, & peut-être une médaille de bravoure à la sortie !
Highly recommend! We stopped in on a Saturday night without a reservation & they were super accommodating even though it was busy. Maybe call ahead to give them a heads up if it's a weekend night, this place is in high demand! The food was insanely good-- very dynamic flavors, each dish distinct from another. It all felt healthy, fresh, & tasty. The service was lovely & the chef-owner greeted us & gave some background about the restaurant's roots. We came to visit Montreal & it was important to us to support locally owned businesses & Darbar is just that. This is a family restaurant, well worth the visit & the wait if it's busy. Definitely try Darbar.
Our favourite Indian restaurant in Montreal. The food is outstanding; presentation is lovely, flavours are delectable. Great vegan friendly options as well. We always visit Darbar when our family is visiting from Australia. A memorable evening on the terrace thanks to the great ambiance & hospitality of the staff & owners. Looking forward to our next visit. Highly recommend! Thank you Darbar team.
We enjoyed an excellent experience at Resto Darbar. The food, service & hospitality were exceptional. We interacted with 3 different staff members & they were all friendly & helpful.
Aug 23, 2024
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Malgré une petite erreur de compréhension dans la transaction, nous avons beaucoup apprécié l'accueil & les plats chaleureux du restaurant Darbar. Le petit mot sur l'importance de l'apprentissage du français en début de menu est très bien pensé.
Hi - I came from Toronto to Montreal with my parents who had come from India. Wanted to treat them to the best Indian place in Montreal & hence chose Darbar. I had done some reading on Darbar in my quest to find a nice place for Indian dining & was pretty impressed by what I read on the exec chef / owner's hospitality & his background story about parents. The food was good; loved the shahi paneer & butter naan(softest i have had ever); & of course the rasmalai. The garlic naan was a miss. The food is cooked fresh after ordering & takes time which is told at the time of ordering itself. We had also ordered aloo go hi , dal fry & sweet lassi which were good. Because I had told everyone in my family about the stories & posts I have read about the owner & seeing that they went & interacted with every table except ours was pretty awkward & embarrassing. My husband was just asked from afar how the food was but for each table while we were seated ; the owner went & chatted up, explained the dishes & made the guests feel comfortable. Even though the food was good; this experience left a sour taste.
We had an amazing evening at Darbar. The food is excellent: flavorful, authentic yet modern, & well balanced. Cocktails were also good, but what we loved most was definitely the service. The chef/owner was patient, welcoming & gave us great recommendations; we could sense his passion & his love for his craft, which contributed in making the meal a memorable one. We will definitely be back!
We were delighted with the quality of the food. Everything from the daal soup to the chicken masala, customized aloo saag for me & my wife's lamb curry was delicious!! The mango lassi was amazing. We also had a tea that was out of this world. It was not on the menu, but recommended by our host, it is did not disappoint! We highly recommend Darbar & we will return!
I had the pleasure of dining at Darbar this past weekend with a group of 9 to celebrate my sister. The experience there was absolutely amazing & I cannot say enough about how enjoyable our time was! The service was fantastic & everyone truly made us feel welcome & well cared for. The family aspect of the establishment was clear & helped the whole experience feel even more delightful. The head chef, who owns the establishment, was involved every step of the way & made several recommendations, while coming out to explain the dishes when they were served. Every single thing we ordered was fantastic. The experience felt so personalized & intimate & we will be talking about this meal for some time to come. Thank you so much to the team & family that makes up Darbar for such a truly wonderful experience!
I enjoyed my food & drink at Darbar. I really enjoyed the fact that the head chef is out & about. The head chef was actually the person who took our orders & gave his personal recommendations. I didn't like that when the chef was taking our order, he was very excited to tell us the types of naan (& make recommendations) but he doesn't mention that the naan costs $6(or $8) extra. So when I got hit with an $8 naan charge, I felt blindsided & a bit taken advantage of. I would've gotten the rice with my butter chicken instead. I also didn't love the time it took to be served, but I think that's more a personal thing. I'm sure some people love the time between dishes to give time to schmooze, but I was antsy by the time the main course came. It took over an hour after the appetizers to get the mains. Overall, I don't have any complaints about the food itself, I just feel like it was expensive for what it was. I think it I had known about the naan I would've done things differently & been a happier customer. Or at least I would've anticipated the charge. I complained & they took off $2, but I should've been more assertive about it. I didn't leave feeling good about it. I guess my feedback if the staff read this: when presenting the types of naan, mention the added costs. Specially if you get the impression someone is new.
A friend & I were travelling from London to Montreal & also had two further planned stops in New York & Toronto. Being Indian, we were craving authentic & homemade Indian food! We knew it was a risk just choosing a restaurant on a whim, but that risk certainly paid off! Simran, the chef, was very welcoming from the start. We were even more impressed to learn that all the food was cooked fresh & we were provided with a reasonable expectation of how long the food would take to be cooked. Simran - bring Darbar to London! We would love a restaurant like yours here!!!
Chef Samir , is excellent , we had the best Indian cuisine at Darbar , Montreal in Canada , the flavours were perfect , gave home food touch & great service , best wishes & highly recommend; when at Montreal
