Darbar offre une cuisine indienne authentique et raffinée où chaque plat est préparé avec soin à partir d’ingrédients frais, et les saveurs y sont décrites comme explosives et parfaitement équilibrées; le cadre intime et chaleureux, avec une ambiance cosy en hiver et un patio agréable en été, invite à la conversation et à la dégustation, des soirées avec une touche de jazz ayant aussi été saluées; le service est généralement chaleureux, attentif et personnalisable, avec des recommandations adaptées aux tolérances et régimes alimentaires, et l’équipe n’hésite pas à venir à table ou à ajuster les plats; beaucoup considèrent Darbar comme le meilleur restaurant indien de Montréal, voire une perle cachée, et citent des plats phares tels que dal makhani, murgh tikka masala, nihari et bhindi bhaji, ainsi que les naans et des options véganes ou sans gluten appréciées; des retours mentionnent aussi des expériences mémorables grâce à l’implication personnelle du chef et parfois l’ajout d’un groupe live, quelques avis notant un service plus lent en période d’affluence, mais l’ensemble demeure largement positif, soulignant le rapport qualité-prix, l’authenticité et l’esprit familial de l’établissement.
Ordered the Non veg thali for $30 today. Whole ordered costed me $50 including tax & all. Very disappointed with what I received. Only one curry with two little pieces of chicken & chickpea curry & two spoons of rice & a naan. For the price & hype about this place. It's not worth it at all in my experience. Very disappointed as I waited to come to Mtl to visit this place.
We had the butter chicken, lentil soup, & thali, & for dessert, we tried the gulab jamun & rasmalai, everything was absolutely delicious! The chef personally came to our table to introduce himself & checked in a few times to make sure everything was perfect. I really appreciated that. We'll definitely be coming back!
2 nov. 2025
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I've been going to Darbar since before the pandemic. Amazing every time. When the dad was running it & now when the son has taken over: still just as excellent. Family business with very reasonable prices. Such nice people & great attention. Food is delicious. The chef comes & talks & listens to every table. Another wonderful evening.
This time, we had the vegetarian thali, bhindi bhaji, garlic naan, tamarin & cumin lassi, & a Taj Mahal. We ordered way too much a as always because everything looks & smells so good. Had a good-sized doggy bag after stuffing ourselves.
I had one of the most delicious, flavorful Indian meals ever at darbar the other evening. I am so glad I discovered this special place. The vegetarian thali platter was exceptional, as was my appetizer of sizzling chicken on skewers served with mint sauce. Plus, wonderful chilled white wine on a hot Montreal evening. I will be back whenever I'm in town; so many dishes on the menu are mouthwatering! The staff is so incredibly friendly & gracious, as is the chef/owner Simar. I also love that darbar is off the beaten path. The real deal, authentic, family run. I highly recommend!
I've been visiting this restaurant every time I'm in Montreal from the U.S. because the food used to be consistently delicious. Unfortunately, my most recent experience was disappointing & far from what I've come to expect.
My family & I ordered three meat thalis, one chicken tikka masala, & one saag paneer. The meat in the thalis didn't taste fresh & seemed like it had been reheated. While the chicken in the tikka masala appeared fresher, the flavor was lacking. The saag paneer was especially underwhelming-the gravy was bland, & the paneer was rubbery in texture.
While we were prepared for a bit of a wait, as we've been here many times before, the food still didn't justify it. The only highlight was the rasmalai, which was excellent.
Unfortunately, the overall dining experience was disappointing, & we left feeling unsatisfied. One additional note: while our server was polite, basic hygiene standards need attention. A strong body odor was noticeable, which detracted from the dining atmosphere. In a restaurant setting, this is something that really shouldn't be overlooked.
Regrettably, I won't be returning on future visits to Montreal.
I knew this restaurant was going to be an incredible experience when the executive chef came out to introduce himself to almost every table. My partner & I ordered the samosas & onion bhaji to start. They were delicious! The tamarind sauce was so tangy it paired perfectly. We also each ordered a thali. It came with rice, naan, papadam 3 stewed dishes & a piece of tandoori chicken. Everything was so delicious I could go on for a while. It was so much food, we could not finish our plates.
On top of the incredible food the staff were all fantastic & very welcoming. Some might consider the service a bit slow, but I believe that is intentional as the chef prepares each dish individually. I for one enjoyed it as it allowed my partner & I to have time to chat & sip our cocktails.
We sat on the patio, its was very comfortable but the noise from cars on the street could be loud.
We had the Samosa starter & Thali, & boy were we stuffed! Excellent all around & the head chef Mr.Anand was charming as well. The food was spectacular, we'll have to come back for the next seasonal menu.
26 juil. 2025
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I have been to that restaurant a lot since I moved to the neighborhood but I won't go back. Price went up by a lot: the Thali who was below 20$ before pandemic & 25$ recently just got increased to 30$. They do not put the price on the menu anymore 😫 so you have to ask.
The portions were not as generous as before & the wait staff will try to upsell you constantly (at least 4 times during the service).
Finally, they were not compliant with law 72 when we visited: their terminals are still calculating the tip on the amount after taxes.
There is at least 8 other Indian restaurants within 500 meters. I will try those now.
Found this small cozy spot while looking for nearby restaurants, & was highly pleased.
The hostess & the chef were extremely friendly & accommodating, even offering small changes to the daily Thali based on what we ordered for more variety.
The vegetarian Thali was amazing, especially the korma, & my partner was especially enthusiastic about the garlic naan.
Definitely make a reservation, as this place is small & it was full when we arrived.
Aucun regret! Quelle belle expérience, tout etait délicieux & Simar prend vraiment le temps d'être avec les clients, de leur parler il nous a meme fait des suggestions. :) 10/10 pour le THALI non-végé & les crevettes korma dans une sauce excellente.
30 mars 2025
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I was walking back to my car after an event, hungry & deciding where to eat. From across the street, I could smell the food from outside & decided to walk in! Best decision! The hostess/ waitress was very kind, the food was absolutely delicious (I had the Dahl soup & meat thali), perfectly portioned as well as totally fair priced IMO. I would go there again & recommend in a heart beat!
Intimate atmosphere, delicious food, lovely waiters. Food is all cooked from scratch for each meal, so be prepared to wait, but it is well worth the wait! Also, they were very nice to convert the vegetarian thali into a vegan thali. Thank you!
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 love this place & eat here whenever I'm in Montreal. The spices, smells, textures & everything about it. Most places I have a particular dish I always order because I know it will be good. Here I want to try the whole menu. If you can't decide, get the thali plate, nice assortment that changes daily.
As per the prices charged here, food is not that great! I ordered Non-veg thali & Tandoori Prawns. Thali was sufficient for one person meal it includes 2 sabji, dal makhani rice, roti, papad, & 1 piece of tandoori chicken. Tandoori Prawns was ok it was smelly & too lemony. But they have good options for Cocktails.
Food at Darbar is super delicious. If you are looking for a home cooked meal taste in a restaurant this is the place to go. Although service is a bit slow it is compensated very well with the authentic tasty Indian food. Kudos to the chef who gives personal attention to every customer. We stuck to the original Veg Thali. & it lived up to its originality.
My wife & I had a wonderful meal here on a recent trip to Montreal. The service was friendly & attentive. We each had a Thali but one vegetarian & one meat version to get a mix of curries that we shared. We really enjoyed their curries - spiced just so as to be not overpowering hot but enough that you could still taste individual spices & the food. That takes some skill to get that spicing right! Sides of samosas, naan & rice were very good. We liked the cumin seeds in the rice. Plates were attractively garnished with tasty pomegranate seeds & coriander. We tried their version of Shahi Tukra, a dessert we've never seen before, made in a puff pastry shell instead of ghee fried bread, with rosewater, cardamom, thickened sweetened milk & nuts & garnished with pomegranite seed. It was excellent!
