Darbar India

I usually go to Cumin India in Hamden, which scores every time with me, but a friend recommend this place. We both got a sampler platter, one with meat one vegetarian, the food was decent, nothing crazy, and definitely not worth a trip out there. The Naan was horrible! Being the highlight of my Indian meals, I was epically turned off, it was rubbery and greasy, not fluffy at all, maybe it was old. Thumbs down from me.

This used to be THE BEST Indian around new haven area the place to go for a higher end experience. when you consider the amount of competition they had, and the amount of Indian I ate, that was a feat.
Sadly I’m seeing the decline. I’m giving a three star instead of a two, based on this being a buffet Sunday and not a sit down meal. I went here for dinner a year back and noticed things weren’t as spicy, more sweet, and that their most touted item of nan breads were coming out a bit oily. I didn’t review at all because I thought it was a fluke.
It’s been 20 years since Darbar got stellar reviews in every food publication, and those articles are still on the walls, but, the enthusiasm seems to be lost.
So I think we hit the worst of it on Sunday. We showed up at 2, for buffet hitch ends at 3. I don’t expect buffet food to be as good as fresh (fried items won’t be crisp, and some chicken dishes will be dry from sitting out) this is all something I expect from a buffet and would definatley not penalize a restaurant for that.
The buffet table itself was a mess. Food was dropped on tablecloths and even on the signs telling what the dishes were.
The food was awful even for buffet. I expect Veggie Samosa not to be crisp because thy sit in a warming tray, but these didn’t even have flavorful filling. It was pretty bland even with sauces. Chicken tandoori was soggy (again, I’m ok with that in a buffet) but they had no lemon as it should be served with. The lamb was very gamey (something I actually enjoy) but was terribly over salted (and I love salt) The Baigan Bartha was cloyingly sweet, the paneer overly was sweet, the chicken tiki masala was bland and the chicken nearly mummified to a new level of buffet dryness.
The staff all seemed sad and overworked. They were so courteous and sweet, but there doesn’t seem to be anymore pride here.
Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I didn’t patronize this place enough and they had to go more for the overly sweet American palate.
Sigh.

Great food. Expensive and small portions. Service is not so good at lunch (had to hail them over more than once). Worth a try at dinner though; I have heard good things.

This is an Indian restaurant for non-​Indians. The dishes are completely Americanized and it makes sense — I mean it’s in Branford. My parents and every other Indian person I know hates it.
Bleh.

I love this place. I used to live in CT and my family ordered food for pickup here all the time. It is very good Indian/​Pakistani food. When we would come to pick it up it was nice and warm. Even when we got home.
Dining in is also pleasant. There is a buffet style and you can just pick what you want. They’re very good at keeping your glass full of water the staff don’t «harass» you they just always cheery and happy to assist when you need them. Plus I’ve never had to ask for them they just know when you need something. Very on the ball here. And they have a pond type thing with fish!

I visit this place because this is the only Indian restaurant near by to my place. The food here is full of sweet and dry fruits. You don’t have any item here which has at least a minimal level of spicy. If you are looking for authentic Indian food then this is not the right place.

The place is small inside but the food was delicious. We ordered the lamb biryani and keema naan bread which was amazing. Ordered it at medium spice level which was perfect. I thought the service was slightly slow for a night that only had 3 tables filled.
It’s a very cute spot in Branford. Inside there is a light up picture of New York that still has the twin towers in it. Service was good and food was delicious.

We came here on the recommendation of a friend. Overall, very disappointing. Vegetarian options were very limited and rather bland. The wait staff was rude. My omnivore husband liked the chicken but agreed the selections were small. The bathroom was also very dirty. Will not return.

I should start off by saying that I came here with one of my friends who is Indian. I have eaten home made Indian food at her families house and have frequented delicious Indian restaurants with her in New Haven. In other words, I am spoiled and a snob when it comes to good authentic Indian food.
I suggested we try Darbar because people had been raving to me about how «amazing» it is and it was restaurant week in Branford. I feel sad knowing that everyone that raved about this place has never experienced good Indian food. This place was HORRIBLE, to the point that it was comical that people had been raving to me about it for over a year.
The décor is mustard yellow with black accents and furniture (think art deco that hadn’t been cleaned in a few years). It’s cheesy, dingy and outdated. Our waiter’s white shirt was visible dirty and stained and to top that off I found a hair cooked into my papad. It gets worse…
Like I said, we were here for restaurant week and they were offering a vegetarian menu and a meat menu. Great. I love a deal. I cannot eat dairy so I love going out for Indian food because it’s always so easy to accommodate my diet restriction, or so I thought. Some of the dishes said they contained cream, dishes I expected to contain cream, and therefore didn’t order. Apparently though they just dump cream in everything at this place, I’m guessing to trick people into thinking the food actually has flavor.
I explained that to the waiter that I couldn’t have dairy and he proceeded to stare at me like he had no idea what that meant. I ordered something that didn’t specify «dairy» but, after ordering, he ended up coming back from the kitchen and telling me that it did have cream in it (not specified on the menu). This little back and forth game happened a few more times before I finally asked to speak to a manager who could tell me what exactly I could order on the menu.
The manager was equally clueless and, after pointing out what I could order (and having me place an order), still had to come back to tell me that that dish also contained cream. Seriously?!
The only thing keeping us from leaving at this point was the fact that they had taken my friends order and her food had already started coming out.
By now, most reputable places would have felt bad for all of the confusion, and would have made an attempt to fix it in some way. Any other Indian restaurant I’ve been to has been enormously accommodating and hospitable. Not Darbar. They reacted like Regina George from Mean Girls, rude and stuck up. From this point on, my friend and I were ignored, not wanted and avoided. No one came to ask how our food was, and anytime our water needed refilling or a plate needed to be cleared we got a different waiter who would try to spend as little time as possible at our table.
Judging by my review so far, I’m sure you can guess what I thought about the food. The food itself was bland, boring and still just had this gross quality to me. The quality of the meat and vegetables was poor. The sauces had spice but lacked actual flavor (which is actually pretty impressive for and Indian place). The overall theme was that nothing seemed fresh. Have you ever watched Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey? That was the image I had in my mind of their kitchen. Just a cockroach infested grease pit covered in cream.
Both my friend and I agreed on this and spent the entire meal discussing why each dish was so bad and so far from authentic. By the end we were cracking up over how terrible the whole experience was from start to finish. You might be wondering why we didn’t just leave and refuse to pay for such a terrible dinner and that’s a good question. I think sometimes a terrible food experience can be turned into an awesomely bad food experience, provided no one gets food poisoning (which we didn’t). When life hands you lemons, right.
Overall, no. Save your time and save your money. If you want good Indian food, drive the extra 15 minutes to New Haven and check out Thali, Thali Too, Zaroka or Tikkaway.

On our last review we mentioned that people didn’t use clean plates for additional trips to the buffet. .Well they did seem better about doing this but the buffet has gone downhill. .The service is spotty and we went this past Sunday at about 2 pm the buffet is until three. All the dishes were empty or very crusty and old looking. We had to ask for everything. .which is uncomfortable and the woman manager seem to care little. .Very Disappointed. .We love Indian food but the price has increased and the quality has decreased..

First time trying Indian.cuisine. Definitely want to come back to try other dishes. Love the fried cauliflower and lentils, as well as the naan bread. Excited to cone back. Service was slow but the owner recognized this and took our app off the bill.

This is the second time we go here. My first impression when I got in is that the room was overwhelmed with decoration and was aiming for more than one ethnicity. We always start with some naan bread, which is always great, I ordered shaam savera and it was one of the best Indian vegetarian dishes I have tried. On top of that since it was a slow day, they gave us a free soup and dessert on the house. The chicken soup was very good

I stopped for lunch at Darbar India recently for the Friday Lunch Buffet. I made a special trip to Branford after noticing Darbar India offered their buffet Fri-​Sun on a past trip in the area earlier this year. I arrived here around 1:45 PM and was promptly seated close to the buffet.
On my visit, the lunch buffet ($ 11.95 plus tax) was stocked with around 20 items including chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala, chicken vindaloo, aloo palak, aloo gobi, baingan bharta, bhindi masala, basmati rice, thin crispy bread, mixed pakoras, raita, garden salad (lettuce, tomato slices, cucumber, red onions, dressing), chutneys, mulligatawny soup, gulab jamun, and basket of fresh hot soft naan.
The buffet plates were HUGE, actually big round (inch deep) silver metal trays. The food on the buffet was quite good. The chicken tikka masala and the aloo palak were very tasty. The pakoras (spinach, broccoli, potato) were slightly chewy and a bit greasy. The dessert (gulab jamun) cheese balls in a hot syrup was very sweet tasting, perfect!
The service was acceptable and my used dishes were cleared occasionally. The lunch buffet was very filling and I think one big metal plate can hold enough food of two regular plates. The buffet is a good way to try out several Indian dishes and items at a very fair price.

First visit to celebrate Mother’s Day… huge success!
We both tried the Chef’s Special ($ 20) which more than filled us up.
Good soups (coconut and vegetable dal);
One vegetable and one meat samosa – both excellent;
Sampler platter of meats (tandoori chicken legs, sausage) with 6 side dishes – the chickpea chana masala was standout good; naan and pocket bread fresh and good;
Mango yoghurt with fruit for dessert – just a small treat to finish things off.
Our son had lamb curry, which was excellent as well.
Service was great – helpful and attentive.
$ 70 for all 3 of us to eat like kings – no expensive drinks, just water and iced tea.
We’ll definitely go back :-)

I think they are getting better, perhaps not as good as I remember it, but solid Indian fare.

SIX STARS… Seriously. The coconut naan was twice as good as the best I’ve ever had. My server was just perfect. I was go-​humming between two veggie dishes but a lamb one also caught my eye. I’m such a picky meat eater that most people would swear I’m a vegetarian. When I explained my dilemma my server was thoughtful then I added that the lamb also sounded good. He interrupted me by quickly finger stabbing the menu at the precise lamb dish I was considering. So I went with it. He was just so sure. And WOAH was he right. Not only was that the best Indian meal of my life it was the best lamb I’ve ever had as we’ll. It totally lived up to my picky eating standards.
Be prepared for the check though. I had a lunch special, a drink, and an order of naan. My bill was over $ 30. In my opinion it’s worth every penny though. THIS is the place you want to splurge at.

We went to this restaurant on a farewell… we ordered shaam severa it was a very different dish. food was good… it was a very slow business day for them they gave us soup and dessert on the house.
I was reading one review and that person also got soup free… not sure if thats what they do occasionally. .personally didnt like the soup…
Nice clean .good ambience restaurant… servers were not rude nor too friendly… all together you can give this restaurant a try.

Darbar is my favorite Indian restaurant along the Shoreline. When I think of delicious Indian food, I think about Darbar. Unfortunately, I do not live in Branford, and must drive there to fulfill my cravings. If I did live in Branford, you’d see me stuffing my face at Darbar several times a week. The Indian food is legitimate — not muted, high colors, high flavors, and intense. No, not necessarily spicy, just complex.
For beginners, I suggest a starter platter, and any of the curries, really. Favorites include (of course): chicken tikka, chicken cashew curry, and the baignan burtha — damn! I have tried many, many versions of this eggplant delight, and Darbar blows everyone else’s out of the water.
At the end of the night, they bring you gulab jamun (dessert that is cooked in sugar syrup).
I always leave feeling stuffed (and not even having finished what I ordered).

I didn’t expect to find Indian food this amazing out in CT. My friends, who live in the area, ordered a variety of things and everything we had was outstanding. Importantly, each item was seasoned differently. It wasn’t like the kitchen seasoned everything with the same spice mix.
My friends ordered a cashew curry that was wholly unique and delicious. It’s good enough to give you pregnant woman cravings. My understanding is that the cashew curry is not on the menu and you have to ask for it and even then, sometimes the staff will need a little (polite) coaxing to make it.
This place is a gem. My sense is that it might be somewhat Americanized, especially in the entrée options. If so, this is the best Americanized Indian food I’ve ever had. I’m definitely making a stop here next time I’m driving through CT!

The boyfriend and I order takeout from Darbar on a pretty regular basis. Last night we dined in and I am so happy we did. Takeout has always been great but our experience in the restaurant added to the love that we already had for Darbar.
It was a busy night and we were seated shortly after our arrival. After placing our orders we snacked on the flat bread/​chips (not sure of the name) with three accompanying dips: coriander chutney, tamarind sauce, and pickled onions. Much to our delight, a pureed lentil soup was brought over to us, on the house, and warmed us right up when we felt a chill from being seated close to the door. Our food arrived, Chicken Tikka Masala for him and Mattar Paneer (paneer and peas in a curry sauce) for me, as well as a side of garlic naan. Everything was delicious and we stuffed face. We decided not to get dessert but before we knew it our waiter brought over a nice Indian sweet to conclude our dinner, gulab jamun, a deep-​fried ball of dough bathed in rose and cardamom syrup, also on the house. What a nice touch.
The restaurant itself is clean and aesthetically pleasing, with elegant chandeliers, large murals of Taj Mahal and other landmarks on the walls, and a pretty display of liquor along the back wall.
We will be returning again and again, for takeout and dine in.