No fork no napkin no poor service too much expensive price is to high food is less quantities read more

Darbar - Food delivery no spoon no fork no napkin poor service - Indian Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in Baltimore. The flavors are reach and quantities are great. We enjoy both eating in and getting it delivered for Sunday dinner/leftovers for Monday lunch. The staff is very friendly and will help you decide what to order. My favorite is the chicken korma with garlic naan. I also love the saag paneer. We've tried other Indian places but always come back. Be warned, they are not scared of heat! My boyfriend's order made him sweat when he said he wanted it spicy. He normal gets medium and can handle the heat level but for some reason online he couldn't choose. read more

My husband and I searched for an Indian restaurant (being familiar somewhat with Indian food). We decided to go for dinner here, and we loved it. Not only did they have good prices, their food was delicious! The serving sizes were more than enough for two. The service from our waiter, Mir, was amazing. We had the lamb vindaloo and eggplant dish (both medium) Needless to day, we found our new Indian restaurant. read more

We have been thinking of ordering food from Darbar since while and finally did. The delivery was on time and food was warm. So no complains there. We ordered Paneer Khurchan and Vegetable Jalfreji. Paneer Khurchan was really good but that was the only thing in our order that was really good which deserves 4.5-5 starts. As far as the Jalfreji was concerned I have a complaint against almost all Indian restaurants serving that dish in Baltimore Area. Jalfreji is supposed to be fried marinated vegetables in spices. It has a distinct spice which comes from green chillies. When we asked for spicy we did not say add more red chillies which they did. I did not find any green chillies so it was not Jalfreji according to me. And whatever they had made was mediocre at max. The curries come with rice and we had asked them to replace rice with Roti which they did so thanks for that. We also ordered Garlic Nan and Onion Kulcha. Kulcha was ok but nan was not good. So in summary, an average Indian restaurant. Nothing special. read more

We live within a mile of Darbar and we can walk there ... it's a great neighborhood type restaurant. I've been to Darbar several times and it is consistently good. The dishes are tasty and plentiful and the staff is gracious and welcoming. Very nice that they also give a complementary glass of wine with each meal. What made it particularly nice tonight is that in addition to the complementary wine, I also got a complementary dessert after we paid and were leaving ... just cuz. read more

I can honestly say that this was one of the best Indian meals I have had in recent memory. The food was excellent, and the service was perfect. read more

I order lamb biryani its the worst the lamb has got after taste and the basmati rice is just like you can buy on the frozen tv diners this is my first time ordering at this restaurant and my last one read more

Great meal and equally high quality food. We were lucky enough to be there during a time when it was empty, and the waiter was very kind and answered our questions. Fresh food, unique flavors. We recommend. read more

My husband and I came to this restaurant for a lunch date and we enjoyed it so much! The staff was friendly and attentive, our server was personable and made great recommendations. Our food was delicous and fresh, they had a great selection of vegetarian options. The atmosphere was great as well, clean, quiet, and located near fells point. We will definitely be back and recommend it to friends! read more

Favorite Indian place in Baltimore, we are regular.. The staff is so friendly and helpful! I highly recommend eating in, every time we go they recommend a new dish and it's always incredible. The lunch buffet has a good variety and is always a quick, reasonably priced meal. There is always a fresh soup and dessert on the buffet which is a nice touch. read more

This was a carry out go to during the worst of covid. Dined in today for the first time. There foods was delicious as usual and the service was great. I will be back!! read more

This restaurant felt like home away from home! They have phenomenal service and exquisite food! I ordered the samosa as appetizers, dhaal turka, rice and mahli kofta as our entree's -- and they were behind our expectations. Definitely will be returning when I'm missing mom's food. Highly recommend people to come visit this restaurant! read more

I am a very quiet person. I'm sort of socially awkward, too, even though I am an 8 out of 10. While I ate lunch here, I spoke a grand total of 21 words. "My name is Jerry. Nice to meet you." [when meeting someone for the first time] "I have been here for one month." [when asked how long I have been working for my company] "Thank you." (three separate times) [when thanking the waiter for re-filling my water cup] This was a business lunch of sorts. I ate with my colleagues. They talked about irrelevant things, such as their work schedules, the work duties' of others, safety procedures at work, how long/short their commutes are, parking in Baltimore, and strategic marketing for prices of chemicals. Is this what older people talk about? Sheesh. The food itself was good. I ate a lunch buffet of basmati rice, beans, lentils, potatoes, zucchini, and curry; however, I couldn't keep eating during the entire lunch because I am not fat. I would have liked to eat throughout the entire conversation so that I wouldn't have to feel inclined to speak and so I could continue thinking about and internally debating where my eyes should be focused on. There is an ambience in the restaurant, but I never found it because I zone out when I don't talk and contribute to the conversation. I sip from my water cup. I look around. I notice the cars going by. I wait for when the alpha male will put his palms on the table and say, "Well! I think we ought to be heading out now!" read more

I'm not a 1 star giver, but the experience here was very poor as was the food. First off, being from out of town, I was very intrigued by the "free parking" they claim on the website . . . come to find out, this is only valid during "dinner hours" and not during the "lunch buffet". Ok, no big deal, I found street parking down the street after circling a few times. As soon as we walk in the guy asks us to wait a few minutes as half of their restaurant was shut down because the A/C was broke on that side . . . I didn't really notice a change in temperature from one side to the next, but whatever, a few minutes ended up being over 10. For a buffet, the options were extremely limited and the food was extremely dry, almost like they used the Sunday leftovers for Monday's buffet. Funny thing is, they had been charging everybody the Sunday $11.95 price, and tried me like that, but I told him on a Monday it says $9.95 and he explained that they were supposed to manually change the price and had been charging people the wrong price . . . huh? The check was hand written, how is it the computers fault? Extremely shady. Back to the food, the best thing was the bread on the table. There were no samosas, Food just was very bland . . . edible if hungry, but terrible from the grand scheme of things. Maybe it is just their buffet, but I would never find out otherwise as the impression they left me was enough for me never to go here again. The waiters also have a bit of an attitude and the Indian couple next to us were "disgusted" with the food and tried to get their money back before the wife calmed the husband down and they just dealt with it like we did. I dunno, this place is pretty awful, and I would suggest skipping it, although I'm not from Baltimore and I don't know of other Indian spots . . . . but the food is terrible, especially on the buffet. read more

Someone should tell them what Indian food is. They have the worst selection of buffet items and food. Most of the food tastes something else. It does not taste like indian food. They had the audacity to Replace paneer with tofu and they lost all resect. The al-a-carte is even worse and xpensive. Avoid at all costs. read more

Fantastic food and excellent service! The butter chicken is the best I've ever had. The menu has just about anything you could want. Definitely give this place a try! read more

I like the Darbar Special. It's basically a whole meal for two for $24! It comes with naan, soup, and 2 dishes - one chicken and one veggie. You know the place is good when an Indian restaurant is packed for dinner. Lunch buffet is pretty typical of other places. read more

Come here at least once a week for takeout. Since the new ownership (within the last couple of years), the food has been consistently awesome. The folks that work here are also very nice. They can make the food pretty spicy for you too (if that's your thing). We usually get "medium spic" lamb vindaloo, and it is perfect every time read more

Just moved into the area and heard high recommendations for this restaurant, but here's why it isn't worth going back. The first night I ordered simple take out of a very common dish, butter chicken and naan. The order was to-go, and no rice was given. It was like eating tomato soup with about 6-8 small pieces of chicken. The naan was really good, so I decided this was a fluke and went back a few days later. Ordered the chicken tikka masala, it again was basically seasoned tomato soup submerging about 5 pieces of chicken. The naan was so burnt, the top section snapped like a graham cracker. The pakora was good though and this time the order did come with rice. Unfortunately, the restaurant is so inconsistent and serves subpar food to to-go orders not worth going back. My assumption is that dining in is better, but to-go isn't worth it - basically it felt like getting dumped out leftovers. read more

Right off the bat, I'm gonna put this out there - I'm Indian, and I almost literally grew up in an Indian restaurant that my parents owned and operated for a good part of my adolescence, so I've been around Indian food and Indian restaurants a LOT... I was sad to learn that Thalay Thai closed down a few weeks ago, but when passing by their old location, I saw a sign that read "Darbar - Indian Cuisine - opening soon" and was excited to finally have an Indian restaurant within walking distance of my home. After already hearing good reviews from friends in the neighborhood who'd gone to check out the restaurant in it's first week of business, my fiancée and I decided that we should give Darbar a try - and boy were we glad we did! The nature of our visit was first and foremost, to see if we liked the food, but also, in addition, to see if we might be able to find an Indian restaurant willing and capable of catering our wedding in September. My fiancée decided that before we talked about the catering part with them, we should decide if we liked their food... I was really pleased and surprised to see the quantity of items Darbar offered on its menu. Not only did they have the typical staples of most Indian restaurants, e.g. Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer, Tandoori Chicken, etc. but they also had a HUGE selection of foods that I've only been able to find at Indian restaurants in India or at friends' and families' houses within the U.S. - things I've rarely seen on the menu of an Indian restaurant in the U.S. It was only the two of us tonight, but I will definitely be back to try their extensive Indian seafood dishes. We started off with an order of vegetable samosas (two to an order, though the menu makes it seem singular) and papri chaat, my fiancée's favorite. The samosas were really good - fresh out of the frier and piping hot and the chutneys that accompanied them were nothing short of amazing. Papri chaat is a classic North Indian street food that can be likened to nachos in terms of its visual look, but nothing like nachos in its taste. Essentially it's a bunch of flour cracker/crisp things (really really similar to the crust part at the bottom of a samosa) layered with chick peas, potatoes, and onions, with mint and tamarind chutneys and yogurt drizzled on top. Where one might eat nachos one chip (or a few) at a time with their hands, this dish is best eaten by the spoonful after breaking all of the crisps up and mixing everything together. Again - the chutneys were great in this appetizer. Our main course arrived after some time, (it's only their first week, so by all means it was understandable that the timing is something they're still working out) and when it did, as we both took our first bites we realized that the food was well worth the wait. I got the 12 spice chicken curry and she got the khatta meetha baigan (literally translates to "sweet and sour eggplant"). As far as chicken curry goes, this was a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill chicken curry dish - not to say it was bad at all, because it wasn't, it was actually very homey feeling which I think is a good thing - chicken curry is one of those Indian restaurant staples that you HAVE to get right, and they definitely did, it's no frills, down-home, good chicken curry. The khatta meetha bagain on the other hand was both really unique and really stellar. Though it has "sweet" in the name, I didn't expect it to be so sweet at first, but the perfect combinations of spices kicked right in after the initial jolt of sweet I got from the dish and it was really really good with our rice and garlic nan. My fiancée, who is American, agreed with my assessment of the sweet being surprising at first, and agreed that it definitely went really well with the spiced, tomatoey finish of the gravy. The chunks of eggplant were huge, which is really good because I've had my share of thinly-sliced, tiny pieces of eggplant in Indian restaurants that tend to lose their structural integrity as a result of overcooking and big chunks in this dish were really appreciated. We decided to pack up much of our meal as the portion sizes are HUGE but that didn't stop us from trying their gulab jamuns for dessert - another MUST for anyone not already familiar with Indian food. You can't really make gulab jamuns fancier than what they are (fried milk-based-batter balls soaked in a honey syrup) but you CAN mess them up, luckily, Darbar did not. One thing I always forget about most Indian restaurants is that many of the dishes lend well to being served family style, as one dish alone is generally too much to handle for just one person. I think the true fun in eating Indian food out comes when you can go with a bunch of friends and all try ordering something different and pass your entrees around the table - and that's exactly what I intend to do, and hopefully for many years to come at Darbar. And yes, I think we found our caterers for the wedding! read more

Note: this review is five stars, but an additional star is added on simply because it's carryout only...and I live within walking distance. If I had to drive to do carryout it would be 4.5 stars or something like that. Also, I haven't ever eaten there because indian food is meant to be devoured in a state of bliss while watching white collar on netflix, and complaining that there's no Law and Order season 9 available. What the hell, netflix? I have watched seasons 1-8 a hundred goddamn times. Yes, I know that Samuel L. Jackson was a lawyer in season 1. Please update your damn library. Onto the food. The chicken tikka masala is the best in the city. Hands down. Put your pencils down, call your parents, the test is over - Darbar got the highest score in the class. The spices are just mild enough to really shine through and it is apparent from the consistency of the sauce that the spices are cooked in the right order(surprisingly important for indian food). mild is exactly mild - a bit hotter is excellent with a bit of kick well worth the potential damage to ones colon. The fish tikka is also very good - if you haven't had flaky white fish in a tikka masala sauce, you should. It goes very...swimmingly. Their standard courses with lamb are very good, and they have a variety of cool curries as well. The rogon josh and the vindaloo are typically curries dumbed down for american palates, but they are very good here and with just enough authenticity to make you feel like you are in india, but hopefully not the india of the temple of doom. There are no chilled monkey brains on the menu. Seriously, stop asking shit like that, dude in front of me picking up his naan bread and "no spice" tikka masala. Kill yourself. If you are in the area I highly recommend it - if not I still highly recommend darbar. I don't go to other indian places in the city, because why would I? As Paul Newman said about infidelity "why go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?" Then he made salad dressing. read more

Considering there aren't really any other places to get Indian food in the city, I'd say that Darbar could have really skimped out on a number of things and people would still like the food more or less; however, this is some of the best Indian food I've ever had! It's not 100% traditional, but in a really good way. I worry that this place will go out of business, because it's never that packed, so get on it people - eat here! You won't regret it! (I recommend the chicken tikka masala medium heat - Simply delish!!!) read more

Making a reservation through Open table at Darbar did not count for squat, forcing myself and my date to wait for 50 minutes WITH a reservation. granted it was on a valentine's day, a wait was expected. However, we also ended up waiting another 1 and 15 min for entrees as well, spoiling the dinner portion of the date.. The food was at most is average. I probably wont be coming back, with far better options for Indian food around Baltimore. read more

I want to like this place, but it's never consistent or a good value. Today I got lamb vindaloo, thinking that the sauce would be nice and hearty on a cool night, and I was primarily after that garlic and Smokey pepper flavor. It tasted like Franks red hot wing sauce. read more

You are reading this cuz you want some Indian food. Darbar will accommodate your craving for that, albeit, in my opinion, not as good as Kumari. Granted the food tastes as you might expect. But I think they made the flavors geared more towards the American palate. Muted. Not bland, just not as intense as you can get from other Indian restaurants. If you are an Indian foodie, I bet you will notice it right away. And understand that I mean intense as a flavor, NOT a spicy/heat. There are flavors quite specific to a lot of Indian dishes, but instead of cranking it all the way up, hitting you w/ the spices, they keep it subdued. That said, maybe it's your 1st time trying Indian food. Definitely try here. It's not the most delicious Indian cuisine, however, it IS walking distance from Butcher Hill. And sometimes that means more to you...when you're hungover or lazy. read more

Darbar wins the prize for the most bizarre dining experience I've had in a long time. I arrived for lunch @ 2 and the place was empty. I was ushered to their buffet. Not wanting to eat food that had been sitting out for 3 hours, i asked for a menu. The waiter looked at me like I was from Mars, but complied. Prices per entree were $2-3 more than what I usually pay elsewhere. I suspect one is paying for the Fells Point location, but it's hardly all that...... Service was quick but abrupt. My waiter plopped the soup in front of me and said "here!" WTF? The tomato soup would have been lovely if someone hadn't dumped a tablespoon of raw chopped garlic (from a jar?) in it. What were they thinking?? The naan was excellent, if oily. I suspect it was made elsewhere. The okra was fine, and the rice fresh, but I've had better (and less oily) Bhindi elsewhere. For much less. Then the fun started. When he delivered the food, the waiter asked if that would be all, as the kitchen was closing. 5 minutes later, he announced the RESTAURANT was closing and everyone was going on break. I just looked at him: I'd only eaten 1/4 of my food - was I being evicted? So I asked for the check, and was given the check and a styrofoam container and a bag. Never saw the waiter again. With so many fine Indian restaurants in Baltimore, how can these guys expect to compete? I'll never go back. read more

The Lunch Buffet at Darbar. Some impressions, by Gerry: - The naan had sat on the steam table so long, it was crunchy and stale. - The tandoori chicken shared these same qualities. - The tikka masala was suspiciously reminiscent of Campbell's Tomato Soup. - The carpeted floor in front of the buffet felt squishy and sticky. - Really. Sticky. read more

I'm not quite sure what it is with this place and Cazbar, but they obviously hold reservations in a high light. That's the first thing that draws my attention, but it didn't have any negative complications. The second would be the service. It's pretty spot on. My glass was never empty and rarely hit the halfway mark. We didn't have to wait long to order or to get boxes or to pay. The food was delicious! The Tikka Masala and the Chicken Sag were great. The rice was standard, but tasty and the garlic naan was mmmmm. I've been here a few times and haven't been disappointed. I believe it's one of the best Indian restaurants in the area. So with that being said, go eat some great Indian food already! read more

Can't beat a great buffet, 2 soft drinks and tip for $30. I went all vegetarian on this one and everything was delicious. More fresh vegetables for the salad section would be a welcomed addition. There are several Indian uses for cucumber (which they had there) to make appetizing salads. A little pickling and curry and they would make that part of the buffet equally as appetizing and the rest. BTW, dessert was included with the Buffet, but I did not over indulge. Overall really good, especially for the price and variety of dishes. J, El Peruano Hambriento read more

Great Indian spot. I went for the buffet: great service, great naan, rice was cooked well, array of Indian dishes were well rounded - each tasted great. All around good experience. Looking forward to going back! read more

Burnt naan is NOT good (or tasty) naan. I will take a moment to react while I pick away at charred pieces of bread. Darbar was revisited because the initial taste of the Chana Masala was remembered as quite superb. After coming back, I was greeted with lackluster flavors and mild customer service. I AM STILL on a quest to find better Indian eats in Baltimore. I am typing this review real-time while the disfunctional staff is arguing in the kitchen. Trial and error. read more

This was the worst Indian food I've ever had. The Tikka Masala tasted like bad tomato sauce with loads of salt, the saag paneer tasted like grass, and the naan was doughy and flavorless. Overall, so disappointing and highly recommend NOT trying. read more

I'm tempted to give this three stars because I've had wildly different experiences on two separate occasions. However, let's look at it this way. South Asian food in the city is outrageously bad [authentic South Asian here plzthankewverymuch] and there's a few dishes here that are really excellent so I'm going to ignore my second visit and affirm the restaurant anyway. I tried the Lamb Chili Fry and Murgh Kohlapur. It was quite excellent. And for you grass-munching conscientious turnips who get sad at the flesh devouring amoral ways of the rest of us? Dunno mate. I hear PALAAAAK PUHNEER [in an American accent] is generally solid everywhere. Good luck : ) read more

I had dinner at the Darbar recently with a friend who is originally from India and who had eaten here previously. The food was excellent and I would definitely recommend Darbar. Since my friend is vegetarian, we had no meat dishes. We had the bhindi ki sabzi ( okra with onions and tomatoes), saag paneer. ( creamed spinach with Indian style cheese), garlic naan, vegetarian biryani (a rice dish) and Taj Mahal beer. It was all spiced for medium hotness which was just right for me. However, if you are sensitive to spicy food then you might want to try mild the first time. I grew up in Texas eating highly spiced food so it was fine for me. We ordered a lot of food and could not finish it all which was too bad. We are at a hotel on business and didn't take anything home although these leftovers would have been great. I have found Indian restaurants to be hit or miss. This was definitely a hit. Food was prepared to order which is sometimes not the case. Decor is reasonably upscale but prices are not. Service was efficient and friendly. I would definitely return.j read more

This review is primarily for Darbar's catering business. We hired Darbar to cater our wedding and after some initial difficulty getting in touch with their manager we were very happy with their service. Their per-person price is extremely reasonable and they didn't give me any trouble about some last minute changes I made to the order. The food itself was delicious, we had several guests who were skeptical of Indian food commenting on how much they liked it. There's also no danger of running low on food. When I told them we'd need food for 75 people they must have thought I was trying to feed 75 football players because there were tons of leftovers after the wedding was done. In addition to the food we paid for a server to help with the event and he was helpful and professional. One minor annoyance was that our event was in a Patterson Park picnic pavilion and their catering van driver had no idea how to get into the park. I had to send a friend of mine to show him how to get in. They also placed coupons/flyers for their restaurant on all of our tables which is something I wasn't thrilled with. Those are both minor issues though and we would happily hire Darbar if we needed to cater an event in the future. read more

We went here with my new in-laws the weekend we were married. The server was incredibly polite and prompt. He brought us house wine gratis, and dessert. The food was perfect. My in-laws are very picky about restaurants and service quality and they were so delighted by this place. We will be returning many times. Thank you! read more

Ordered Salmon Tikka Masala and it was so fishy that it was difficult to eat. It's almost like they covered the fish in a tomato sauce to cover up the fact that it was old rotten fish. Gross. read more

It isn't the best Indian food I've ever had but it is a good deal for $9.95. It is true that the food doesn't taste amazing, the service isn't the best but the owner is friendly and she is helpful. The naans are delicious, their desserts are very well done. You should give a try if you like mild Indian food (it isn't spicy at all). read more

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Very adorable Indian restaurant. 5 stars for the atmosphere and person ability of the staff. I could barely take a sip without them refilling my drink. Extremely friendly people and I hope they do well. Food was mediocre... But I will try it again some time and get the biyrani instead of the tikka masala, which relied heavily on cream rather than spice for its flavor. I tried three types of bread... Two were just okay, but the third was amazing. It was stuffed with onions and spices. I'll skip it next time and go to Jasa Kabob for better quality at a better price. Still, they were so kind that eventually I'd like to try it again. In no rush to do so though. read more

Very solid Indian food at a reasonable price. I think this place gets penalized by fellow Yelpers for not being exceptional in anyway but at the same time it is a reliable Canton option that shouldn't be ignored. It's not as cheap as Jasa Kabab. It's not as opulent as Endigma or the Ambassador Dining Room but it does a good job at offering good Indian food that is both traditional and a reliable option for delivery or takeout. If I have a choice, I tend not to eat here because it's greatest knock is the ambiance of the interior. If I could give it 4.5, I would for that. Just ignore eating in though, and this problem solves itself. read more