Darbar Restaurant

Serving quality Indian food, Darbar Restaurant has a first-class reputation for being the best Indian in town. It’s certainly one of the oldest, steeped in a rich and spicy history. So what’s all the fuss about?

The Venue
Darbar's dining room is hidden behind a door leading to a flight of stairs. The door is on the Kirkgate side of the street, at the side of House of Fraser for those who don’t know where that is. Behind this door food has been served for more than 20 years.

Their ethos has remained the same from day one, with a few tweaks here and there to keep the place up to scratch and keep customers happy. The decor has pretty much stayed the same too, without being grimy or unpleasant.

Darbar is your stereotypical Indian restaurant, with garish colours and various design references to revered India. There are gods and buddhas and everything else and there is literally every colour under the sun. It's a minimalist’s nightmare, but it’s also great.

Indian food has long been challenged by other Asian cuisines, Italian food and, more recently, traditional English food in the form of the gastro pub, as the most popular food to eat out in England. Indian food has had a few crisis’ of confidence and tried to modernise to fit cutting-edge trends, with little success. It’s best this way, sitar music and all, and this restaurant gets it just right.

The People
Again Darbar Restaurant lives up to stereotypes, serving food up to the post-pub drinkers and boozy couples away relaxing after the weekend shopping. But credit where credit's due, this restaurant isn't some disrespectful den where you find yourself at 3am with half of the inhabitants of the nearby club that's just spilled out. No, it’s much more sophisticated than that, catering to couples, families, parties and special occasions.

Staff go a long way to making you feel welcome and at home and recommend dishes with that air of confidence that comes with years of practice. The atmosphere is tranquil and relaxed. It’s fun to see a table’s noise level rise when the poppadoms and selection of dips come out, as they jostle to find the best one while quizzing each other on which ones are too hot to handle.

Indian restaurants can be predictable and lacking in atmosphere but here the dedication of staff and the nice crowd it attracts creates a good ambience. And who couldn’t be happy with all this joyous technicolour decoration to feast your eyes upon while feasting on India’s best?

The Food
There's a large menu, which is a bit of a surprise because places with this much history know what they do well and usually stick to it. So maybe they do everything well? It certainly looks that way when sizzling dishes come parading past and the smells from the kitchen are nothing other than sublime.

The chicken dopiaza (£7.75) is wonderfully rich and spicy, with beautifully reduced tomatoes served with boiled basmati rice (£1.90). The lamb dishes are melt in the mouth stuff (lamb nihari £10.50). Naan breads (tandoori naan £1.95) and chapati’s (85p) are at hand to help you clean your plate.

There’s a great set menu that will resolve any indecision (£59 for four includes starter, side dishes and choice of main). Vegetarian options are in abundance, Bombay aloo being a favourite (£2.75).

Like all good traditional Indian’s, the food is served in metallic trays and dishes. It might be old fashioned but it’s synonymous with that lip smacking feeling that you’re about to embark on a wonderful, spicy gastronomic journey. It's reasonably priced for the quality of service and ingredients and that’s why the punters keep coming back.

The Drink
There's lots of wine on offer for around £11.95 for a bottle. The Pouilly Fume and Sancerre (both £19.95) are wonderful, proving that Indian restaurants do sometimes have good wine. There are reds, roses and champagnes too, and a full selection of spirits (£3).

A beer is probably the most satisfying drink and appropriate if you’re going to go along with the crowd. Cobra is the beer of choice (£2.50). There is also Budweiser (£2.50)and Bacardi Breezers (£2.50)for those who want something more familiar or want to carry on partying after leaving the pub.

Tea and coffee is £1.75 and you can have a creamy lassi (£2.95 for a small jug and £4.95 for a large) if that curry is just too hot. The drinks are reasonably priced which always helps to keep the bill from soaring out of control.

The Last Word
With 20 years history, Darbar Restaurant is obviously doing something right. And that something is delicious food, a great setting and friendly staff.

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