Masala Darbar is a small, nine table Indian restaurant that is modern yet modest. They offer both Northern and Southern Indian dishes, and boasts 15 varieties of dosa. As soon as we read over their menu, we noticed how authentic their Indian cuisine is. Our waiter was pretty confident we’d enjoy anything on their menu, though did suggest starting with a dosa. We gladly took him up on the offer.
I dream of Darbar!😍Masala Darbar that is. A perfectly positioned Indian restaurant in Cleveland Street, Surry Hills.
If you’re a fan of Indian cuisine you won’t be disappointed with the exquisite variety, bold flavours or even the price of Masala Darbar’s delicious dishes🍴
Not only is this Indian restaurant easy to find, its interior is a welcome change from the over-the-top extravagance frequently used to decorate these places. The restaurants clean design, with just a splash of classic Indian decor alleviates the usual sensory overload and allows you to focus on the real star of the show, the incredible Indian food!🌟
Any dish here is an absolute treat!👌 And if you happen to have leftovers, take them with you for a second sumptuous sitting.
Had ourselves a little feast with a little goat and lamb. Two of my favourite meats. The goat was cooked in a traditional Chettinadu style gravy with whole spices, tomatoes, onions and coriander. The flavours from this dish were thick, fast and explosive. The goat itself was so lovely and tender and it was just falling apart in the curry. As for the lamb, well this was a flavour hit with my palette. It was marinated over night with whole spices and cooked with rice “dum Pukht style” (slow fire cooking) This was the stand out winner 🤗 I enjoyed every bite of this spice infused dish, just marvellous. Our waiter also suggested we try the Masala Dosa, we were not disappointed with his suggestion. Has a cheesy taste to it and a lovely spiced potato filing on the inside. I have to give special mention to the garlic naan too. Honestly one of the best naan I’ve had by far. Crispy, fluffy, smoky, oh wow seriously couldn’t get enough.
Masala Darbar is an Indian Restaurant located in Surry Hills. It serves a range of traditional and fusion Indian food. I am not usually a huge fan of Indian cuisine because I cant handle spices but I had heard great things about this place so was keen to try it out for dinner one night!. To start the night off, we ordered the Masala platter with keema samosa, chicken tikka, and fish tikka. This is their signature entree dish and it did not disappoint. The keema samosa was stuffed with lamb and spices and was delicious however my favourite was the chicken tikka, it was perfectly marinated and the meat was so tender.
Parts of Cleveland street is lined with authentic and delicious Indian food. Marsala Darbar has been opened in the last few months and still yet to be discovered by many. The food is delicious and I especially love the Gongura Royale and the dosa.
If you are looking for authentic North Indian food. This is the best place to visit and try cuisine with customised taste. Hospitable staff good authentic cuisine at reasonable prices. Must try daal makhani and tandoori bread.
Does My Bomb Look Big In This
+4
Masala Darbar make one doozy of a dosa. The Masala Dosa ($12) here is nearly fifty centimeters long. The thin crepe is crisp, with semolina giving it slightly more body than most. There’s a hint of sourness from the batter’s fermentation, and a crushed spicy potato interior that’s both salty and savoury. Against a small pot of dhal for dipping, spicy garlic and onion chutney for smearing, and coconut chutney to give it a coastal, Southern Indian feel, it kicks butt for vegetarian food.This is hardly surprising though, Head Chef Subramani Kandhasamy has had a small but popular vegetarian restaurant in Liverpool, called Sri Annapoorna, for almost a decade. He has now brought his considerable talent (and 46 years of cooking experience, both here and abroad) to bear in a new entry to Cleveland Street called Masala Darbar. It goes into a highly competitive strip, with a number of established Indian restaurants including the cafeteria-like Maya Vegetarian, Maya Da Dhaba, Lal Qila and the one with the fancy chairs, Holy Cow. While road dust from the heavy traffic makes the front of the restaurant a bit lacklustre, the interior is clean, modern and monotone; lit by dangling Edison bulbs. The only colour in the room comes from...
New restaurant Masala Darbar in Surry Hills has been busy and quiet in a mixture that is typical of new restaurants. I go on a Sunday that is incredibly quiet and we are the only ones in a restaurant. I didn't know what to expect but I was happy I was patient as the food was incredibly delicious. The beauty about Indian Food is that it's very homely, full of bold flavour and typically full of my favourite kinds of bread - naan and roti. Matt really loves Indian food and loves that there's so many items on the menu at Masala Darbar that is unknown to us. He loves trying new dishes.
In Short: Masala Darbar delivers an authentic Indian dining experience in Surry Hills. If you enjoy a good dosa, it’s definitely worth sampling it here.
Cleveland Street is quite the enigmatic street. It runs through trendy Surry Hills and Redfern; a suburb that’s going through gentrification at break neck speed, yet it’s noisy and a hive of activity. In many ways it’s a metaphor for India. A country that’s shaking off its colonial past and developing into being a tiger of Asia. It’s only appropriate that the Surry Hills end of Cleveland Street is home to a bevy of Indian restaurants. Masala Darbar presents itself as a restaurant that prides itself on authenticity. A family operation, with the head chef being the father and two siblings running front of house, there are decades of cooking experience to draw on.
Came as a guest. We had the non vege thali which is always a good option to try a little of everything,there butter chicken is one of the better ones I've had but I was really impressed with the naan,it's so big but so fluffy! You know it's freshly made and it comes out nice and warm. I've eaten at a lot of Indian places in Sydney, this is the best naan I've had!
Also tried paneer masala dosa,the long Crispy pancake with paneer/cheese in it,they are not stingy with the cheese. The light curry sauce goes well with it
We lastly had the meat platter for two,I think by then we were both really full! The mint sauce had a bit of kick to it which I wasn expecting
We felt portion size wise it's bigger than other Indian places so you get your money's worth.
The interior has simple but modern decor and plenty of pictures to look at including a guy standing next to this huge feather duster
I recommend the naan here and once you try it you will know why
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When you enter this restaurant you are greeted with prints on the wall depicting various Indian images as well as a mirror on the other wall reflecting these prints as well. Decorated in a contemporary fashion, this restaurant is a nice casual eating environment.
The menu is quite extensive and you can always ask one of the staff on hand to make some recommendations. They are pleasant and helpful.
We began with one of the highlights which was a paper thin Masala Dosa. The crepe contained a lightly spiced potato mixture and when dipped into the various curries and chutneys, it was absolutely delightful.
The menu has both North and South Indian specialties so you can definitely sample both. We continued with Murg Makhani (classic butter chicken) which was also one of our favourites. The sauce was umptious and Jeera Pulao rice soaked up all the wonderful sauce. We also tried Chettinadu Goat Curry and Daal Makhani. The Cheese Naan was wonderfully crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Spice levels are varied so something for everyone.
Thank you to Kokila and the team for having us.
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Cleveland St Surry Hills is a bit of a hot bed when it comes to Indian cusine. There is a newcomer to the scene called Masala Darbar. This establishment is serving up some great Indian food, with its specialty Southern Indian. The restaurant has a modern fit out and the owners and staff are sure to make you feel welcome.
Touching on the Southern Indian influence, expect a little extra heat. A must are the Dosa, a thin and Crisp Indian style pancake/crepe with a choice of filling, be it sweet or savoury. The paneer(an Indian style cheese) masala dosa was very impressive. It was huge, taking up half the table and served with a range of tasty condiments.
For a starter it is pretty hard to go past the Masaleda chilli prawns pakora. Some chuncky battered prawns with chilli, garlic and spice, served with a raita dipping sauce for added flavour.
Visiting an Indian restaurant it would be sacrilege not to order curry. But you also need something to soak up the sauce and that is where the naan and rice come into play. The biriani (spiced rice), the Indian answer to fried rice, was amizingly fragrant. Full of flavour, this is not an accompaniment.
The curries ordered were superbly rich served in ornate traditional bowls, which were deceivingly large. The rich flavours were certainly evident with a western favourite of Murg Makhani (Butter chicken), the masala darba version was extremely flavoursome and my favourite to date. The Malabar prawn curry is a must, a medium hot curry with a good amount of spice, not overly hot, with sweetness from being finished in coconut milk. The prawns nicely cooked and plentiflul.
The meal finished with a dessert dosa, the hershey's kisses dosa. A crisp paper thin crepe served with a rich decadent Hershey's kisses chocolate sauce to drizzle over the top.
Our new favourite Indian restaurant in the area. Especially for Southern Indian cusine. The menu has good variety and the food is top notch. Perfect if your are after some comfort food.
Drop by for a dosa at Masala Darbar. I know that Indian cuisine has contributed many delights to the world, but this is my current obsession. A perfect, crisp pancake that looks like it will be too filling to eat… but is light and airy. The filling, usually of potatoes, may fill you up, it’s true. And then there’s the condiments: a small tin of dahl, some chili sauce (not as spicy as it looks) and a delicious coconut chutney. This really was a very good dish.
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