Darbar Restaurant in Havant

Wonderful lunch, helpful and courteous staff. Couldn't fault anything. We will be back 😁

We don't eat out often but when we do this Is our go to- we love that the owner greets us everytime even though we're not regulars. The service is excellent and the food is amazing. Different to your usual Indian which we like. Very authentic.

Excellent food & service with a smile!

Had a whole pint spilt over me by the staff before I even ordered. Accidents happen I thought and was moved to another table. Beer replaced but no offer of any compensation, would've expected a free side dish at least. Decided not to tip and to my surprise when I checked my receipt later on, they'd added their own. My fault for not checking, won't happen again. Sat in my wet shirt and completely soaked trousers for the whole meal. Won't be going back. Often felt it was very over priced anyway for what you get.

First time visit yesterday and we were impressed with the different menu to a lot of Indian restaurants. They also had Indian wine and we tried the Cab Sav and that was great and went well with the food. We will be back next time we are in the area.

Stunning! Really delicious, very high quality food.

A must try, a different yet authentic Indian dining experience. Lots of flavour that is freshly cooked, it's a treat having it in Emsworth. If dining in, would book in advance and request a table downstairs as you can enjoy seeing the chiefs cook. Nice when the door opens and you get that fresh Naan bread smell drift through the door.

We have been to this place more than 10+ now (our favourite in the area) and the food and ambience of this place is great; recommended dishes are channa masala, paneer makhani, chicken shimla mirch curry ; Great service as well

Staff were rude and uninterested apart from when we had paid, food and drink were very overpriced, £4.50 for a medium sized glass of coke. Although food was nice.

Second visit. With friend, her first time. Both loved it and the Peshwari naan was really lovely

Amazing takeaway tonight. Wonderful, friendly service, but the food just says it all.

Amazing food. Can really taste the depth of flavours. Consistently impressive with generous portions for a takeaway. This is very definitely not your average curry house and the menu reflects the heritage of the cooking team. Delightful.

Food was nice but definitely expensive and over-priced compared to other curry houses in the area (and smaller portions as well). Arrived at 9pm for our booking and clearly they were ready to shut - and didn't hide it. Atmosphere was flat and they wanted our orders and us out. For a bill like that, you'd think they'd be happy and try make our experience a little more enjoyable.

Food service everything is fantastic cannot fault this place we absolutely love the food it's now our regular ..

I love Darbar! Best local takeaway by a long shot, and the staff are so friendly and accommodating, whether you’re ordering out or eating in!

Beautiful restaurant for a special occasion curry. Staff super attendant & a good choice of food. I had wanted to try the Goan Beef curry as had had it before & it was amazing. This time, not so good unfortunately 😞. Perhaps they have different chefs, idk 🤔. Will go back as generally it's good 🍛💕

Good food and service at this local restaurant.

Lovely meal, great ambiance, excellent service

Brilliant service from the moment you walk in the door, the food was delicious with just the right portion size. I'll definitely be returning.

Darbar was recommended to us by a friend & didn't disappoint! From the welcome greeting at the door, to the courteous exit, the service was impeccable. A Monday night birthday celebratory meal which really was special. A varied menu, steering towards the authentic as opposed to what is considered "Indian" in restaurants in the UK; even the chutneys with poppadoms had been carefully prepared and tasted more authentic than I have had outside of Asia. Excellent portion size, plenty of meat and perfectly cooked rice. Not usually ones for desserts, however, we enjoyed our meal so much, again what we chose were beautifully presented & tasty. Looking around the cosy restaurant all the meals being served looked amazing & we will be returning soon to try the rest of the menu.

Lovely service staff. The best and most authentic tandoori chicken I’ve ever had. All cooked to order. A revelation.

PLEASE BRING BACK THE MANGO CURRYS

Our starters were good, then we had the most awful experience after that, raw chicken in the middle sent back only to be brought back to our table, still pink (Chicken...) we were told by the manager that it is fine as it had now been cooked twice 😳😳😬 - the manager was possibly the worse part of the meal, totally rude, ignorant to the issue, really bad service and the bill was still £140 for 6 people and that was with us not paying / refusing to pay for 4 of the 6 main meals, how expensive is this place..?? 4 alcoholic drinks and 2 soft drinks, poppadoms, onions etc, starters for 6 and 2 main meals £140 😵😳😳 so expensive, horrendous and rude service, clearly we will NEVER return or recommend any to this restaurant ever again, one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had, a must avoid for your safety and wallet... RAW CHICKEN.!!! Never again..!!

Authentic top quality traditional Indian Food. Excellent service 'but not in your face'.A refreshingly gourmet experience.

While visiting my friends in the area we visited the restaurant. The food was probably the best I've eaten. I would recommend you try and ask the wonderful staff for their opinion on what is best to try for your personal taste. They won't let you down. Thank you for a great evening

Quite simply the best Indian food you'll eat outside of India

The food was lovely. Spice level can be specified at the time of order. Authentic Indian recipes and wonderful chef. The service is quick, with a polite and pleasant smile. Food is served hot! Just what you need after a fun day at the beach or for an evening out with friends. I have given four stars mostly because the drinks we ordered ( mango lassi, and nimbus paani) could have been better. The atmosphere, although neat and tidy, didn't feel ethnic enough in my personal opinion. Rest, all is lovely.

Ordered the chicken malai and it was raw twice. Company asked for certain spices to be removed from biriani and they ignored it. 4 out of the 6 people barely ate anything, took of all there starters and it was still £140. Had the nerve to add a 10% service fee on top of that. Ridiculous.

The fish curry is just the right tickle for a chilli high. A fragrant and authentic dish not to be missed. The biryani is practically bottomless and veg selection varied and interesting. Bring back the mango green beans! The green decor is very soothing. Darbar is always there for us.

Probably the best butter chicken I've had highly recommended. It was a quiet weekend day and the service was great.

Nice restaurant. Well worth a visit. We had lunch and all had Thali which was enough for lunch.

Came across this restaurant while on vacation and ate there twice. Very nice service, prices are really reasonable for the quality. We always eat Indian food often in England, but these dishes were some of the most unique things we've ever eaten in this price range. Even the colors of the curries were different and you could tell that each spice mixture was individual and each dish tasted different. A great experience, thank you very much!

Very friendly staff located in a lovely area, food was quite pricey but still nice, perhaps not worth the price though.

Wow. That's got to be the best curry I've had in years , I'm a service engineer working all over the UK and every week I try a different Indian Restaurant, This Restaurant has gone No:1 on my list . Had the King prawn Marsala

Pleasantly surprised by our recent visit to Darbar Restaurant. The service and atmosphere are very calming and welcoming. And the food is really good with lots of Indian speciality choices!

Wonderful selection of dishes, and a great vegetarian selection. The food itself was amazing, wonderful flavours and very tasty. My only small criticism was that the food wasn't very warm when it got to us. We were seated upstairs and the food came up in a Dumb Waiter, it was then put on the bar where it sat for quite a while sometimes before it was taken to the tables. Our starters were almost cold when they got to us, we had seen them sitting on the bar for quite some while before they were brought over. The only other small criticism is the way the tables are set out upstairs, our table (for two) was right next to a table of 4 people, we were right on top of each other so it wasn't very private. But these 2 small issues aside, the food was so tasty, the staff were lovely, so friendly and welcoming. And they sell alcohol free Cobra which was a welcome treat. The toilet upstairs where we were sat was clean and tidy, one toilet cubicle shared with all genders. I did not visit the toilet downstairs so can't comment on that. This is a gem of a place, so glad to have this in our local area, we will definitely be returning.

This is not your average curry house. Its home cooked curry, light hand-made sauces, fresh vegetables and friendly efficient staff.

First visit hear wont be the last, food full of flavour proper indian cooking not just gravy on meat, everything was so tasty, staff and management were very friendly. Thankyou for my glass 🥰

Great restaurant, attentive staff and the best Indian food I've ever eaten 😋

I'm really not a fussy person, but I know good food. This is my first experience here. Ordered takeaway. Probably one of the worst chicken tikka's I've had. It tasted like a tin of tomato soup with spices in it (I believe there is another review just like this). The Peshawar naan was full of granular sugar, and was more like a pancake/dessert. Sorry guys just being honest.

Excellent food, service and cleanliness. Extremely polite staff that notice when something might be required but do not hover over the tables. Very good experience and will visit again

Not the usual Indian, as it's Indian owned and the chefs are Indian. The food is first class, different dishes from all over the country. Lots of fish, seafood and selection of meats.I had a hot goat and aubergine curry with plain rice and potato and cauliflower side and garlic naan. My misses had proper king prawn dish which she was delighted with. Very reasonably priced and friendly efficient staff. Can't wait to return mmmm

Great food, good service, good ambience

Delicious food, but unfortunately the owner made us feel quite unwelcome after we booked a table for 4 but as 1 person wasn't well, there was only 3 of us. The guy got a bit snippy, and said since we'd booked for 4 but there was only 3, we could have the table for a maximum of 1 to 1.5hrs. I understand he was worried about profit per table, but since there was only 4 person or 2 person tables, I'm not sure what else we could've done. If you go as a 2 or 4, you'll love it!

A real shame, expected alot from the great reviews. Service was extremely slow, food was almost tasteless. A very disappointing experience

First time at Darbar, food was exceptional to say the least. Service was slick but not intrusive. Price was very reasonable considering the superb quality. Rare to find such a gem of a restaurant. Exceeded expectations by miles.

Found on the Internet after road closure forced all traffic onto old A27 through Emsworth, but would certainly eat here again as not to far from Fareham.

Top quality of food and service

Have been to this lovely restaurant a few times now and can safely say it’s the best Indian food I have had. Proper menu with a slightly different twist to your usual Indian food. Clean and great service. Highly recommend! :)

The menu was what initially drew us in, as it all sounded delicious and catered well to vegetarians. When we first walked we were seated instantly and the staff were lovely and very accommodating. However, when it came down to the food and drinks, this is what why I marked it so low. Firstly, with the drinks, my partner asked for a coke and was offered the option of a pint. When it arrived it ended up being a bottle of coke with mountains of item to distract from the lack of coke in the glass. Secondly, when it came to the food, I love all the spices and flavours of Indian cuisine and can handle the heat but just found that all the food we ordered was just spicy and just seriously lacking any other flavours. Ironically though, the lemon and spicy rice I ordered lacked any spice. Such a let down for such a lovely looking and sounding restaurant.

Delicious food, and lovely place to visit. A slight hiccup when we'd booked a table for 12 and they wanted to give us 2 tables for 6 each, but they very quickly sorted the issue and moved them together. Relatively quiet when we went, upstairs there were only us and another table, and only a few families downstairs too, but it made it a lovely experience as it made service great and quick, and unlike many other places we could hear each other talking! Food was brilliant, quickly served. Some different things on the menu compared to other Indian restaurants I've been too, and good descriptions of each meal on the menu too. Servers were altogether very helpful, and the meal was very reasonably priced.

Food was decent, but was charged 5 pound per glass of coke. This coke was just a can poured into a glass! Really disappointing, especially when prices are different to the menu.

Polite staff, cleaned area, tasty food.

Authentic indian food and must try dishes, Manager is friendly and treats you well, you will like the ambience and love the warmth of food and services.

Before I start I had been here 3 times before and every time had been 4-5 star. However, this time it was very average.. To start, the Poppadoms were cold (maybe that’s how they should be?) . I had the pancake filled with potato starter which again was cold , with a tasteless curry accompaniment and Coconut Chutney (4/10) . I then had the “As we like it” Chicken Curry which was watery and bland. (5/10). The star of the meal was the Semolina dessert which was very nice. (8/10). £45 a head including service.

Decent food. Milder than what we would normally have. Would come again.

Lovely food. Definitely a step up from your typical Indian cuisine

The food was OK, not so tasty and quite pricey. The service was sporadic at times, when we had it it was good but asked for a couple of things during the meal which took ages to arrive. It was far too bright, not cosy and the atmosphere wasn't great.

I have lived in UK for 49 years and love Indian food Darbar is really BEST

My wife and I have visited the Darbar a few times over the last month and without exception every visit has been an absolute pleasure. The staff are friendly and exactly attentive enough. I can't possibly say enough good things about the food which is interesting, varied and of a consistently high quality. Their biryani is an experience all of it's own. This is not a typical indian restaurant and if you're in the area it is well worth a visit.

Amazing , proper INDIAN .food.with a lot of gorgeous Goan influence ..so much flavour and not one bit of " gloop"!! Fresh, filling and so tasty ....beer a bit on the expense side, but plenty of water served immediately ...can't think of going anywhere else again ...would be so disappointed ...Bravo Darbar

Far from "standard curry fare" the Darbar had several dishes new to me, particularly Goan specialities. The food was delicious and the service impeccable. My second visit and still a level above the average. Highly recommended 👍

A very pleasant place to eat, attentive staff and very delicious food.

Very good lunch and excellent service

Awesome and authentic Indian food..many of the dishes are like home made food..nice food and service at reasonable price

The food is excellent, with a wide range of authentic Indian dishes. Service is excellent and the staff very friendly and welcoming.

Lunchtime menu had lamb thaali, very nice and excellent service

Fine Dining Experience.... Lovely food, really smart interior, very clean. Staff extremely friendly and attentive. The butter chicken we both had was gorgeous. Fluffy pilau, perfectly cooked Naan. Chicken lollipop and onion pakora starters were perfect. Honestly, this place deserves to be full every night.

God restaurant, really liked the rice pudding.

Very nice meal here , the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing and the food was great, very authentic and I would 100% recommend visiting here

Loved it great food great staff

Great food, friendly staff, well worth a visit

One of the best Indians I’ve been to. Food quality excellent and just that bit different. Nicely presented and service good.

Best Indian food in hampshire so far, loved the food , had taken my mum out for dinner on Sat , had a great time , best staff , so alert always around and checking to make sure we were okay, Amazing amazing amazing, loved it

Fabulous food and great service! Lots of seating. Plenty of parking nearby or within 3 or 4 mins walk. Would use again!!

By far 1 of the best Indian restaurants I’ve ever been to came from fareham to drive out to find a Indian restaurant and found this one the food is unbelievable and such great quality will definitely be back again soon

Awesome ambiance. Amazing food.

10/10 very impressed great food , attentive staff and definitely up there with the best Indian food , Korma had a kick and great flavour , home style chicken curry amazing and food served nice and hot . definitely worth a visit !

The curry was very poor, judging by the other reviews one wonders whether the people of Emsworth are blessed with any taste buds...still finding a small peice of tomato in a lamb dhansak was an unexpected surprise which I have never experienced before.....but just like the rest of the dish it was devoid of any discernable taste...... One thing which was rich was the cost of the wine.....£8.50 per glass.....overall very poor

Nice place, very comfortable. The food is excellent and would have been 5 stars except the service was obviously stretched and a bit haphazard as a consequence.

Just had a lovely meal here.. Great food and lovely people.

The best Indian around for takeaway or to dine in. Good prices, lovely food and polite and professional staff.

Authentic Indian cuisine, great to finally find a place that serves proper Indian cuisine.

Friendly staff . Outstanding food . Never disappoints

Went here for lunch whilst on holiday very good food impressed !

We had a lovely evening with the family. The food was especially tasty, and authentic Indian, which is rare these days. Will definitely be returning.

Whether catering for a large group, 12 in our case, or a smaller, the food is so tasty. Matched with warm friendly service, it's a great place to dine out, not just for a special occasion.

Great food great service and friendly staff

Absolutely perfect service, food will definitely be visiting again soon.

I went to the Darbar Indian Restaurant in Emsworth Hant, with friends for the first time this evening. A really lovely atmosphere the staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was absolutely delicious . I can highly recommend it.

Great service, food was amazing. Highly recommend

Hopefully a blip. Ordered a takeaway expecting another delicious meal. Unfortunately well below par with a particularly poor Goan fish curry. The sauces were weak because the onions and tomatoes were not properly incorporated. I hope this is not a sign of standards being dropped to increase profits. Based on past on past performance would try again but now with trepidation.

Really impressed ...menu different from the norm... I had a lamb dish.. that was cooked perfectly.. The staff were lovely.. the only let down.. the desserts and the Irish coffee... .. but happy to recommend and will definitely return

We went to Darbar for the first time this week where the staff were very welcoming. We selected a number of vegetarian options and were able to increase the spice level to our taste. Beautifully presented food and very tasty. Another positive point was the wine selection- a range of Indian wines on offer which I hadn’t tried before. Really complemented the meal. Will definitely be returning!

Fabulous authentic Indian food, not your standard 'Star of India' type fare, as an example... they only serve Indian wine, which is very good. Excellent service and very friendly helpful staff. Highly recommended

Family meal, thumbs up from all. Lunchtime thali great value and all tasty. Very good service and staff

Fantastic and authentic Indian food. It's not the cheapest you can find, but the menu is full of interesting choices. I'm a vegan and although there's only one main course choice, it was fantastic. Great service too.

Authentic Indian Cuisine with excellent quality and service. Thank you

Lovely meal, great service. Would definitely visit again if I'm in the area

1.Goan fish curry - menu said it was spicy and hot etc. but it was bland at best and NOT hot. 2. Nan Breads - probably some of the worst I have had and most UK curry houses do bad nan. But these looked like an authentic Indian nan - but tasted doughy. My daughter described them as more like a thick doughy flat bread. My daughter had Murgh tikka butter masala - this was actually tasty I have spent a lot of time in India and this food is definitely not authentic.. they need to get a new chef. Also to finish off - they add the gratuity to the bill. I paid in cash without the gratuity and they informed that I had paid short... until I pointed out that gratuity is something you pay if you are happy with a meal and service. This parting shot lowered my review from 2 stars to 1