Mr. Khan loves letting his traditional Pakistani cooking shine through, and considers himself an ambassador of all the good that Pakistani culture has to share.

This city is full of Indian restaurants, but Mr. Khan prides himself in doing things a little differently at Darbar. He loves letting his traditional Pakistani cooking shine through, which use less oil and different spices than Indian techniques, and considers himself an ambassador of all the good that Pakistani culture has to share (in a time when it can seem like all we get is bad news from that part of the world).

And Mr. Khan's food delivers a cultural recommendation like no other. At Darbar, you’re not going to see your food until after you’ve ordered it. What that means is that instead of pointing to interesting dishes on the other side of a piece of glass, you’ll be ushered in by the staff at Darbar, seated at a table among the pleasant artwork and music and given as much time as you need to look over the menu that truly offers something for everyone, even beef eaters. Darbar uses the freshest ingredients, but you won’t see that reflected in your final bill, with the average price of an entrée hovering around $9. The majority of the dishes here are cooked inside a tandoor oven, including an impressive range of nan bread (there are eleven varieties!), from the well-loved garlic nan to the less well known peshawri nan, stuffed with nuts, raisins, coconut, and cherries.

If you really want to make a show of your dinner, order something that comes out of the oven on a hot sizzler plate, like the tandoori lamb boti. And speaking of hot, you can choose how much heat to put on your food in the form of mild, medium and hot, and if you get a little ahead of yourself with the spice, calm your mouth down with a mango lassi, the smoothest smoothie you’ll ever have in your life, made from yogurt and mangoes. We’ve been doing a lot of meat talk, but Darbar also offers a huge vegetarian section with 16 mouthwatering vegetable options, all of which are $6-$8.

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Menu Highlights:
Tandoori Beef Boti – tandoori grilled seasoned boneless beef cubes on hot sizzler plate, $10
Tandoor Chicken Boti – Tandoori boneless chicken breast marinated with herbs and spices on hot sizzler plate, $8.25 Karahi Chicken – chicken cooked in deep wok, fresh tomatoes, onion, ginger, garlic and spices, $8.25
Prawn Vindaloo – giant prawns in hot and spicy vindaloo sauce with potatoes, $10.25
Bhindi (Okra) Masala – Bhindi (okra) roasted with fresh tomatoes, onions, herbs and Darbari spices, $7
Garlic Nan – freshly baked tandoori bread with garlic, $2.25
Peshawri Nan – freshly baked tandoori bread stuffed with nuts, raisins, coconut, and cherries, $3

Hours:
Lunch Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dinner Daily, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.