Want to impress your friends by introducing them to a great place to eat? Check out Darbar Halal for a wonderful Indian food lunch or dinner. While it hasn’t been in Elk Grove long, it’s sure to be a favorite and holds up well against other excellent restaurants in the area. Elk Grove is a great place to live. One of the many things that makes that true is in its variety of places to shop, eat and recreate. It’s pretty obvious that the parks in this community are some of the best in the state. The choices of where to shop go from small, mom and pop style to major brands and as far as restaurants go, Elk Grove’s dining scene keeps getting better and better. Read on to learn what Darbar Halal brings to that scene.

I love food from other cultures. To me, it’s an exciting chance to learn about others from the place that most of us can relate to-food. So one day when I was meandering around Elk Grove with the express intention of finding a new restaurant, I found Darbar Halal and knew fate was on my side. Now East Indian food is nothing new to me but because there are so many versions of dishes I already love, I knew I’d find something new to fall in love with. Here’s what I discovered made Darbar Halal different from my other similar restaurants I’ve enjoyed. In addition to traditional East Indian food, Darbar Halal’s passion is to offer an unforgettable culinary experience by adding Afghani and Persian dishes to its offerings! But it gets better. Whether you’re hungry for lunch or dinner, you can order from the menu or eat the variety of food offered in the buffet. For me, the buffet works best because I can explore without having to commit to meal sized portions. Because I didn’t know anything about Afghani food, I decided to focus on it by doing a bit of impromptu homework before eating. Let me tell you, Afghani food is AMAZING!!!

It's All About the Spices

Despite Afghan dishes being strong contenders in the spice-driven food culture, the food is not “spicy”. For example, masala is a term commonly used when eating Indian cuisine, but its Afghani version does NOT contain chili powder. I noticed the difference immediately with my first bite of chicken tikka masala. It was amazingly buttery, creamy and definitely had its signature spices of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom but didn’t have the sharper heat that’s often present. Okay, here’s a quick aside. I’m sure I’ve talked about the fact that I’m from Azores, Portugal, and grew up in a very spice-forward culture. Like many ancient countries, the spice trade was a very big deal from the start of its civilization. Because of that, Portugal shares many of the characteristic spices found in other cultures from Europe, Asia and Africa. I know how even the simplest of dishes can be elevated with the creative use of high-quality spices. If the spices aren’t high quality, the dishes show up like a toned down version of itself. Nothing I tried at Darbar Halal was a toned-down version!

Here's what I tried that was the best in its class: I chose the garlic naam which is prepared after you arrive and served as fresh as it gets. I also tried fish pakora which was new to me. Pakora is a style of street food that differs from samosas but I’d say belongs in the same category. It’s a crispy, fritter-like food that’s perfect for dipping in sauces. I tried both the vegetable and fish version. I loved both, and as promised, they were perfect when dipped in the sweet chutney, creamy chaka (herbal yogurt sauce), or gheimeh (tomato-based sauce).

I also tried the palak (spinach) paneer (Indian cottage cheese), eggplant bharta, and malai chicken. Every single thing I tried was amazingly delicious, and if it had been possible to eat more, I would have gone back for seconds. Fair warning: I couldn’t try all the dishes offered at the buffet because it was impossible to eat that much food (even a sample of all is too much). There was much more offered than I could eat, so the good news, I can look forward to more new food experiences at Darbar Halal.

Ambience and Service are as High Quality as the Cuisine

While I can talk all day about how wonderful the food is at Darbar Halal, I want to be sure you know that this is an impressive place in general. The ambience lends itself to a dining experience rather than just a place to eat out. The service quality of service matches the food’s impressive presentation.  It’s definitely a restaurant that you can introduce your friends to when you want to go out for something that’s more than casual dining. Please put Darbar Halal at the top of your list of restaurants to explore. You’re welcome in advance.

A positive dining experience is a real treat and at the end of your moving day, will hit the spot. As your friendly neighborhood self-storage facility, Harbour Point Self Storage is committed to making your moving experience a very positive one. We pride ourselves in knowing the Elk Grove community so that we suggest what to treat yourself with at the end of your moving day. We often hear about great places from others in the community. Please feel free to help us out by telling us about your favorite Elk Grove places to dine, recreate and shop. We look forward to hearing from you.

Darbar Halal
8649 Elk Grove Blvd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624
(916) 647-3658
Open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Darbarhalalrestaurants.com