Darbar · Royal Mughlai Fine Dining

Darbar a royal table in Yorkville

Mughlai grandeur — tandoor, dum and gold.

Slow-cooked dum, a live tandoor and a royal degustation, plated in the opulent tradition of the Mughal courts — in the heart of Toronto's Yorkville.

Dinner 5:30 – 11:00 PM daily Lunch Fri – Sun · 12:00 – 2:30 PM Chef's table · Private dining Halal kitchen

A cuisine born in the courts of kings.

Mughlai cooking was never everyday food. It was created for the royal kitchens of an empire — where masters of spice, fire and patience competed to set a table worthy of an emperor. Whole almonds ground to silk, saffron measured like treasure, meats marinated for a day and sealed to cook in their own steam.

At Darbar we keep that discipline alive. Our dum dishes are sealed under bread and cooked low for hours, so the aromatics never escape. Our tandoor roars from dusk, charring kebabs and breads to order. Nothing is rushed, and nothing is ordinary.

The room answers the food: candlelight on gilded arches, jewel-toned velvet, the quiet ceremony of a meal that unfolds course by course. This is North-Indian dining at its most regal — a darbar, a royal court, set for you.

Slow dum, sealed & steamed Live charcoal tandoor Whole-spice, ground in house Halal kitchen

À la carte

The full menu

Kebabs off the live tandoor, slow-simmered curries, sealed dum biryani and breads pulled to order. Spice is adjustable on every dish; Jain and no-onion-no-garlic on request.

Kebabs & Tandoor

Soft minced kebabs seared golden and served with mint chutney

$26

Galouti Kebab

The legendary melt-in-the-mouth kebab of Lucknow — fine-minced, perfumed with warm spice and seared until it dissolves. Served on saffron bread.

Chef's signatureHalal

$24

Seekh Kebab

Spiced minced kebabs hand-pressed onto skewers and charred over the live tandoor, finished with smoked onion and chaat masala.

Adjustable heatHalal

Creamy white malai chicken tikka with mint-yogurt dip and salad

$25

Malai Tikka

Yogurt-and-cream marinated morsels, mild and buttery, blistered in the tandoor. The gentlest, richest way in.

HalalMild

A mixed grill platter of assorted tandoori kebabs and breads

$42

Tandoori Platter

A royal assortment for the table — galouti, seekh and malai tikka with tandoori breads and three house chutneys. Made to share.

To shareHalal

Curries

Rich orange butter chicken curry in a copper bowl with cream

$32

Butter ChickenMurgh Makhani

Tandoor-roasted chicken folded into a silk tomato-and-cashew gravy, finished with cream, fenugreek and a whisper of honey.

Chef's signatureHalal

$34

Rogan Josh

Slow-braised lamb in a Kashmiri gravy stained deep red with dried chilli and Ratanjot — aromatic, warming, never harsh.

MediumHalal

Paneer cubes in a creamy tomato makhani sauce

$26

Paneer Makhani

House-set paneer in the same velvet makhani gravy as our butter chicken — our most-loved vegetarian curry.

VegetarianMild

$22

Dal Makhani

Black urad lentils simmered overnight with tomato, butter and cream until impossibly rich. Slow food, the royal way.

Vegetarian24-hr simmer

Dum Biryani

Long-grain basmati layered with spice and meat, sealed under dough and cooked dum — low and slow — then cracked open at the table. Served with raita and salan.