Durbar Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Toronto

Overall the food and experience was mediocre at best.

Went there on a Saturday night and it was busy, was told a half hour wait. Fine, I get it it's Saturday. We were seated 20 minutes later.

Veggie pakoras for appetizer. They came fast so that tells me they were microwaved. Dry but not bad. For the mains we had butter chicken and palak paneer. Butter chicken was awful. Mostly sauce with 4 small pieces of chicken. Chicken was dry and felt like an afterthought to the dish, as if it was dumped into the sauce at the last minute. Palak paneer was also a disappointment. Very little paneer, mostly sauce.

The ambience of the place was stale and a restaurant that needs a makeover badly. The table next to us had to kill some giant bug crawling on their booth.

The staff did what they needed but not much more. They had 2 waiters working and if felt as if they were a staff member short. The waiters did everything from greeting, sitting guests, taking orders, serving food, busing tables, and dealing with online orders, which there were tonnes. In the hour we were in the restaurant I saw at least a dozen online order pickups from places such as Skip the Dishes and Doordash.

There was an empty table next to us that had dirty dishes sitting there for the entire hour we were there. Kind of gross and lazy the staff didn't clean up after the guests from that table left.

I've had tastier boil in the bag Indian meals I've bought from the...

I ordered from this place a lot. I even gave it a five-star in the past.

Sadly, no more.

About 6 to 8 weeks ago I noticed a change in taste and consistency in the food quality.

I made it point to call the restaurant and let them know. The manager I was told was on vacation. I called twice before I was given this information.

The person I was speaking with asked what he could do. I told him the quality of the food has deteriorated. I didn’t want to have to write a bad a review. I actually said “I am giving you an opportunity to improve.”

I ordered chilli paneer. It was awful. The paneer was chewy and hard. The vegetables were not cut properly. The week before there was a pool of oil floating on top of the dhal tadka. I am comparing this to the food quality of this very restaurant up until approx. May 2022.

I know their deserts are terrible, I told them about this also. They said it was brought-in. At that time I told them find another supplier. I stopped ordering desert and continued to order the main dishes which at the time were still delicious.

I will no longer order from this place. They need quality control in their kitchen.

It is no longer worth the price...

We came here on the recommendation of my Indian client who told us it was 'very authentic'. The service is friendly, easy going atmosphere, I had no issue dining in a tank top during summer heat. There is a TV on which I don't love, but the music is pleasent and it's easy upbeat vibe. The manager was professional but not suffocating or overly serious, just gracious, dress casual style himself, and served our dinner without delay or hassle. The food was wonderful, it was spiced in a way that preserved subtle flavours. Often other places it was just spicy without much aroma or subtlety. We came back two more times before this review, both lunch specials and main courses. I had the Vindaloo twice and Chana Masala. The rice, just plain rice, was consistently so well cooked that every grain was seperate, nice pillowy texture and perfectly absorbed the main course laid on top. Loved it and felt well served, so it was refreshing to go. We have been to many others in the city and the area. Prices were also fair, they did not use the pandemic to double prices. Other patrons were also munching happily and chatting. I recommed...