The food and service here was spectacular. We ordered a couple of things -- Tandoori Mix Grill (10/10), Malai Soya Chaap (10/10), Lemon Chicken (11/10), and Amritsari Kulche (10/10 again) and Masala Soda. All tasted great, freshly made. Lemon chicken curry was the highlight, which we haven't seen at any of the nearby places. Service was impeccable. A huge shoutout to Amit who not only went above and beyond with the service, but also gave great recommendations to make it a great meal. Will visit again! read more

Butter Chicken definitely has a slight kick to it even with the mild spice level! It was delicious but I was a bit disappointed that it did not come with a portion of rice. (Totally minor thing, we are from out of state. Colorado restaurant usually serve it with rice) Overall, it is very authentic and I'd highly recommend! read more

Great food but, sadly, poor service. This was the first time my husband and I came here. We were very, very impressed by the food. Everything was just wonderful, and the food alone gets a solid five stars from me. Complex flavors, just the right amount of heat. Papadum, tandoori salmon, lamb saag, and gajar halwa were outstanding. The staff, unfortunately, looked inexperienced and standoffish. We came in at an off-peak time. The place was nearly empty, so it was not like they had their hands full. As we were going through the meal, not a single dirty plate was taken away from our table. When we finished dessert, all the used dishes from the appetizer and main course were still on the table. That was so odd. It was rather hard to get the attention of the servers. At one point, a server who had brought our dishes before was standing in the back of the room and looking straight at me. I tried to summon him first by making eye contact, then by a meek hand wave, but he redirected his look a little away from me and just continued standing there. We were brought the wrong dessert and realized that only after we started eating, but decided it would be too much hassle to get it replaced. We live very close by and will likely come back for takeout, but not for dine-in. read more

Was in the area and ended up here due to the high ratings, and boy were they right! We came at an off time around a 4pm on a Sunday, so there was only one other party inside. It's clean inside and plenty of natural lighting. Since we were one of two parties inside, the service was quick. I ordered the chicken tikka wrap, as I was feeling something handheld. The chicken tikka was perfectly seasoned, with a good kick of spiciness. I will say, the oil did seep through the naan wrap, so it was definitely a bit messy to eat. But the flavor was so good that it was worth it. AND, the wrap was only $14. In this economy? The prices were really reasonable. One of the best Indian restaurants I've had in the Bay, and I will be back! read more

Shahi Darbar - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Delicious food at a great price point! I visited on a Friday evening, and it was decently busy. I liked the chill, casual atmosphere of the restaurant - a perfect environment for a family dinner or to catch up with friends. The service was a bit slow: we had to ask the employees several times for water and to order and the bill. It wasn't a huge deal because the food was definitely worth the wait. We tried a couple of their monthly specials, and every single dish was filled with flavor. The chicken malai handi was creamy and paired perfectly with pesto naan. I loved the Manchurian noodles so much. The stir fried noodles had a spicy, savory sauce, plenty of veggies, and delicious Manchurian balls. The chili paneer featured crispy paneer cubes in an umami soy, vinegar, and chili sauce. Every bite of this meal was tasty and addicting. The portions were generous, and the price point was super reasonable. I'm already planning my next visit! read more

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The tables and dishes are clean. The staff was friendly. I ordered takeout (butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, tandoori salmon skewer, garlic naan, and aloo kulcha). The prices were decent. The portion sizes were also decent, but I wish they gave us more of the tandoori salmon for the price. The food was tasty, but I asked for mild spice, and it was still pretty spicy (more of a medium spice) in my opinion. read more

Lots of parking right outside it and conveniently located between 2 famous indian grocery stores on el camino main road - patel brothers and new india bazar. Thank god they were open on new years' day today. We were welcomed warmly by the 2 servers who were cordial, friendly and had amazing suggestions for us. They insisted on we trying something different and we loved it :) In $55 (before tip), we got: - butter chicken - 5/5 - u can request for it to be nut free and they accommodate. It paired perfectly with roti/ naan. Creamy and soft. - kadai chicken - 4/5 - it wasnt like the typical kadai chicken but more like chicken curry and/ or patiala chicken masala. It was salty when paired with roti but tasted great with rice/ naan. - tawa roti - 5/5 - $2 for 2 roti chapati. Perfect home like roti which we loved!! - garlic naan - 5/5 - perfectly cooked and paired beautifully with the butter chicken as suggested by our server - saag and mooli makki methi roti combo - 4/5 - saag was really good and spicy. The roti was decent on its own but i feel it was missing some butter and jaggery. - loved the addition of sliced onions, pickle, green chutney. They were out of chai - i was hoping to try it. Definitely coming back for more :) read more

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So good i love the dish they added recently with kidney beans. They have an extensive menu for vegans so I really appreciate that. Comfy seating too. Ooo and the samosas are amazing! Love those sauces. read more

I've passed by Shahi Darbar so many times but I never looked into it. Recently I had a friend recommend it so I decided to give it a try.. I'm so upset I didn't try it sooner! We had the samosa chaat, malai kofta, dal mahkni, channa saag and garlic naan. The waiter asked us which spice level we preferred between mild, medium and spicy, we chose spicy and this gave the food a very nice kick. Almost everything we ordered was a 10/10. I have had better dal mahkni at other places but this one was still an 8/10. The waiter was attentive, the food was out it a timely manner and the dishes were amazing. Check this place out! read more

Shahi Darbar - Top to bottom: Malai Kofta, Dal Makhni, Channa Saag. Middle: Samosa Chaat. Right: Garlic Naan - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Solid spot for Indian food with nice seating and decor inside. Service was great. There were quite a few parties for dinner, but we got seated right away. Lots and lots of choices on the menu and they even have monthly specials! Everything was delicious - the naan was pillowy inside and crisp outside, chutneys good... I need to go back and explore more of their menu! read more

Shahi Darbar - Pani Puri, Garlic Naan, Chicken Tikka Masala, Tadka Dal - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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This was our first time here and had a nice dinner overall. The taste was good and we opted for mild. Service was friendly and fast. Quality of the food was good. The tables and booths were clean and the restaurant was bright with big windows. read more

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White linen tables, Taj Mahal beer on the shelves, and waiters in black shirts -- to set the scene. The food is reasonably priced, with many bites under $10 (appreciated in this economy). The food comes out fast and hot. The papdi chaat (spicy) was as expected- refreshing and spicy. However the papdi could have been fresher or less baked. The paneer tikka masala - the paneer soft and the gravy tasty. The gobi manchurian - soft and mushy, & just alright. read more

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Was overall pretty disappointed. I had heard good things about this place, but neither food nor the service was spectacular. For appetizers, the paneer pakora was good. But the vadas in the dahi were not soft. For entrees the saag was okay. But the malai kofta was one of the worst I've had, and the curry was bland. There was also a lot of service issues that happened throughout the evening, which I questioned. Overall, will likely not come back. Hope them well read more

I am on a search for an Indian restaurant with an excellent navrattan korma since my old favorite, Royal Taj on Camden Ave, has closed. This place is on El Camino Real in that old strip mall with Smart & Final. It looks pretty nice inside. They have it on the menu here, so I ordered it. My husband had the chicken tikka masala, and he enjoyed it. (I tasted it and I thought it lacked flavor compared to other ones I have had in the past.) We had garlic naan, which was excellent, and the samosa appetizers were also great. My navrattan korma, though, was a disappointment; it lacked the favor I expected. So, my search will continue. read more

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This place exceeded expectations! The Indo-Chinese dishes had the perfect balance of spice, smokiness, and freshness. The Hakka noodles and chili-style dishes were packed with flavor. The goat curry was outstanding -- slow-cooked, deeply flavorful, and paired perfectly with rice and paratha. Everything tasted homemade and authentic. Definitely coming back! read more

Shahi Darbar - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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Craving Indian in Silicon Valley area, we hit up yelp and this popped up with good ratings and we decided we had to try it. We were seated right away. Wednesday's after lunch rush not busty. You capture me the QR code on the table for the menu. I wanted the special menu item from they said they don't make those today , bummer understandable but sort of a buzzkill. We went with chicken. Seek kabob wraps and Manchurian . No drinks appetizer s or deserts to keep our bill low. They do have a bar looks like beer and Taj beer only . The wraps came out fresh and the veggies inside were added after because they were cold.. it was wrapped in paper and foil real tight but it was good though, a little messy but manageable to eat . Thank God for napkins and a proper table napkin cloth. Noticed a lot of pickup and to go orders. They also cater. Definitely a family establishment. From outside doesn't look to fancy but inside was a whole different story, well maintained , clean and Indian decor, very chill spot . There is New India Bazaar on the next right parking lot if you need and Indian groceries- that place had everything you need ! You pay the bill via mobile and tap and then select your tip amount . Easy peasy. Had a few issues with flies but they didn't bug us while eating 4/5 solid rating for our first visit . The prices were great too not overly pricy. read more

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A good Indian spot in an area that has a lot of Indian options. It is in a nondescript strip mall, but is surprisingly quite nice inside. Service was fast and friendly. The menu is quite big. Everything we ordered was good, I will come back to try more. read more

Shahi Darbar - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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Not only is the food here absolutely phenomenal, but so is the customer service. The staff here is so friendly and helpful, and their suggestions are very welcome. They were even happy to help us with how to eat the pani puri, which was both delicious and delightful. I cannot possibly recommend this place highly enough. If you like Indian food, you owe it to yourself to try this restaurant. I will definitely be returning in the future. read more

Excellent Food and Customer Service I had a wonderful experience at Shahi Darbar Indian Cuisine in the Santa Clara area. Jess provided excellent customer service and was friendly, attentive, and welcoming throughout our visit. The food was delicious, especially the garlic naan, Saag, Channa Masala, Dal Makhani, and the variety of vegetable dishes. Everything was flavorful, fresh, and well prepared. A special thank you to Jess for making our dining experience even better with such great service. I highly recommend Shahi Darbar Indian Cuisine and look forward to coming back again! read more

I've been there about 3 times and every time it is always delicious. The service is good. The prices are reasonable but most of all , everything we had has been so delicious. Too many things to name. read more

I loved this place. I wish my friends and I came here on empty stomachs because this was our second dinner stop because I really, really, REALLY wanted pani puri, samosas, and Chai. All hit really good! Flavors were spectacular and bursting with deliciousnees. Service is great! read more

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Overall, the diversity of foods offered here from street foods to soul foods and their taste and quality is pretty hard to find. Everything tastes great and staff is nice too. In terms of comfort & ambience: the seating is comfortable and not like restaurants that have very hard and uncomfortable chairs. However, I would recommend switching out the glaring white lights for softer, yellow lights and putting up some art against the bright colored walls as well as stapling all the wires and chords with a plastic strip-- this would really elevate the dining experience here and is a very easy and affordable thing to do. Other than that, it's the food is great! read more

Stale food, chicken was probably 2 days old. Said restaurant was open when closed. Palak was old too. Less than mid food overall

If Jass if your server, then get ready to enjoy your meal! He was ready to answer every question and still asked us what order we wanted our food in. Amazing service and delicious food! Thanks Jass read more

We dined in at Shahi Darbar and enjoyed everything we ordered. The onion kulcha and kadai chicken curry were excellent. The service was slow and scant but the food was great! read more

Our dining experience was very disappointing. Even though several tables were empty, the wait time was much longer than expected. It was clear the restaurant was understaffed, and no one was available to clean the tables promptly. The overall service was extremely slow. The staff seemed indifferent and came across as rude at times. They were unprofessional and didn't appear to know how to handle customers properly. While I understand that being understaffed can make things difficult, the lack of attention to customers was frustrating. We had to try multiple times to get someone's attention, but our table was repeatedly overlooked. The restaurant was also quite loud, making it difficult to enjoy the meal. Despite reminding the staff about our order several times, mistakes were never fully corrected, and the overall service remained slow throughout our visit. read more

Very unprofessional, inexperienced, and rude staff. They had an unnecessary attitude while taking our orders and serving the food. They missed several items from our order and didn't seem to care when we pointed it out. They were unable to handle a fast-paced environment. The restaurant appeared to be severely understaffed, with only two people managing everything. We had to call for assistance multiple times, but they repeatedly ignored our table. They even served us the wrong dish, and when we complained, they insisted we keep it, claiming they were out of the item we had ordered. However, we later saw the same dish being served to other tables. It felt like they did not value their customers. The restaurant was also very noisy, and the service was extremely slow. Even after reminding them three times, they still messed up our order. The food itself was pretty good, but the overall dining experience was disappointing. I would recommend ordering through DoorDash rather than dining in. read more

If you are looking to try North Indian cuisine then this is one of the good places to check out. Chaat was our favorite. We ordered pani poori and chaat papdi. For main dishes we tried Amritsar chole (garbanzos) with Kulcha (potato stuffed bread), and Chicken Tikka masala with garlic roti. We would not recommend garlic roti but go for garlic naan instead, enjoyed kulcha bread much. read more

First off, came because we were looking to find a new Indian restaurant. After being seated we were not given menus but did scan the QR code at table to review. After looking at the menu and deciding on what to get we sat there with our phones face down on table to hopefully give a visual Vue to the staff there thst we were ready to order . Nothing. We made eye contact with the worker standing idle at the cash register with nobody around him. Still nothing so we went up to counter to order - unsure if thats juat how it is here and the cashier took our order. Within moments we saw someone taking orders at two other tables - we were confused about that. Also read in yelp that they do not clear dirty dishes as youre eating and sure enough by dessert all our dirty plates from appetizers to entrees were still on the table - we had to stack our dirty plates to make room for dessert. So service here is questionable. The food was excellent. I'd have given high rating for food but the experience with service that was lukewarm at most made me wonder if I would ever come back even though the food was good. Food 5/5, service brought score down. I've been forgiving in past when service was excellent but food was meh- this is the opposite situation where food was good but service really took things down - too bad really. read more

Wonderful food. Paneer was so soft and all the paneer dishes were wonderful Service by Jass is next level. read more

If you are a vegetarian avoid at all cost. We decided to try this place to celebrate anniversary lunch. Two starts are for good interiors and staff. Food is not even mediocre. We tried sev puri (not tasty), mix veg ( was more like aloo gobhi with tomato), daal tadka and jeera rice. The only thing good was daal tadka, but i will not come to a restaurant for eating just daal tadka. We had to wait 25 minutes to get daal tadka and rice while the restaurant was half empty. Based on the reviews, i think the non- vegetarian items might be better. But not recommended for vegetarian food. Better to go to food trucks on el camino. read more

Shahi Darbar - Mix veg main - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

First time I came it was super delicious.. hot creamy chicken tikka masala, gobi paratha, & lamb kebab. Well spiced and came out hot. The second time I came it was the opposite food was nasty because it had way to much ginger garlic paste in literally everything , I couldn't enjoy nothing .. i ordered the same thing but didn't get the same taste.. that was disappointing.. also the service could be better....bathroom are well kept. Hate the fact that you have to order your rice and roti separately but so be it ! read more

Shahi Darbar - Chicken Tikka Masala. Gobi Paratha. Lamb Seekh Kebab - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Visited their Santa Clara location this time and the food did not disappoint! Got the dahi batata sev puri, chicken curry, garlic naan and full tandoori chicken. Service was good but could be better in terms of table assignment, space optimization and order taking. Definitely recommend a visit! read more

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Food was great and really good service Special thanks to Jass the great and quick service and being kind and respectrum read more

We got takeout from this restaurant. Goat curry was solid. The chicken tikka curry was alright. The naan was disappointing it looked uncooked and overly charred at the same time unfortunately. read more

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Time for updated review. I have visited them multiple times and tried several dishes across the menu. I stand by my earlier reviews-they serve the best Punjabi style food in the bayarea. But, their menu also covers some indo Chinese dishes and biryani. We got biryani this time around and other than the fact that it had rice, chicken and spices it was nowhere close to what a biryani should be. Over the years I have learnt to respect everyone's take on this iconic dish but what they served here is chicken gravy mixed with rice and topped with spring onions. It was neither biryani, nor a pulao nor a fried rice. It was pretty decent but cannot be called biryani. There are restaurants in almost every street now in bayarea serving some really good biryani so they are opening themselves up for criticism serving dishes like this. I think they should stick to what they do well which is Punjabi style food like chole bature, makki di roti sarson ka saag etc rather than have items on the menu they don't know how to cook. The same goes for their indo Chinese offerings as well. They are mostly sweet due to the preservative laden sweet sauce they get tossed in. read more

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Restaurant Review I'll start with the positives, because this restaurant genuinely has potential. Beneath the heavy salting, there are delicate, well-crafted flavors trying to emerge. Someone in the kitchen understands balance and restraint, even if it's currently buried. The cloth napkins and overall cleanliness were also appreciated touches. Unfortunately, the service undermines nearly every good intention. Despite the restaurant being half full or less throughout our visit, service was consistently poor. There are no physical menus, which is not explained upon arrival. You're left to discover this on your own and then flag down a nearly mute waiter to explain the ordering process. There was no greeting, no smile, and none of the basic signals of hospitality one expects in a sit-down restaurant. We ordered several types of naan. The first round arrived tepid. Because the naan is very flat, the butter and oils congealed at that temperature, leaving the bread heavy and dispiriting. Under normal circumstances, this would be easy to remedy. However, no staff member checked in, and there was no visible service presence to address it. The second order of naan arrived in good condition, which confirmed that the kitchen is capable of doing better. An older staff member delivering food barked at me to move dishes so he could place a single small plate on the table, even though we had free hands and it was literally his job to manage the table. Even when a restaurant is overwhelmed, basic words like "please" and "thank you" are standard in any civilized hospitality setting. We ordered a generous amount of food, yet waited 20 to 30 minutes for the rice to arrive. Eating Indian entrées without rice is awkward at best. I had ordered enough rice for three people, but once again, no staff member returned to the table. We eventually had to leave our seats mid-meal to ask for more rice. Rice is not complimentary here, which made the lack of attentiveness even more frustrating. Not once did anyone check to see if we enjoyed the food, needed water, or wanted another drink. The staff and management made us feel unwelcome from start to finish. The food simply isn't good enough to justify enduring such hostility and neglect. This was the first time I didn't bother asking for a container to take leftovers home. And despite the restaurant being less than half full, there was no goodbye or thank you when we left. If you enjoy heavily salted food paired with consistently poor service, this restaurant may suit you. If you enjoy heavily salted food but would rather avoid paying extra for rudeness, I strongly recommend takeout. Based on what I observed, their takeout operation appears to be doing quite well. read more

Food was amazing. Amit's service was great! Highly recommend. Will be back soon! Excellent staff!!!!

We came here from the advise of my sister and her family. The food was so good and we would definitely come back to try the other stuff on the menu. Amit was our server and he was very attentive. Thank you! read more

My friend and I split the Dal Makhni and Paneer Bhurji with garlic naan and rice. Both were super savory and tasty. We did not need to go boxes - we stuffed ourselves to enjoy the food while it was fresh. Prices are reasonable compared to other places nearby. This is my new go to! read more

Shahi Darbar - Garlic Naan Dal Makhni (Special) Paneer Bhurji - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California