Sillim Station Indian restaurant, mutton korma for three: India Darbar

ⓒ Travel Yang-i

I was trying to figure out what to eat for dinner in Sillim and wanted something different from my usual go-tos, so I stopped by the Sillim Station branch of India Darbar. From the moment you walk in, the place is full of Indian atmosphere and you can really dig into proper Indian food — here's my detailed review :)

Where is India Darbar? Second floor of 309 Sillim-ro, a walk from Sillim Station

India Darbar is on the 2nd floor of 309 Sillim-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul — above Matsarang Jjukkumi restaurant! It's an easy walk from Sillim Station, so it works well as a meeting spot too.

Walk inside and the decor and atmosphere feel much more like authentic India than your average restaurant. It's less of a grab-a-curry-and-go spot and more of a place to sit with friends and share a bunch of dishes! The staff seemed genuinely Indian, and the whole interior felt completely like the real deal. It felt like I was on a trip to India, so I ended up looking around everywhere haha.

The menu was seriously huge. I learned just how many different kinds of Indian dishes there are haha.

Why three of us ordered Set B for two at India Darbar

What I ordered was India Darbar's Set B. Set B can be picked by party size — there's a two-person set and a three-person set — but even though there were three of us, we went with the two-person set and added extra dishes a la carte instead.

For the curry, I picked something safe and one of my favorites — butter chicken.

Set B comes with green salad, boneless tandoori chicken, one curry, naan, rice, and lassi!

What we finally ordered: Set B for two plus three extras

• Set B for 2
• Butter chicken curry
• Added mutton korma curry
• Chicken fried rice
• 1 mango lassi

When three people go out for Indian food, ordering just one curry feels a bit thin, but ordering several a la carte dishes can end up being too much.

Doing what we did — starting with a two-person set as the base and then adding an extra curry plus a fried rice or a drink — seems like a good approach! We added chicken fried rice.

The fried rice had that slightly loose, fluffy texture like what you'd get in Southeast Asia. Just a heads up — it's a bit different from Korean-style rice!

Choosing the curries at India Darbar: butter chicken and mutton korma

For the two-person Set B, you pick one curry, and the options were vegetable curry / lamb curry / chicken curry,

and from those we picked butter chicken from the chicken curry side and mutton korma from the lamb curry side!

The reason we picked butter chicken and korma curry was that we prefer a smooth, creamy style over curries with really intense spice.

Personally, butter chicken was especially to my taste! The friends who came with me liked butter chicken too.

It's a tomato-based curry with cream mixed in, so the first taste is smooth, and the spice comes through gently afterward.

How big is the naan at India Darbar, and how to eat it

Isn't the naan size huge haha. Tearing off a big piece of naan and dunking it generously in the butter chicken sauce was, as expected, a great match.

They gave us scissors too, and I did try cutting it with the scissors first, but tearing it with your hands really is the way to go, right?

If you're trying Indian curry for the first time, or if strongly spiced food feels a bit intimidating, starting with butter chicken seems like a fine choice.

Eating the fresh salad and tandoori chicken in between bites made the whole spread feel really well-rounded.

Adding a mango lassi: Set B comes with two plain lassis

For drinks, we added a mango lassi. The set comes with 2 plain lassis as standard, and since there were three of us, we added a mango lassi.

Lassi is yogurt-based, so taking a sip after eating curry or spiced food gives your mouth a smooth reset! Mango lassi in particular is sweet, so it worked almost like a dessert in the middle of the meal.

I'm not usually a fan of yogurt, but it was genuinely delicious. It was my first time trying lassi and it's totally my style~ Since there were three of us, we only added one drink, but it worked well shared around while we ate the curries.

Who should eat at India Darbar near Sillim Station?

Recommended for these kinds of Sillim diners

India Darbar is a great spot for when you're craving something different from the usual Korean food or meat dishes for dinner. Especially if you're going with a group, I'd recommend ordering a set menu as the base and then adding dishes like biryani or lassi to share!

If there are three of you like us, go with Set B for 2 plus extra a la carte dishes!! The butter chicken was fairly mild and easy to enjoy without feeling like too much, and it was way more fun than sticking to just one dish. If you're craving curry or naan in Sillim, or looking for a restaurant near Sillim Station where you can share several dishes with friends, India Darbar's Sillim Station branch is well worth a visit!