Solo dining Indian set with gulab jamun in Sillim: India Darbar

I'm travel influencer Chaekmeoggneun-yeoja (책먹는여자). A few years back I was looking for good eats near Sillim Station and found India Darbar, an Indian restaurant. Recently, after watching a YouTube travel video on India, I got a craving for Indian food and went back — here's my review of India Darbar, a Sillim restaurant.

Where is India Darbar near Sillim Station, and what is it like inside?

India Darbar is an Indian restaurant on the 2nd floor at 309 Sillim-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. It's close to Sillim Station. Whenever I pass by, I sometimes see the second-floor windows open with foreign customers eating inside.

When I traveled around Southeast Asia for two years, I made a point of hunting down Indian food too. So let's go meet the taste of India, right here in Sillim~

Best time and seat for solo dining at India Darbar

Since I was eating alone, I deliberately went around 1:30pm, past the lunch rush. Being a popular spot near Sillim Station, it drew not just groups of Korean customers but also groups of Indian locals. The 2-person seats were by the window, so I settled in there.

Apparently you can get free naan if you write a review. Honestly, the naan that came with my regular order was so much I couldn't even finish it all.

What comes in India Darbar's 17,500 won one-person set?

What I ordered was the ₩17,500 one-person set. It comes with green salad, chicken tikka, curry, rice, naan, and lassi. Ordering solo usually means it's hard to justify multiple dishes, but this let me try a little of everything, which I loved.

When I traveled in Malaysia and Indonesia, I used to love eating biryani. That memory came back to me, so I swapped the rice for Indian rice.

Green salad and chicken tikka to start

Let's start with the refreshing green salad with yuzu sauce.

Chicken tikka (bone-free chicken marinated in spices and grilled) was easy to eat since there was no bone to pick out. For my taste it was a bit spicy, so I wrapped it in garlic naan.

Three pieces of naan, swapped for garlic naan

Reviews said the cheese naan was delicious, but I swapped mine for garlic naan instead. It comes as 3 pieces, and there was so much I ended up leaving one uneaten.

Which curry to choose? Chicken masala at India Darbar

You get to choose your curry too. There are three options — palak paneer, chicken masala, or chicken makhani — and since I didn't know any of them well, I asked the owner for a recommendation and went with the spicy masala.

• Palak paneer: a mild curry made with a puréed spinach sauce and paneer, Indian-style cheese.
• Chicken masala: chicken cooked with tomato, onion, and various spices, with a strong spice flavor.
• Chicken makhani: chicken cooked in butter, cream, and tomato sauce, commonly called butter chicken, known for its rich, mellow taste.

I'm mid-way through braces treatment and was told not to eat curry because it stains, but telling me not to eat something just makes me want it more, right? Maybe that's why it tasted even better. I piled the chicken from the spicy masala onto garlic naan and mixed it into the Indian rice too.

Oh right! Tangy lassi is also included in the set. The lassi I had in Nha Trang was much stronger in flavor, but this one was mild.

Side dishes were pickled radish, jalapeños, and onion kimchi. Surprisingly, the onion kimchi paired well.

Gulab jamun, the Indian dessert, for 3,000 won

The curry and naan were familiar tastes I'd had at Indian restaurants at home and abroad, but this time I also tried a dessert I'd never had before. Gulab jamun costs ₩3,000 — it's an Indian dessert made from fried milk-based dough balls soaked in sweet syrup. The texture was new to me, and it was a nice sweet way to finish off after the spicy curry.

Is India Darbar worth it for solo dining in Sillim?

If you're craving Indian food instead of your usual solo lunch spot near Sillim Station, give India Darbar a try. The one-person set lets you enjoy curry, naan, chicken tikka, and lassi all at once, which made for a great variety even eating alone. By my standards, it was filling enough that I left a piece of naan behind.

After the meal, I'd also recommend a walk along Dorimcheon stream, right in front of the restaurant. If you're too full to head straight home, take a slow stroll along the water. Pairing Indian food for lunch with a walk along Dorimcheon sounds like a great way to spend a relaxed afternoon in Sillim, don't you think?