Sillim Indian restaurant for weekend lunch mutton masala: India Darbar

I was craving something exotic for weekend lunch, so I headed to India Darbar, well known as a Sillim Station favorite. I'd heard it was one of the best-quality Indian restaurants around and had really wanted to try it — I've been visiting Gwanak-gu often these days haha, so last weekend I finally made it happen.

I think I got there just before noon, and there were already quite a few customers eating, plus delivery orders kept coming in.

How to find India Darbar from Sillim Station: stairs to the 2nd floor

India Darbar is easy to find — just walk along the main road out of Sillim Station. The restaurant is on the second floor, so you have to take the stairs up, but they weren't steep, so it was no trouble going up or down. We had our baby with us and it was still comfortable during the meal.

The interior had an exotic feel, and the space itself was large and comfortably divided, so we could sit without feeling cramped at all. The tables were on the wider side, so even with several dishes ordered, it never felt crowded — it was great. We probably could have ordered even more.

India Darbar menu: why there is no lunch set on weekends

India Darbar menu

Here's the India Darbar menu for reference. They had more curry options and more naan varieties than other places I've been to, which I liked. Interestingly, they even have curry pasta. There's a lunch set too, but it's not available on weekends, so we decided to order à la carte. We ended up ordering a wide spread: mutton masala, palak paneer, naan, cheese naan, apple honey jaa, and plain lassi.

Mutton masala and palak paneer: is the lamb gamey?

First up, mutton masala — a curry with lamb, where the deep, intense spice-infused broth blended beautifully with the lamb's distinctive rich flavor. Rather than being aggressively spicy, it had a deep, layered heat built from the spices, the kind that keeps you coming back for another bite. I wondered if there'd be any gamey lamb smell — but there was none at all, and the meat was so tender!!

Palak paneer was a spinach-based curry with paneer cheese in it, and the mellow flavor of the spinach paired so harmoniously with the soft, cheesy texture — it was delicious.

Apple honey jaa, a palate cleanser you rarely see elsewhere

Apple honey jaa was a sweet dish, sort of a dessert-meets-meal item. I picked it because I hadn't seen it anywhere else, and the bright sweetness of the apple combined with the subtle sweetness of the honey made it perfect as a palate cleanser. After all the bold flavors, each bite left my mouth feeling refreshed.

Plain naan vs cheese naan: how filling the double-layer cheese naan is

The plain naan was crisp outside and soft inside — clearly well-baked in a tandoor oven.

The cheese naan felt much more filling than a regular naan — the cheese inside stretched out with every pull, doubling the nutty richness. It was tasty enough to eat plain, so I kept reaching for it even without curry.

There was plenty of cheese packed inside, and it was folded in half — a kind of double-layer style — that made it very filling.

The naan had a slightly crisp outside and a soft, pillowy inside, perfect for dipping into the curry broth. We love naan, so we skipped rice entirely and ordered three naans instead — which turned out to be so filling we nearly couldn't finish them. The food quality was great and the menu variety was impressive, making this a real Sillim Station standout. Highly recommend if you love Indian food!

India Darbar hours, location and parking

• Hours 11:00–23:00, last order 22:30
• If you park at the Diamond Building lot it's ₩2,000 per hour, but they take ₩2,000 off your food bill
• I saw parking info on Naver Place but couldn't find where it was haha — we ended up using the lot in the building behind, which was ₩3,000 per hour
• When I search the map now, that lot doesn't even show up — it was a mechanical parking system!!
• Using a nearby public parking lot would probably be cheaper

If you're planning to visit by car, I'd recommend checking available parking ahead of time.