Delhi Darbar Gastronomy, Thane West, Mumbai

Mumbai to Thane. It is a day long trip in itself, and nothing is better than getting this trip complimented with a superb dining experience which Delhi Darbar Gastronomy expertly provides :) 

All Pictures Credit: Prachi Shailendra

It was a hot sultry afternoon when my mom,sister & I were in Thane to meet some outstation friends after a long time. Their train got delayed which put a major crimp in our schedule, us being famished during lunch time and them not reaching here before 4 PM. I used to come to Bhandup-Thane area during my college time a lot and still have friends here some of whom had told me good things about Delhi Darbar Gastronomy in recent times,so we landed up here for a hearty lunch. Very easy to find, this one is located in Panch Pakhadi area of Thane, very close to Eastern Express Highway and there are milestones located at proper intervals too.

Elegant ambiance awaits with a newly furbished look and extremely caring staff, bringing back childhood memories of going to these perfect family restaurants for dinner on special occasions! Right off the bat, a wave of nostalgia sweeps over us. The old world charm, yet contemporary decor, a calm vibe, extremely comfortable seating, Delhi Darbar is already a hit with us, the picture perfect destination for family lunches, dinners or any sort of social or corporate gatherings.

We find out that there are both Buffet as well as A-La Carte options to choose from. While we are famished, we give the buffet section a look over and it is HUUUUUGE! So many options, we choose to keep it aside for another day when we are joined by more hungry hippos :D Right now,we decide to dig in to some choicest offerings from the menu, starting with refreshing Mocktails of Apsara and Red Signal. Apsara was Litchi with Mint which my sister found to be a bit too sweet and the litchi flavor was missing, but I loved the mint,perfect for the afternoon. My mom finished the Red Signal lovingly,a strawberry based drink she loved, for its looks as well as flavors :)

The food menu replete with all the Indian and Chinese dishes confused us (apart from heavily tempting us),so we got a bunch of our favorites and some new dishes to try too where the staff helped us a lot. Veg Delight, Multani Paneer Tikka and Multani Mushrooms made up our starters. The portions are generous and 2 light eaters will get stuffed on having 2-3 starters only. Even 4 hungry hippos like me can stuff themselves with starters, soup, main courses in less than Rs. 1500 which makes this a very value for money proposition :) Love!

So Veg Delight was this Chinese - saucy- spicy veg dish that my mom loved while I noshed on my favorites Multani Paneer Tikka which were these huge soft chunks of Paneer stuffed with mushrooms! Delicious indulgence! My sister is not a huge fan of mushrooms but the Multani Mushrooms were a surprise hit with her too, stuffed Tandoori Mushrooms with cheese, this one is full of calories and taste :) 

I know we should have stopped at starters, but we still had to wait an hour before meeting our friends and we were soooo famished that main course seemed to be calling us :D So we ordered Palak Chaman, delicious non-greasy and wholesome Palak Paneer AND Darbari e Sabzi Kofta i.e. Veg Kofta in rich mildly spicy gravy. The quantity was again very generous and we could not finish it off but savored every bite with accompanying Garlic Naan & Laccha Paratha (perfection in every way). We even tasted Veg Biryani which I think I would be ordering every time I am here because (a)- It was delicious with fragrant rice,loads of veggies & mildly spiced and (b)-It was not heavy at all, I mean, not even an extra drop of oil or ghee was used in that, it was so light on stomach and accompanying raita was great too, perfectly cooling :)

A normal person would go into food coma after all this. Trust me, I also did, but not before tasting a dessert platter made up of softest Gulab Jamuns, indulgent yet light Moong Daal Halwa & my favorite out-of-this-world Dudhi Halwa. Thank you to the staff for honoring my request and getting us small portions because otherwise we would have had to set up a bed and sleep here for the rest of the week :P

Every single item we ordered tasted just as it should, again bringing back memories of having elaborate dinners with loved ones, not a hint of any spice or flavor being out of proportion with portions our grandmas would be proud of. We are keeping this on our list of must-visit places when in the area, or even traveling here to spend some quality time with family over hearty, wholesome, soul-satisfying food :)

All Pictures Credit: Prachi Shailendra