malabar

finally a good place that serves almost authentic indianfood! a bit pricey but totally worth the money !

this rating is based purely on thefoodas the service was friendly and personable. the dal makhani was definitely not dal makhani (there was no butter or cream in sight) and the mix of lentils they used was odd. the butter chicken tasted very tomatoey and bland. the tandoori chicken wasn't charred very well, and tasted more like chicken cooked in a frying pan. considering the priciness of the meals and the ambience, i expected much more.

visited the place after seeing rating on another popular website, the place was a bit crowded but i have to say served some of the best dosa i have tried outside india in a long time. the service was aptly fast and portions offoodwere also decent. really loved the fish curry served to us. nice place definitely worth a second visit for sure

this place is situated in darlinghurst area of sydney and serves one of the best south indianfoodand their taste is just amazing. i absolutely loved this place by seeing the hospitality provided by their staff and and very comfortable sitting area.
recommend to try south indianfoodthere.

i love south indianfoodover north indian thanks to my own upbringing in malaysia, so i was pretty pleased to come across malabar back when i was based in darlinghurst. the owner and host is welcoming and helpful with recommendations; over two visits we tried everything from tandoori chicken (yes i know that's north indian but it's on the menu due to popular demand, along with other north indian dishes) to the unforgettable fried spinach crisps with date sauce (sorry, i don't know the exact name) which i highly recommend.

it’s a great place to be with family and friends. thefoodis delicious and great portions, good variety of dishes to try and great staff,ambiance.

this place is on the corner of darlinghurst, and equipped with a fancy, pretty ambience with great vibes. the service was absolutely outstanding. the waitors constantly tended to us and refilled our waters. additionally, ourfoodcame out within 5 minutes of ordering. their curries were so flavoursome, and the breads were fresh and tasty. loved it.

this is the best i could hunt in my vicinity. one dish i can’t stop talking about is the mysore chilly chops ; beautifully braised and as succulent as ever. thefoodhere has robust coastal flavours. the selection of dosai and the beef vindalo in particular is a must try. the cozy atmosphere and spot on service compliments every dish here. we were hosted by mithun krishnan who was then interning here. thank you team malabar for a remarkable show.

food was really nice. we had spinach chaat and tandoori chicken as our entrée. very tasty.
mango lassi was thick and fresh, it's the best i've ever had.
tandoori chicken was very juicy and full of flavoured.
the lamb dosai was amazing.
we also had goan fish curry. it was terrific and not as spicy as we thought. the butter chicken curry was very tasty.
the garlic naan however is less flavoured.
plus, staff were very friendly and know theirfoodwell.

best indian food! traditional with a modern twist, so many yummy options for vegetarians, so full from thefooddidn’t get to order dessert but will have to order next time! waiter was great and knew the menu well, the deep fried spinach with yogurt was my favourite! great ambience, will be back!

we went here on my birthday. and the rating and stars are 4 because my friend was persistent that i give them 4!!!

ambience and staff behaviour: very courteous and forthcoming. enjoyed the evening without the hassles of conjuring up an elaborate indian fare. full points to them for that!

food: you can do much better. i give a 2 out of 5 for food. the flavours lacked spirit and the chutkaaz for indian fare. not surprised though because almost their entire clientele was australian. if a language is difficult, you don’t change the language, do you! the expertise of the chef lies here. to make thefoodenticing without losing the spirit. thefoodlacked a lot of it!!!

i came here on a date, it was a saturday night at 7:45. it was so busy. the staff where very polite and friendly.

we ordered a bottle of wine, two garlic nan bread and one butter chick and one palak panner one serving of rice.

the waiter brough out our wine. poured our glasses then left. we had two sips then our meal arrived not even 2 mins after ordering it...

we both looked at each other and said this can’t be ours....

the waiter told us what it was as he placed our meals on our table... we both said omg that was so fat i can’t believe we order a bottle we should of just ordered a glass.

thefoodwas so amazing my friend said the butter chicken was so tender it fell apart in his mouth. and that the serving had lost of chucks of chicken it wasn’t only sauce...

my palak panner was so yummy it had about 6 big chunks for cheese and the sauce had lots of spinach through it.

over all thefoodwas amazing it was just quick service. it was a little too rushed. next time we will order a few entree to slow it down a little bit.

can’t wait to go back and try other things from the menu. i highly recommend this restaurant.

no room for dessert is my title for this review. family dinner, 2 regulars, 2 1st timers and 2nd visit for both of us. started with a number shared dosais, certainly got our appetite going. chef mohammed and owner appears at our table smiling and welcomes us. after some pleasant banner, he leaves us as the wet dishes arrive. goan fish(ling) curry in a light coconut sauce followed by lambshank roganjosh. chicken makhani my favourite in creamy tomato based sauce, honey and fenugreek leaves is just so moreish. both servings are wiped clean of sauce with sweet peshwari naan. the other curries and accompaniments just round off a wonderfull dinner. chef mohammed returns to assess our progress and is complimented by our table. if you want great southern indianfoodthis the place to enjoy your night, efficient friendly staff. great decor and outlook at the top of william st

omg 🤤🤤🤤 this is seriously good indian/south indian food. if your not already into south indiafoodthen this is your entry point. get all over south indian....so much better than its north indian bla bla food

we made a booking for sunday night at 6:00 and one of the first things we noticed was how busy it was despite it being early in the night.  it may have been due to the diwali festivities, which the waiter told us about - the restaurant had some special dishes they were serving for the night.  the restaurant is within walking distance to kings cross station.  alternatively, ticketed parking is available on nearby streets, although you will find that on sundays, the ticketing may not be applicable.

the restaurant had very lovely decor and despite it being very packed with diners, did not feel overly noisy.  the lighting of the room was quite dim, and this could make reading the menu difficult for those with poorer vision.  i asked the waiter whether or not the lighting could be adjusted, and they suggested to use the flash light on a smart phone.

for a group of 3, we ordered three dishes.  our starter was the bangalore dosai which was a rice and lentil crispy crepe with potato filling and served with a spicy sauce as well as a coconut sauce.  this dish was tasty, but in the past i had tried another dosai of theirs, with lamb mince and i found that one to be more flavourful.  we then had two main dishes and accompanying rice and naan bread.  our first main dish was a prawn curry (i do not recall the name) which was part of their diwali special menu.  the serving had 7 prawns, which were nicely cooked, and the sauce was described to be 'medium spicy', which to us (as we do not eat indianfoodoften) was quite spicy.  the other dish we had was the chicken makhani, which is more commonly known as butter chicken.  this dish was very tasty, and was not spicy but rather has a more sweet flavour.  i would recommend this dish if you are not too sure whether you are okay with spicy indian dishes.  i attempted to take photos of the dishes, but it was difficult due to the dim lighting.

service was very warm and attentive, however there was an issue with the bill, as the number of rice portions we ordered was inaccurately reflected on the bill.  despite this, the matter was quickly resolved after speaking with the staff, which made it relatively hassle free.

the total for our dining experience was just over $70, and we left feeling quite satisfied.  i still had room in my stomach, and in the future, would maybe have an extra starter.  overall, it was a really enjoyable dining experience and the menu had many interesting items so i'd definitely be interested to try more in the future. 

if you are looking to dine here on a good deal, i would suggest you use a combination of 25% off voucher with entertainment book, together with the occasional dimmi amex promotion (where if you spend $50+, you will receive a $20 cashback).