Travel Dubai- Street Food: A real taste of Pakistan!

This is fast, efficient homestyle cooking from the spice loving countries of Indian and Pakistan.  With dishes full of thick, flavoursome sauces and traditional foods cooked in traditional vessels, this is as authentic as it gets. A simple spot with delicious and very affordable food from colourful curries to soothing lassi.

Karachi Darbar is a favourite of Dubai residents who are looking for the spicy thrills of Pakistani and Indian fast food. The great thing about “fast food” from this region is that it is not fast at all. Prepare to see stews on the menu and freshly made breads as even humble restaurants from the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent cook real food in very traditional ways and all from scratch.

When you go to a place like this, your expectations must be modest. The setting is very basic. It is a clean cafeteria with staff who speak broken English but are fluent in Urdu, Hindi and other languages.  But the menu is no language barrier.  The dishes are named in English and are very tasty and sometimes highly spicy.

We suggest you go before 3:00pm or after 6:00pm so you can order the house special, the Peshawari Mutton Kadai, served in a quaint metal dish. It is guaranteed to be some of the best mutton you will eat in your life. Another favourite is their Chicken Tikka Masala, which is just absolutely sublime with the hint of charcoal flavour. The Chicken Chilli is also rather delicious and all dishes can be rather mild or punched up with extra chillies for the heat lover.  Sop up the gravy heavy meat dishes with freshly baked Tandoori bread, which comes with big, beautiful air pockets which are great for stuffing. This is the kind of place you eat with your fingers as while spoons are provided, they are best used for just scooping from the serving plates to your own. No knife is provided so if you are looking to eat on the back of your fork, this is not the place for you.

With locations all over Dubai, you may pass a Karachi Darbar in other areas but it is the traditional Karama location that is as popular with expatriate residents as natives of Pakistan and India looking for really good food from their region.

A variety of  fresh juices and lassis are available to cool the heat of very spicy dishes and aid digestion.   We went totally gaga over the mango lassi made with fresh mango which was among the best ever.

If you have not filled up too much on the breads during your meal and you still have a little space, we suggest that you order the Falooda, which is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert of ice cream, rose water, crispy noodles and nuts. No matter how much food you order, you would be hard pressed to break the bank as the food here is so very well priced. So be sure to order extra and take home some to warm up later.

Restaurant Name: Karachi Darbar

Restaurant Style: “Street Food”/Casual Dining

Location: Karama

Tel: +971 4 3347272

Opening Hours:  4:00am-1:00am

Cleanliness Grade – A

Serves Alcohol:  Nope