Lala Darbar | Authentic Pakistani Cuisine

Lala Darbar | Authentic Pakistani Cuisine

International City

Lala Darbar is an Authentic Desi Restaurant in International City serving Pakistani favourites in a decorated, family-friendly setting. Reviews particularly highlight the mutton karahi, chapli kabab and Karachi-style biryani, although consistency can vary between visits.

Reputation Score
4.2
★★★★☆
1,745 ratings
5★
69%
4★
11%
3★
5%
2★
3%
1★
12%

Source: Google Maps

The Good Stuff

Showing 2 of 6
01

Chapli Kabab

The chapli kabab is described as juicy, aromatic and smoky, with generous servings.

02

Biryani

Karachi-style biryani is one of the more distinctive dishes mentioned by customers.

Let's go!

What to Eat at Lala Darbar | Authentic Pakistani Cuisine

Foods and drinks mentioned in reviews of Lala Darbar | Authentic Pakistani Cuisine, ranked by positive reviews minus negative reviews. Zero-score items have no net positive feedback; their labels distinguish neutral-only from mixed feedback.

Food 2

  1. Chapli kabab Net +3
    “Chapli Kabab: The chapli kabab is juicy, aromatic, and cooked to perfection. It has a great balance of spices and a delicious smoky taste, highly recommended for kabab lovers.”
  2. Kulfi Net +2
    “The kulfi and rabri are outstanding — rich, flavorful, and perfectly prepared.”
Honorable mentions (31)
  1. Achari chicken Net +1
    “The food is absolutely delicious – we especially loved the Achari Chicken and Seekh Kababs, both full of authentic flavor and cooked to perfection.”
  2. Bbq briyani platter Net +1
    “Amazing and tasty food. Had a bbq briyani platter and malai kheer with sweet lassi. Everything was amazing”
  3. Beef nihari Net +1
    “Beef Nihari & Tandoori Roti for main course. Had good Nihari after very long time”
  4. Bouncer mix grills with french fries (chicken) Net +1
    “I must say the food was so delicious! If you want to try authentic cuisine of Pakistan 🇵🇰 you must go to @laladarbarofficial ! . I tried ⭐️. Bouncer mix grills with French fries (chicken) ⭐️. Peshawari kadhai chicken ! ⭐️. Naan ⭐️. Chicken biryani . ⭐️. Kheer . . I would highly recommend to try this restaurant. ♥️.”
  5. Chicken biryani Net +1
    “I must say the food was so delicious! If you want to try authentic cuisine of Pakistan 🇵🇰 you must go to @laladarbarofficial ! . I tried ⭐️. Bouncer mix grills with French fries (chicken) ⭐️. Peshawari kadhai chicken ! ⭐️. Naan ⭐️. Chicken biryani . ⭐️. Kheer . . I would highly recommend to try this restaurant. ♥️.”
  6. Chicken handi Net +1
    “The chicken karai and chicken handi was very good.”
  7. Chicken karai Net +1
    “The chicken karai and chicken handi was very good.”
  8. Chicken peshawari karahi Net +1
    “Recently tried lala darbad restaurant which is owned by famous pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi, they serve pakistani food, we ordered chicken Peshawari karahi and mutton seekh kabab and the taste of both the dishes were really delicious.”
  9. Chicken sheekh Net +1
    “I was ordering their chicken sheekh and mutton sheekh. Both kebab was very good. Tender and juiciness is there. Naan roti was also nice & soft. Overall it’s a good Pakistani taste.”
  10. Deeghi haleem Net +1
    “The taste for white karahi and deeghi haleem was amazing.”
  11. Haleem Net +1
    “Haleem was very good, chicken buryani was ok.”
  12. Karachi-style biryani Net +1
    “This place offers an incredible culinary experience with truly authentic Karachi-style biryani and mouthwatering street food like tikka.”
  13. Kheer Net +1
    “Kheer and Kulfi for sweets. Biryani & kheer in take away. Kheer & Kulfi was so delicious we had to repeat order.”
  14. Makhani chicken handi Net +1
    “I loved their Mixed Grill, Peshawari Mutton Karahi, Makhani Chicken Handi and Mutton Pulao.”
  15. Malai boti Net +1
    “The reshmi kebab and malai boti was good.”
  16. Malai kheer Net +1
    “Amazing and tasty food. Had a bbq briyani platter and malai kheer with sweet lassi. Everything was amazing”
  17. Mixed grill Net +1
    “I loved their Mixed Grill, Peshawari Mutton Karahi, Makhani Chicken Handi and Mutton Pulao.”
  18. Mutton kadai Net +1
    “The taste is good. The atmosphere and the service is very nice. Want to visit again but the prices of all the dishes are on the higher side, e.g. Mutton Kadai half plate is aed 75.”
  19. Mutton pulao Net +1
    “I loved their Mixed Grill, Peshawari Mutton Karahi, Makhani Chicken Handi and Mutton Pulao.”
  20. Mutton seekh kabab Net +1
    “Recently tried lala darbad restaurant which is owned by famous pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi, they serve pakistani food, we ordered chicken Peshawari karahi and mutton seekh kabab and the taste of both the dishes were really delicious.”
  21. Mutton sheekh Net +1
    “I was ordering their chicken sheekh and mutton sheekh. Both kebab was very good. Tender and juiciness is there. Naan roti was also nice & soft. Overall it’s a good Pakistani taste.”
  22. Naan roti Net +1
    “I was ordering their chicken sheekh and mutton sheekh. Both kebab was very good. Tender and juiciness is there. Naan roti was also nice & soft. Overall it’s a good Pakistani taste.”
  23. Peshawari kadhai chicken Net +1
    “I must say the food was so delicious! If you want to try authentic cuisine of Pakistan 🇵🇰 you must go to @laladarbarofficial ! . I tried ⭐️. Bouncer mix grills with French fries (chicken) ⭐️. Peshawari kadhai chicken ! ⭐️. Naan ⭐️. Chicken biryani . ⭐️. Kheer . . I would highly recommend to try this restaurant. ♥️.”
  24. Peshawari mutton karahi Net +1
    “I loved their Mixed Grill, Peshawari Mutton Karahi, Makhani Chicken Handi and Mutton Pulao.”
  25. Rabri Net +1
    “The kulfi and rabri are outstanding — rich, flavorful, and perfectly prepared.”
  26. Reshmi kebab Net +1
    “The reshmi kebab and malai boti was good.”
  27. Tandoori roti Net +1
    “Beef Nihari & Tandoori Roti for main course. Had good Nihari after very long time”
  28. White karahi Net +1
    “The taste for white karahi and deeghi haleem was amazing.”
  29. Butter naan Net 0

    Only neutral feedback

    “Butter naan was also just okay.”
  30. Chicken buryani Net 0

    Only neutral feedback

    “Haleem was very good, chicken buryani was ok.”
  31. Mutton kunna Net 0

    Only neutral feedback

    “Today I ordered Peshawari Chicken Karahi and Mutton Kunna. The Kunna curry was good, but the meat was very hard and the chicken wasn’t properly cooked.”

Drinks 4

  1. Channac tea Net +1
    “Excellent service and 100% Karachi Authentic Food specially BBQ and Biryani and in last the famous channac Tea Full desi style and taste over all experience wonderful i highly recommend this Restaurant”
  2. Fresh lemon mint drink Net +1
    “Enjoyed lassi and fresh lemon mint drink.”
  3. Lassi Net +1
    “Enjoyed lassi and fresh lemon mint drink.”
  4. Sweet lassi Net +1
    “Amazing and tasty food. Had a bbq briyani platter and malai kheer with sweet lassi. Everything was amazing”
What to Avoid (15)

Food 15

  1. Bhindi Net −1
    “The bhindi was extremely oily and dry at the same time, making it unpleasant to eat.”
  2. Bihari kabab Net −1
    “I Ordered White Handi, Mutton Peshawari Karahi, BBQ Platter n Bihari kabab Mutton Peshawari n Behari Kabab they said its a Speciality of the Restaurant but to be honest it was Below average. Much better Mutton Karahi are easily available in average restaurants in Dubai. Behari kabab i was expecting similar to what is available in Karachi restaurants n streets but No not at all it was close to that.”
  3. Chana dal Net −1
    “The Chana dal was extremely ordinary without any taste to it.”
  4. Chicken koyla karahi Net −1
    “I visited this restaurant recently and ordered Chicken koyla Karahi and bhindi. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing. The chicken was hard and dry, with barely any gravy and all chicken breasts pieces! It tasted like a basic karahi — no smokey koyla flavor at all — and it was overloaded with green chilies, which completely overpowered the dish. It didn’t match what was described or expected.”
  5. Chicken tikka Net −1
    “but chicken tikka was very oily and The female staff needs to change attitudes and be more positive and courteous.”
  6. Dry karahi Net −1
    “Then came the food. The shinwari was dry and grainy and tasted odd. The dry karahi had an odd unsavory smell. The karahi was okay but they used a very gamey cut of lamb. The grilled chicken had good flavor from the marination but once again had some unsavory taste.”
  7. Kabuli pulao Net −1
    “We had a take away of Kabuli Pulao and we discovered a bug in the rice while we attempted to eat it home during dinner.”
  8. Lamb peshawari karahi Net −1
    “The biggest disappointment was the Lamb Peshawari Karahi. Although the lamb itself was tender and well cooked, the gravy was unacceptable. It tasted as though red chilli powder had simply been added on top to make it spicy rather than being properly cooked into the dish. This is not what anyone expects from a Peshawari Karahi.”
  9. Mutton curry Net −1
    “My mutton curry contained a lot of fat and the salad was dry and did not taste fresh.”
  10. Mutton peshawari karahi Net −1
    “I Ordered White Handi, Mutton Peshawari Karahi, BBQ Platter n Bihari kabab Mutton Peshawari n Behari Kabab they said its a Speciality of the Restaurant but to be honest it was Below average. Much better Mutton Karahi are easily available in average restaurants in Dubai.”
  11. Mutton qorma Net −1
    “I ordered mutton Qorma and roti.Mutton Qorma taste was worst taste. It was just yogurt with mutton and excessive oil. This restaurant is just hype in the name of lala and surprising the people rating”
  12. Peshawari chicken karahi Net −1
    “Today I ordered Peshawari Chicken Karahi and Mutton Kunna. The Kunna curry was good, but the meat was very hard and the chicken wasn’t properly cooked.”
  13. Reshami kebab Net −1
    “The Afghani Boti was average and could be improved. The Reshami Kebab was disappointing and lacked flavour.”
  14. Shinwari Net −1
    “Then came the food. The shinwari was dry and grainy and tasted odd. The dry karahi had an odd unsavory smell. The karahi was okay but they used a very gamey cut of lamb. The grilled chicken had good flavor from the marination but once again had some unsavory taste.”
  15. Suji ka kalwa Net −1
    “Suji ka kalwa has smell of onions which the staff took back and we were not charged.”

Tips for a Better Visit

Showing 2 of 5
1

Check Sauces. Ask about accompaniments before ordering starters: one visit had only ketchup and imli chutney available.

2

Confirm Timing. If you want courses served separately, repeat the order sequence when ordering; one table received starters and karahi together.

Plan the visit

Practical details

CBD Cluster Next-Papa John Pizza Riviera Dreams CBD 20 Shop No. 1
Warsan First - Dubai International City, Dubai
Mon2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Tue2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Wed2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Thu2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Fri2:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Sat9:30 AM – 12:00 AM
Sun9:30 AM – 12:00 AM
Get directions

Common Concerns

Showing 2 of 5

Taste Variation

Karahi and other specialities vary sharply: some reviews praise them, while others report salt, oil or off flavours.

High Prices

Some diners felt the prices were high for the quality; one cited AED 75 for half a mutton kadai.

DXB
LOCAL

The Bottom Line

Lala Darbar is a Pakistani restaurant in International City with a polished desi interior, a separate family area and space for larger gatherings. You can come for mutton karahi, chapli kabab, Karachi-style biryani, barbecue and desserts such as kheer and kulfi. The setting is one of its safer draws: reviews mention warm lighting, comfortable seating and a renovated look.

Food feedback is much less uniform. Some diners describe tender mutton karahi, juicy chapli kabab, fresh portions and genuinely Karachi-style flavours. Others found karahi unbearably salty, chicken koyla karahi dry and lacking smoky flavour, or mutton qorma oily and bland.

That makes dish consistency the main thing to keep in mind rather than assuming every speciality will land well. Service also depends on the visit. Several customers found staff attentive and welcoming, while others reported delayed basics, poor handling of complaints or an unwelcoming attitude.

Prices may feel high beside nearby Pakistani restaurants; one reviewer paid AED 75 for half a mutton kadai. Check dish availability before a busy weekend, clarify lunch-combo rules, and ask about parking and accompaniments when you arrive.

People Also Search