Off Menu with The Restaurant Bringing Colorado Elevated Indian and Nepalese Cuisine

In an unassuming strip mall, nestled among a nail salon, a math tutoring center, and a handful of other businesses, you’ll find a restaurant looking to bring Broomfield and the surrounding area elevated dishes. But not just of any cuisine. Cuisine from India and Nepal.

The name might look familiar. After all, the husband-wife-duo Suman KC and Sonali Sapkota KC bought the existing restaurant, serving similar dishes, and kept the name.

“I wanted to keep it because, in Nepali, Durbar means palace,” said Suman KC. Which is quite fitting, considering the duo’s goal is to elevate the Indian and Nepalese dishes offered in Colorado.

Opened in March of 2023, this isn’t the couple’s first foray into the restaurant game. They also owned restaurants back in Nepal before moving to the United States in 2016. Once they arrived, Suman KC worked in restaurants around Colorado for a couple of years. But all the while he and his wife were planning and dreaming of opening their own location one day.

Well, on March 11 in 2023, that dream came true and Durbar opened its doors to the public— with a ribbon cutting attended by both the mayor of Broomfield and Boulder.

Now, “We’re promoting Nepalese and Indian food every day,” said Suman KC.

Why the combination?

“I have always loved to cook,” said Suman KC. “And there are just so many flavors in Nepalese food that I love. And, of course, the country neighbors India. And both regions have similar ingredients, spiciness, and flavors in their dishes. So they were easy meals to cook and combine.” As for the location, “I didn’t see a lot of Indian and Nepalese fine dining in the area and I wanted to bring more elevated cuisine to Broomfield,” said Suman KC. When it comes to customer favorites, he calls out the Chicken Tikka Masala; Saag Paneer, which is made with spinach and homemade cottage cheese; and Chicken Vindaloo, made with kashmiri chiles, turmeric, cinnamon, and a whole host of other spices. And for those who might be a tad cautious around spiciness, don’t worry. You can order your food on a hotness scale of one–five.

Of course, running a restaurant is not without its challenges, notes Suman KC. One must manage staffers, keep the customers happy, and, naturally, cook the same dishes with such consistency that one knows what to expect. All that, and tack on the fact that the restaurant is only just over a year old, and running one these days is certainly not an easy task. But when talking about the dishes he offers, you can hear the smile in his voice. Plus, running Durbar Nepalese and Indian Bistro is truly a team effort—a family affair, if you will.

“The reason I have found success,” said Suman KC, “is because I have my wife beside me, helping me through everything for the entire time.”