Home

About Us

Awards

Menu

What's New

Spice Talk

Recipes

Reservations

Catering

Party on a Budget

Directions

Owner Arun Puri founded the Royal Khyber in 1980, and it didn't take long for it to become a fixture of the Orange county dining scene. It's a favorite of those partial to Indian cuisine, but also those looking for smoke good food and a unique dining experience.

With Royal Khyber's move to South Coast Village in 1999, Puri's daughter, Shalini, took over. Puri says that Shalini "was involved in the concept, design and construction of the new restaurant." which he said, "has her personality. It's her place."

Shalini "is very health conscious, so she wanted all the flavors but not the fatty stuff," Puri said. Accordingly, Royal Khyber has shifted away from using dairy products. Cream, butter and eggs are used sparingly, as are oils, and no cream, eggs or flour are used in the sauces. Lighter sauces have been created, such as the karahi sauce (a light, flavorful blend of tomatoes, olive oil, ginger, garlic and Indian spices) and the lassooni sauce (similar too karahi but without tomatoes).

"The traditional dishes are still there, for the diehards," Puri said. These include a wide range of Indian cuisine, from dumstyle steamed dishes (lamb biryani, for example) to samosas (a mixture of potatoes and peas in a flaky, delicious pastry shell). Dinner begins with a choice of soup or a salad of mixed greens and cucumbers

tossed with garlic and a tasty chat dressing. You'll also whet your appetite with delicious naan, the Indian-style bread baked in a tandoori oven. Another tasty appetizer is the basmati rice pilaf with mango chutney. The large, well-varied menu includes fresh fish such as swordfish, halibut or salmon; chicken or shrimp cooked with garlic, herbs, spices, tomatoes and olive oil tossed with pasta in an Indian wok; and shashlik kabobs of swordfish or chicken breast, made with bell peppers, onions and tomatoes, then broiled over mesquite in a tandoori and topped with a chat measlier sauce.

New items include the fish Malabar - swordfish, halibut, or salmon with a special sauce created by Royal Khyber's chef. Lobster has been introduced into the menu, as have curried mussels, serves as an appetizer with garlic naan. The newest dessert is the mango creme brulee.

There are genuinely royal touches at the Royal Khyber, including the Moghlai gourmet dinner, three-course dinners' chef's specials that are complete meals in themselves; inexpensive lunch specials; and the Sunday champagne brunch, with 18 to 20 appetizers, salads, fresh fruits and desserts on the buffet table, and a choice of 14 entrees you can order off the Sunday brunch menu.

Puri said that "the whole emphasis has been to bring to the public a very flavorful and healthful cuisine, and not what people traditionally perceive Indian cuisine to be."

To achieve this, some 38 different herbs and spices are used. Many of the entrees contain no curry, using cardamom, fenugreek or saffron instead. Few of the dishes are genuinely spicy -- the chicken vindaloo and the chicken Madras are among the few exceptions. All foods are made to order, as mild or spicy as you request.