been to the new u-center branch, which is not comparable to the old branch. everything is clean, service is better and the food remains delicious. had chicken tikka, the samosas and their naan. all well prepared and tasty.

don't know if they offer lunch-deals yet, if not, please start it soon.

special award for being asked 10 times for free water refill. with spicy food i don't mind that extra service.

The food is pretty spot on. The quality is always consistently good. you cannot complain about the service much. its clean as they come.

Two of us tried the new Ganges above Paddy’s this past week. My first impression was, “thank God Kamat’s is gone”. You can just tell when walking in that this is a professional operation. The manager met us at the door, everything was super clean, and as a concept it is consistent. Except for a few design upgrades (the booth seats are more comfortable), the restaurant looks very similar to the Ganges located elsewhere in the city. I also really like the screen behind the buffet. This time around we tried different menu items so I can’t provide a 1:1 comparison however I will comment on what we ordered. The lamb samosa was lightly fried and filled with ground lamb. By itself it was good but exceptional topped with both the mint and tamarind sauces. Our Chicken Jafrezzy was a big departure from dishes I’ve ordered in the past. Slightly spicy, the chicken was in a tomato sauce with large chunks of onion, green and red peppers. The mushroom soup was made from a corn flour stock with bits of rice and lentil for texture. Recommend you order the soup before a spicy dish. The last dish was a mildly spicy lamb madras which had large chunks of lamb in a brown curry sauce. The naan looked too good eat with the bread almost artistically cut in different shapes topped with garlic and butter. Both Tiger and Carlsberg were on tap but I preferred the Tiger. Service was excellent.

When our offices were located in the Pacific Century plaza my coworkers and I would go to Ganges two or three times a month. Now that we’ve moved close to the Olympic Village I’m going through curry withdrawal. Only mediocre Chinese up here…wish I were back in Sanlitun!

The title says it all. If I miss Indian food, this will be the first place I will go. Some say it is not so original but hey, we are in Beijing and I am pretty much satisfied with their food. I just hope the branch in Wudaokou to be bigger. :D

I am a pure vegetarian and ordered food from Ganges Wudaokou and this restaurant doesn't check what they send to whom. They took more than 1 hour and then delivered someone else's chicken dish. This is ridiculously poor customer service.

Tried the one in Sanlitun and never been to the buffet.

This Indian restaurant provide decent Indian food with a HUGE menu feathuring as well dishes from north and south indian as a good selection of vegetarian dishes. The food is good but not really exceptionnal, lets call it classic Indian. The service is okay and quite english-friendly with a "maitre d'hotel" from India always ready to provide advices if your are lost in the menu. Most dishes can be ajusted to your palate for an extra spicy or softer sensation as well if you ask. The decoration is dark velvet and quite elegant.

Really too bad they don't offer thalis on the menu and I personnaly think the big screen in the room passing Indian RNb is not really a plus for a nice classy dinner.. Another thing is the price that are quite high, but stay on the normal reach for Indian food. Count 250 something RMB for a couple of curry, samosas, side dishes and two beers.

A decent Indian restaurant.

Last night a gaggle of us descended upon Ganges (The Place) to eat Indian. The restaurant has been remodeled since my last visit. I like the new look. The new restaurant resembles the one in Sanlitun with ornate patterns etched out of the wooden panels lining the walls and clear and purple colored chandeliers. Because of the dance performances last night was packed. Call ahead for reservations. I would have never done so but because the size of our crowd luckily this time I did.
The food is typically Indian with spicy hot curries, creamy non-spicy curries all which come vegetarian, or with lamb, chicken, or tofu. Indian food is interesting in that each meal can have super spicy dishes the effects of which can be countered by yogurt drinks or dishes. So you can have your proverbial cake and eat it too.
We started out with the veggie pakora (deep fried cone shaped dumplings with vegetables inside), sweet corn vegetable soup, palak paneer (chunks of cheese cooked in a spinach puree) and butter chicken (a non-spicy curry). Most of us stuck with the mango lassi which is one of those yogurt based drinks that is perfect for countering spice. I highly recommend the Indian tea they have although a few cups will have you up half the evening. One cup after dinner for me acts like a digestive much the same as coffee. Our entrees were lamb vindaloo (red curry), the tandori chicken, vegetable achari (spicy vegetable curry with a slight pickle taste), and Paneer Pasanda (a first for me this dish has veggies sandwiched between two slices of cheese and cooked in a spicy curry). We asked for the food to come in two ‘waves’ – first the non-spicy then the spicy in the same order as I mentioned above. Naan and two types of rice were served as well.
The food was very good with the highest praises going to the butter chicken and the paneer pasanda. My personal favorites were, and always are, the lamb vindaloo and the tandori chicken. To be frank, all of the dishes I’ve listed in this review are crowd pleasers. As with Chinese food, I recommend going with 5-6 friends so you can affordably try more of the menu.

Ganges does several things that I think separate it from the pack. First, their service is better than most. For someone that goes out quite a bit, this is a hot-button issue for me. Great service can make a good dinner great. Bad service can make a good dinner bad. No mystery there. I’ve always received great service from Ganges. Second, what they provide is not only good but consistent - across all of their locations. I know when I’m in lido for a lunch meeting that I will get the same butter chicken, naan, and mango lassi that I do at "The Place." Beijing’s restaurants are at best a crap shoot. I can rely on solid food and service when I visit Ganges. Third and lastly, Ganges is convenient. They have several locations many of which coincide with where I end up either for business or pleasure. Convenience sells. In Beijing, no other Indian restaurant can claim as much as Ganges which is why I think it’s the best Indian restaurant in the city.

Ganges has been a longtime favorite of mine. Though I also thoroughly enjoy all of the other Indian restaurants in town that I've been to, the variety of dishes available (and since 2007 or so when their first Chaoyang District branch opened at The Place) and convenient locations mean that I end up at Ganges most often when in the mood for South Asian cuisine.

The management here is definitely committed to authenticity (all chefs at all branches hired from India), and their goal to serve a variety of dishes that represent the diversity of Indian cuisine from across the subcontinent means that this is a fabulous venue for exploratory eating. You could definitely dine as a party of four several times without repeating a dish.

Also recently discovered that if you explain to the manager carefully, their kitchen is capable of the kind of five-alarm spicy Vindaloo that I always crave and order but am seldom served.

Recent additions to their offerings include a selection of traditional Indian sweets called mithai, which I highly recommend. Several of them are milk-based squares with, rich sweet milk flavors. I particularly love the cashew fudge and the chickpea balls (not sure of the name). The idea sounded strange when I first heard about it, but they are indeed very distinctive and grew on me quickly. Not for every taste though. One out of two non-Indian friends to try with me was not able to reconcile the flavor with her palate (the other friend loved them too, and may have sampled fresher versions).