Lakeside Gurkhas — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

Visiting Canberra from Melbourne, the one thing I wanted to try was this place. Seeing all around tiktok I really had high expectations. Starting with prices, I wasn't really surprised as I would pay pretty much the same amount on other cuisines.

Entree'- Chicken sausage It was just the Chicken franks from coles and deep fried. No spices , sprinkle of spice that had no relation with flavor. Entree'- Gurkha's Aalo I thought it was a bit like timure if not something a Nepalese dish. But coming out it was fried huge potato wedges tossed in flavourless some kind of sauce. Being dry, unseasoned.

Seeing these, I told what was wrong with these with FOH , she offered something else but I didn't want to.

We got our mains straight away, and we were seriously surprised by what this place is doing. Jhol momo veg - The mince inside looked like it was blended porridge. The taste of the filling was nice though. Jhol itself was not jhol, it was something but something that would never go with momos.

Biryani veg- it was good , i did love it except for the fact that everything else was not even thela standard.

Cocktail was good. No tap beers at all available.

FOH did a good job but she never came back to pickup plates after what i told her and I did overheard on bar that she was afraid to come to our table after all that.

Anway, The place has potential, has really good service and bar . The one thing would be taste to focus on.

This is constructive feedback, hope there will be changes if not I've seen what low quality food does to premium...

Good food and atmosphere, but service could be more accommodating.

Gurkhas Lakeside has much to offer in terms of delicious food and a lovely atmosphere. However, the service aspect left something to be desired. Flexibility and accommodating guests' needs should be priorities, especially when the restaurant is not busy. We went there for lunch on 13/03/2025 at around 15:00 hrs. Unfortunately, our experience was marred a bit by the service we received. Upon arrival, we noticed the restaurant was empty. We requested to be seated at a larger corner table, which would have accommodated our group of 5 comfortably. However, the staff declined our request, stating that the table was meant for 6-7 people and that it was already set up for dinner service with napkins and cutlery, despite the restaurant being devoid of other customers. While we understand the need to maintain table settings for evening service, it seemed unnecessary to restrict our seating options when we could have easily utilized that table. Instead, we were placed at a smaller table in the middle of the restaurant that felt quite congested as we attempted to fit all of our food and drinks. With improved service that takes guest comfort into consideration, I believe this restaurant could provide an outstanding dining experience. I hope our feedback assists in enhancing future customer experiences. Thank you for the delicious meal, and I look forward to seeing...

I went to Canberra for some work with my brother. That’s when I visited this restaurant for lunch. We were very hungry and were really looking forward to eat there as I had seen a lot of videos from Nepali influencers on TikTok and Instagram. Unfortunately, my experience was very disappointing. We both ordered a Chicken thali set but I found a hair in my food on my second bite and the side vegetables (Rayo ko saag and Cauli) were stale, spoiled, smelly, and tasted sour. I went to the counter and mentioned it to the staff, but She didn’t seem to care although the restaurant was not busy at all, We were the only customers there only later a group of 5-6 people came. She just sat behind the counter. She said sorry at last for one time though, while putting the EFTPOS machine forward for the payment to be done. The cost of the Thali is $35 each which makes it $70 in total but we were asked to pay $67.56 we don’t know why, We were so pissed off that We didn’t even bother to ask. My brother did mention don’t give those side vegetables to other customers please and She just smiled. Hygiene and freshness are very important, and I feel both were lacking here. The restaurant looked good with those emerald green chairs and table cloths but if the food isn’t good I don’t think interiors and decorations can do much to satisfy and fill up a hungry stomach. Sadly I cannot recommend this restaurant based on...