India Gate indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

My wife and I went to India Gate in Istanbul yesterday, because we saw the reviews and saw the overall Google review ratings were 4.5 out of 5.

We ordered the India gate chicken biryani special, and their dal Tarka (Dhaba style) and garlic Naans.

The daal Tarka was good enough (not great).

The Garlic Naan were good. No complaints. Standard Naan’s from the Tandoor.

However, their often raved about House Special chicken biryani was anything but good. Firstly, This biryani does not come with bone in chicken. They make it boneless. And on top of that, they’re using cubes of chicken breast, versus using dark meat, which is typically used in chicken biryani. In addition to the chicken pieces being boneless, they are using boneless TANDOORI cubes of chicken in their chicken biryani, which is an absolute no no, because boneless Tandoori chicken is a dish on its own. You cannot ever combine the two dishes, and make it into one. You completely ruin the taste of the biryani, taking the authenticity away from the flavour. This was a massive disappointment. And for those who have had good chicken biryani from either Pakistan, or Northern India, or London, England, or Toronto, Canada, this chicken biryani is an absolute failure.

We also asked if we can get some side pickles (Aachar), which is a standard condiment in any Indian restaurant. And they said they don’t have any in the restaurant. How does an Indian restaurant not serve Aachar ?

The only reason this restaurant does not get a worst rating, is because the servers were nice, and the place seemed relatively clean (although we did not use the bathroom, which could also have been dirty). However, the food is a two out of five at best. Maybe even a 1 out of 5.

So far in my travels to Turkey (Cappadocia and Istanbul), I find the food in this country is not very good. Even the traditional Turkish kebabs are tastier in London, England, or Toronto, Canada.

Side note…. The day before, I went to an Istanbul street vendor to try one of their Turkish kebab wraps, and the sauce he was using was ketchup and mayonnaise inside his kebab wrap. It was an absolutely disgusting taste experience.

Back to India Gate…..

Overall, the Indian food in this country leaves a lot to be desired (at least at this restaurant.) Having said that, if this restaurant gets a 4.5 out of 5 by other reviewers who have provided thousands of reviews for this restaurant, then every other Indian restaurant in Turkey must be just as bad, if not worse (since other Indian restaurants, have a lower score than this restaurant).

It’s sad for a country that is considered an Asian country to serve food that is this tasteless. Whether it’s their own traditional Turkish kebabs at the other street vendor place I tried, or even Indian food. I suppose it’s understandable that the Indian food is not very good, because well, it’s not India. So maybe they get a pass on their inability to create Authentic tasty Indian flavour, seeing as it’s not Turkey’s national food.

However, what is outstandingly Super-sad, is that even the traditional ethnic food from this country tastes better in other countries. Somebody needs to teach these people how to add flavour to their food.

Conclusion: I am NOT trying Indian food in this country, while I am here for the next few days.

PS. I’m going to try their traditional Turkish kebabs at a couple of other places over the next two days. Hopefully my...

I am giving 2 star for service as most places in Turkey provide great service.

I was very disappointed in the quality of their food. They have an another branch of India Gate in Cappadocia according to their website which I didn’t get to try so I thought I’d try it here.

We ordered Roti, Paneer Lababdar, Masala Papad, vegetable Biryani and some carryout items.

The masala papad was interesting as the Kachumbar was served separately with moong papad that tasted a bit stale. The paneer Lababdar wasn’t that good as well. They didn’t blend the gravy and you can see individual onions, capsicum etc inside which isn’t the way I am used to seeing it prepared and is not the traditional way it is prepared - must be their variation - but the masala also wasn’t cooked well. The vegetable biryani was also not that great. There was no biryani masala on the bottom and it was actually more of vegetable pulao. As we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed the waiter pouring the mango lassi out of the 1 liter water bottles (stored in the fridge on the left when you enter the restaurant) which I thought was kind of cheap to do considered the hefty price tag we paid for everything all together. All of the food that was sent from kitchen to our table was Luke warm as well.

We also ordered carryout which was dal tadka and Jeera rice. The daal tadka was actually good, so I think it was prepared at the neighboring restaurants. 😂 For me it’s hard to believe the food that tasted good was cooked in same kitchen. So try one of the neighboring restaurants and comment below… 🤣

If you’re looking for quality food and authenticity for Indian food, I would not recommend this restaurant at all. I thought it was a waste of my money. Hindsight, I should’ve walked out after I tried the masala papad as appetizer but it was cold and I was with elderly parents so decided to...

India Gate was once a restaurant I could recommend for its food despite the lacklustre service, but unfortunately my most recent visit in 2025 showed a clear decline since I last ate here in 2019. The level of service remains consistently poor, with staff making you feel more like a burden than a guest. The same elderly man still sits at the cash desk loudly watching TikToks and videos, which adds to an already unwelcoming atmosphere, and the background music is no better than before. What has really changed, though, is the quality of the food. The poppadoms were some of the worst I’ve ever had — hard and tasteless, more like cardboard than something edible — and now they are served without the usual chutneys, only with a small bowl of raita. The onion bhajis were the one bright spot, remaining crisp and well-made, but the curries themselves were disappointing, with noticeably less meat and a much lower quality overall. The rice is served only plain boiled, and in portions so large they would suit four to six people, making it clumsy and wasteful.

The dining room itself is in need of a serious makeover, as the space now feels tired and neglected. To make matters worse, our waiter brought the food but completely forgot our drinks, and even after reminding him twice to collect the cans from the fridge, they never arrived until he was reminded a third time. Before we finished eating our mains the bill was brought to our table adding to the unwelcoming feeling, this was at 9pm so they clearly weren't closing just wanted rid of us. No dessert offered, just made to feel hurried out. Taken together, it was an abysmal experience from start to finish. Where once the food quality balanced out the poor service, now there is little left to justify a visit. Sadly, I can no longer recommend India Gate, which is a huge disappointment compared to what...