Blu Ginger Indian Restaurant

Very good Indian food coupled with great service. Very centrally located in the main dining strip of town. Can get busy so would recommend booking ahead on weekends.

Tastiest Indian food have had. Great service! We asked for recommendations and the server was extremely helpful and honest which is a nice change. Definitely would go back.

I’ve been to date underwhelmed with the quality of canberra’s overpriced Indian food scene.
Blu ginger is centrally located and popular– even with our reservation, we had to wait ten minutes for a table to be ready, and it was clearly a two person table– one of us placed in the walkway. It is very, very noisy.
The food was good and priced reasonably, but I was underwhelmed with the quantity of meat vs sauce. Very mainly sauce. Our naan also didn’t make it to us until we queried as to its whereabouts (after the mains were delivered).
We enjoyed the chicken curry that is second on the menu– very different and nice. The tandoori mixed entrée is also good.
To sum, good food but let down by being a bit too busy and cutting corners on the food.

Indian cuisine has never been one of my favourites, but the few times I’ve been to Blu Ginger the food has been outstanding with last night being no exception. The staff were accommodating and attentive; the food of a high standard and arriving at the table within an appropriate time; the price was reflective of the standard as a whole.
I highly recommend Blu Ginger as a food stop in Canberra.

On a drive to sydney, we went to this restaurant after seeing the good reviews in Unilocal.But we had a not so pleasent experience there. First of all the Entrée we ordered had some fish which had no taste at all. I literally meant no taste. Then we had to wait for more than one and half hours to get our main dish. And that too after informing them that we have an appointment in Sydney that day evening. So if you have a full day to spend in Canberra and you are fine spending half of that day in this restaurant with not so great food, you can try this. But I will never ever get in here again.

Ordered takeaway and they didn’t give us everything we ordered. Pretty basic thing to get right really

Very busy Indian restaurant in heart of Canberra, and for good reason. Food was great, vindaloo was hot but still retained its flavour and all other dishes at the table a raging success.
Wine list not great so byo (at a very reasonable $ 2.50 a head). Ambience is a little cafeteria style but with food like this who cares.
A must visit when in the Capital.

I always forget about Indian food while I am in Canberra but did think to check this out on a recent trip. Quiet place with great Nan. Everything you would expect of curries and sides. I have eaten most of the dishes here and cannot recommend anything because they are all good. If you like Indian, just go…

Service was very prompt & friendly. Food was excellent, tasty and spicy. Will be back.

There isn’t anything to complain about here, the service is attentive and the food is very flavoursome.
Situated in a modern open plan building on the ground floor.
I suggest booking a table as this place can get busy on any given night.
Wide variety of curry available as well as your common favourites.
Had the usual chicken tikka masala with quality cuts of chicken and large serving.
Rice could have been hotter but who cares when you have a big bowl of curry with fresh chilli on the side.
I only eat at three indian restaurants when travelling across Australia and here is one of them, quite simply for the efficient friendly service and excellent food that’s consistent.
Give it a go you won’t be disappointed :-)

The food here is lovely, being inside and seated between the kitchen and the front door made it a little difficult to hear my friend while we were talking.
Also, there was a glitch with their ordering system which caused a delay of about 30 minutes on the order, it was nice to see the staff so apologise for the delay and keep us informed of the issues.

Best ethnic food in Canberra. Great dining experience and amidst great bars.

Excellent fluffy garlic naan, lively spices, and fresh, high quality ingredients. Go there.

Food quality was excellent. The preparation time was a bit slow, but they made it up with good service. Definitely recommended to visit this restaurant.

We were in a bit of a rush but impressions were good — good tasting food and friendly service. I’d like to go back when I’ve got mre time.

We were in Canberra this year for our anniversary (²¹⁄₂) and without much in the way of knowing where fine dining is at, we opted for the swanky looking Blu Ginger restaurant in the CBD.
Ambience ****
Blu Ginger is HUGE. Every time we walked past, the modern look of the restaurant and the gorgeous set-​up made me 100% sure this was fine dining. Seductive with a touch of industrialism, you’ll find a cement block column smack bang in the middle of the restaurant obstructing your people watching, a tall, tall, tall ceiling, tiled floors and wooden furnishings, and floor to ceiling windows. A deep purple back wall is cut by a huge yellow/​orange logo flower and red bench. The textured side wall is fun to touch if you’re at a table sidled up against it. One thing that really irked me and is easily missed by the passerby are wall mounted TVs with tacky ads — why show patrons this stuff? We’re already here to enjoy the food… I couldn’t hear any music, but wouldn’t have over the din of other diners — this is a party/​group atmosphere, not an intimate locale. The table across from us were there for a pre-​party meal (and booze), and I spotted a few corporate groups as well.
Service ***
They tried. We were seated quickly, provided water, and drinks orders taken quickly. Our order was taken equally as quickly by the same waitress who was smiling and polite even if she looked a little too busy. On the other hand, when we downed our water out of sheer fire dowsing necessity and asked for another bottle, they brought beer instead. And when we waved it away and asked for water again, another waiter tried to bring it back. I put this down to either the dining volume being so loud the first waitress couldn’t hear us properly, or that she is from a non-​English speaking background and didn’t quite get it but thought she had. Unfortunately it seems noone had time to ask us how our meals were, and if I’d been asked I’d have requested a pot of raita or a glass of milk. That’s all it would have taken to make my meal a more enjoyable experience.
Food ***
I asked for advice on a mild dish and received a look of confusion — surely there was something on the menu a chilli scaredy cat could have without fear of a fiery demise? (I love Indian food, but I like it mild so I can taste the full spectrum of flavours and not die from spontaneous combustion.) Turns out the look of confusion might have been because everything on the menu tastes like burning and I should have known that. We went for the Tandoor platter for two to start, which was fragrant and varied in flavour, presented well with minimal garnish, and quite nice (particularly the lamb) until I felt the spicy start to creep up on me. Looking forward to my main of sagwala with chicken (I asked for mild), what I received was a beautiful dark green creamy curry. Relieved, I dug in, only to have a hole burnt through my tongue by the third bite (might mention this is where I started to down water like a camel). I scooped out all the chicken I could find, scraped enough of the curry off and finished my meal, switching between hubby’s naan and the water to get through it. We passed on dessert and decided to retreat for the night back to our hotel room — just to be on the safe side.
Overall
I’d like to know what a quiet night at Blu Ginger would be like — would the staff be a little more attentive or knowledgable?
The prices here are typical Asia Pacific restaurant prices, which was a surprise given the upper class atmosphere; you’re looking at about $ 16 – 21 for a main, $ 6 – 10 for an entrée. Sides are extra of course: saffron rice, pappadums and naan all between $ 3 – 6 per side.

Blu Ginger is simply Indian food good enough that I don’t need to qualify the praise in a trendy setting with digital ordering that actually worked. Prices are consistent with similar dining in the Civic area in Canberra except the quality is a cut above. From the samosas to the fish curry to the chicken saagwala to the paratha, everything was done well and I ran out of stomach space (the curse of rice) before I ran out of desire.
One serious warning: the spice levels here, while not at Indian levels, are still significantly higher than Australian normal. Great as a visitor who relished primarily food-​driven trips to Chengdu and Chongqing but be prepared if you order somethng designated «hot» on the menu that the advertising is honest. (Please don’t go here and be upset at this and bring down their rating.)

An excellent Indian eating experience. It lived up to its reputation and I would thoroughly recommend the Blu Ginger to any Indian food lover.
Will be back

Fruit and nut flatbread here is THE MOST noteworthy. Wha??? Why!!!
The answer is simple. You won’t find it anywhere else. The cuisine is up to par, I wouldn’t expect any less in terms of the quality of taste. Their saag paneer, tandoori chicken and the other dishes I’ve tried were same as the ones I’ve tried elsewhere so I assume that’s standard. The other East Indian cuisine places I’ve been to in the US tastes equally delicious so I reckon it’s worth the try.
Dhon-​no-​baad

OMG, I love, love this place! Reckon the food is as good as my mum cooks and IMO, its the best Indian in Canberra. Been here mostly for dinner and always end up getting the banquet. One time, someone was allergic to seafood, and they were quite willing to switch to a lamb dish instead, which I thought was very nice of them. The waiters are quite attentive, even when the restaurant gets super busy, esp at night.
I’ve eaten a ton of stuff here, so for me the highlights have been burra kebab and chicken tikka masala in entrees (the fish in banana leaf was meh). I also really liked the curry prawns and actually if you only had to choose one entrée, would recommend getting these.
For seafood mains, I have had:
1) Panjim Fish Curry — which is my fave fish dish, keep going back for more and the curry is to die for
2) Kadai Prawn/​Fish — not bad, but the panjim fish really rocks my boat more
3) Prawn Malabar — decent, but I can make this at home using coconut powder and a good curry paste.
My verdict for seafood, go with the Panjim Fish Curry! Its what I order most frequently.
The Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala are all super good too. Tender, succulent, rich and fulfilling — these dishes warm up your belly and heart while also just tasting super lovely.
The Lamb Rogan Josh and Chicken Korma was also more to my taste than the Dhansak Lamb, but my absolute fave was the Goat Curry. Too often the goat pieces are stringy and dry, but not this time, with every bite being sheer delight.
For their vegetarian dishes, I have had the dal and Malai Kofta, both of which are also very good.
By the time mains and entrée’s are gone, my tummy is too full to contemplate dessert, but one day!
Cost-​wise, its a bit dearer than other Indian restaurants, but I reckon for how good the food tastes, am willing to pay more.
Am very glad Blu Ginger opened in Canberra :)