India Gate Restaurant

Very good Indian food, prices is very good too, the owner have great costumer service. Always helpful with menu

Incredible food, super friendly staff, well priced. I’ve gone 3 times since I discovered it last month and will definitely be back soon!

India gate consistently delivers yummy food. My favorites are the Pepper chicken, Chicken Biryani and Gobi Manchurian.

It’s been a long time that i was looking for a good Indian restaurant. One of my friends referred me to India Gate Restaurant at Tustin. So i decided to go there today. As i entered i was lured by the delicious food. And as i started it was really WOWWW… I tried all their food items. It comes with the Garlic or Regular Naan. Garlic is my favourite.
The staffs are friendly and come frequently to your table. They take care of you all the time. Overall it was a great experience for me and i am sure i will be visiting this place time-​and-​again…
They are open 11 am to 2:30 pm for the luncha buffet.
Thank you for being there with the best Indian food in Orange County … See you soon
Thank you

Excellent Indian finally in Irvine! The flavors are full and rich and the portions are really generous — the biggest in Irvine. Best Saag paneer and Chicken Tikka I’ve had outside of New York City. My hubby who has lived in India for several years thought the food was fantastic and he usually doesn’t want to eat Indian food in Irvine… but he will eat here. Pleasant, clean, roomy interior and friendly service.

$ 10 for AYCE Indian lunch buffet? What’s not to like?
The mister and I were craving for some inexpensive Indian food one Sunday afternoon. Our usual establishment is located in Buena Park and we were out of the way so I perused through Unilocal and found this lovely place.
India Gate is located on Walnut Avenue/​Tustin Ranch Road within a corporate/​industrial area. There isn’t much parking in the front of the restaurant but there is more on the side of the building if you don’t mind driving a «little» further down. Yes, you may need to walk about 20 – 25 feet to get to the entrance. My apologies lol
When we first walked in we were immediately greeted by several of the staff. A very pleasant and welcoming bunch =) The interior is clean and quite nice. Lots of space and tables. The buffet is lined up on the left side of the restaurant. There’s a pretty good variety of dishes to choose from. I didn’t try many because I have my certain favorites but what I did try were all delicious! The samosas were crispy and not oily. The filling/​wrapper ratio was on-​point. The mister really enjoyed the vegetable pakoras. Good size and very crispy – just the way he likes them. The dipping sauces were excellent. Not too watered down and not too spicy. I even enjoyed the simple salad with yogurt/​dressing. Looked and tasted so fresh and crunchy. The biryani rice had some nice spices that I really liked. Chicken tikka masala was so creamy and comforting. I love dipping the garlic naan in this dish! Tandoori chicken wasn’t that bad. I’ve had a few super dry pieces elsewhere so this was just a notch above a little dry but not in the moist/​juicy level. Even the desserts were unavoidable. I literally went back twice for the mango pudding and rice pudding! The mango pudding tasted like room temperature Magnolia ice cream that has completely melted but still sooo good and sooo sweet. Watch out! =)
Overall, this place has become an instant favorite for the mister and I. We enjoyed our lunch and the service was very agreeable. You can’t beat $ 10. Kudos to India Gate!

If you don’t come here for the $ 10 lunch buffet, you’re blowing it. Amazing food and great people.

Its my other kitchen … awesome Indian food and the best in town. Best value for your money and also to be said about their amazing service.

This place is SO good, we go on the weekends for their lunch buffet. It is also so good, it’s THE restaurant I take out-​of-​town friends to. This past weekend I took a friend and she said it was THE BEST Indian restaurant she had ever been to!
All of the dishes have their own distinct flavor, and those flavors are fabulous. The food is fresh, tasty and plentiful. The price is more than fair, and they serve you with the gracious efficiency. The place was packed this past Saturday, and they quickly found a place and had us eating in no time. Wi
With so many Indian restaurants to pick from, India Gate sits at the top of the list!

Great food. We always go here for take out. Love the butter chicken, naan is freshly made and they have a lot of different menu options.

indian buffets are great. they offer a variety of curries, vegetarian offerings, and chicken dishes and one thing is for sure — you leave satisfied and could be full for days. india gate was no different. offerings were varied and plentiful. they have a fried chicken dish that was unique which i don’t think i have had at any other indian buffet — reminded me of spicy popcorn chicken. another highlight was their goat curry. perfectly spicy with plenty of meaty goat chunks. the naan was served with no delay and came out piping hot and crispy. the service was above par. i was pleasantly surprised at the completeness of the offerings, cleanliness, and service. i will definitely be back the next time i have a serious craving for indian.

I LOVE THIS PLACE!
I am a curry lover. So when I found out this all-​you-​can eat curry place existed, I was elated!
There is a salad section, with several dressing options. Two types of rice– plain and their type with meat. The rice was delicious and flavorful by itself.
I tried everything. My favorite curry was the chicken curry. I went back for probably 3 servings of that. I also enjoyed the vegetarian curry and the curry that was green (sorry forgot the name).
Garlic naan is perfect and goes with everything.
They had this delicious fried cauliflower that I absolutely love!
They also have several options of dessert – mango pudding, rice pudding, deep fried dried milk in syrup, and butternut squash dessert. My favorite was the the butternut.
I can’t believe I haven’t eaten here sooner.
Great service!
Tip: They don’t accept people for the lunch buffet after 2:30.

Great buffet for lunch the food and staff are awsome You’ve got to try there BALLS!!!

I have been here twice and really like the food. This place gets the seal of approval from my Indian friends which I take to be a good sign of authenticity. My first visit was for the lunch buffet which I found to be a good value given the large variety of dishes. There was everything from fat samosas to goat curry to a dessert of squash halwa (tastes better than it sounds). The place was packed at lunch but much less so when we returned for a subsequent dinner. The dinner menu is even more extensive featuring seafood/​goat/​lamb/​veg/​Indo-​Chinese specialties along with South Indian items. I had a masala dosa and enjoyed the crispy crêpe with the nicely spiced stuffing of potatoes and peas.
Service was quick and friendly and there was plenty of parking in the back.

We recently moved to the area and wanted to find a great place for Indian food. Well, we found it! India Gate is a gem and our family’s new spot in Orange County. Hands down the best Chicken Tikka Masala (IMHO).
Everything we’ve ordered has been delicious and on point. The garlic naan is addicting, the creams, spices, and sauces in all the dishes are oh so yummy! Their lunch buffet is a great deal and gets busy, so get there early.
We love the customer service too, always very attentive and friendly!
Food great!
Service great!
Location great!
TTFN

I always come here for lunch the food is good and fresh the atmosphere is very nice the service is very attentive
(I manage restaurants this place is very high recommend it .this place is magnificent! Gandhi would be proud!

«Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman is a dancer when she walks to the shop at the corner. For them, food is the music inside the body and music is the food inside the heart. Amore or Pyar makes every man a poet, a princess of peasant girl if only for second eyes of man and woman meets.»
– Gregory David Roberts
Visited this restaurant twice, once for lunch buffet and once for dinner. Preferred the dinner especially the lamb masala. The buffet was solid, and very popular, but I think to make it popular they make the dishes milder.
For dinner they have a wide variety of cuisine from both north and south India including dishes with goat, dosas and Indo-​Chinese specialties.
India Gate is on par with Annapoorna in Irvine and I highly recommend eating here.

The best Indian buffet in Irvine. Okay, maybe outside of Irvine as well. Well, it just might be the best Indian buffet I’ve been to for the price. I mean I don’t think I’m going to find better for $ 7.99. Truthfully. My little sister found this place through her Indian friend. When we got here, literally everyone in this TINY restaurant was Indian. That’s always a good sign that you’re going to get authentic food. We chose to eat the buffet but I’m sure you can order stuff a la carte too. But honestly, it’s plenty of food so I think your best option is definitely the buffet.
I really liked the selection of food here. They had the usuals like saag paneer, tandoori chicken, tikka masala, and so on but they also had some other more unique choices like biryani and various vegetable pakoras! I tasted a bit of everything and I can safely say that mostly everything is tasty. I don’t think I had a bite of food here that I didn’t necessarily enjoy which is saying a lot at a buffet. I even went back to try their desserts since they had a pretty wide variety. They had the usual stuff like mango pudding and gulab damon (sweet honeyed dough balls) but they also offered carrot halwa (a sweet, cardamom carrot dish) which was something I had never seen before at a buffet. I appreciated that they were offering things that were a little bit more authentic and atypical.
Service for the most part was good. They refilled our naan and water whenever we asked and the refills on naan came out quickly. We all walked out extremely satisfied with our meal having only paid $ 7.99. India Gate is a great little spot that serves up some delicious and authentic Indian food. Highly recommend it. ⁵⁄₅

I went here on a weekday for lunch for the AYCE buffet priced at $ 9.99. I consider the price fitting due to the good quality of food and the variety of dishes offered.
The chicken tikka masala had just the right amount of heat and pungent spices with tender chicken pieces. The chicken biryani and chicken curry was excellent. It was my first time tasting goat curry and it was very good. The vegetable pakoras were crisp, flavorful and not too greasy. I found the saag paneer to be a little watery. They served a, I believe, paneer masala that was very good. The paneer cheese was excellent. The tandoori chicken was average. I enjoyed the garlic naan and they offered several chutneys to accompany the naan and the rest of the dishes.
For dessert, the carrot halwa (a sweet, cardamom carrot dish) was phenomenal which had a delicious, buttery back note. The gulab damon (sweet honeyed dough balls) which I mixed with the creamy, rice pudding was very good. Also, the mango pudding was creamy and flavorful.
India Gate is one of the better AYCE Indian buffets in Orange County. Would I return and am I a fan? Yes.

Word on the street is that this restaurant was set up by the same investors behind Annapoorna, India Kitchen, and Haveli. If true, it might explain why this one-​month old restaurant is doing so well, despite not offering any grand opening specials or discounts. The menu is nearly identical to the one at Annapoorna in Irvine.
I ordered the Hyderabadi vegetable biryani for $ 11. Based on what I received, I’m not sure if it can be considered a Hyderabadi biryani. Whenever I order this variety of biryani elsewhere, it is almost always cooked «Dumpukht» or slow cooked after being layered with spices and the main ingredient whether it is vegetables or meat. The biryani, cooked in its own steam, infuses flavor and aroma from the spices and ingredients. After being slow cooked, the rice becomes fluffy, a little moist, aromatic, but not clumpy or sticky.
What I received was very oily basmati rice that appeared to be stir fried in a wok instead of pressure cooked, blended into an interesting medley of garden vegetables including zucchini, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and cauliflower. It was the first time I’ve seen broccoli, cabbage, and zucchini incorporated into biryani. The use of cabbage and zucchini cooked aggressively in oil made certain parts of the biryani taste similar to the chow mein at Panda Express, which brought back horrible memories of eating it at a university cafeteria.
Based on the shape and form of the vegetables, I could tell that they were handcut instead of frozen. This restaurant is at least sincere in their ingredient preparation. However, the cooking was problematic. The rice was fully cooked, but some of the larger pieces of vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli were severely undercooked, while at the same time soaked in cooking oil. It was not very appetizing.
While waiting for the food, I peeked into the kitchen and noticed the microwave was used twice. I’m not sure what was being reheated, but I’ll give the chef the benefit of doubt that it was used to pre-​cook the garden vegetables. I hope that it was not to reheat leftovers from the lunch buffet, which I fear because I noticed the «vegetable biryani» label at the empty steam table.
Finally, Hyderabadi biryanis are traditionally accompanied with shorba or salan, a thin nutty gravy that pairs well with moist rice. It’s been served to me without asking at South Indian restaurants such as Biriyani Factory, Paradise Biryani Pointe, and Rasoi Curry Point. On the other hand, at India Gate, only raita is given on the side. This restaurant just doesn’t follow the Hyderabadi tradition.
Perhaps India Gate specializes in other dishes, but whenever I’m craving for biryani, this place won’t be my top choice.