Canton Royale is the Radisson Blu Varanasi's Cantonese flagship and the city's most serious Chinese fine-dining kitchen. Varanasi's food culture is so overwhelmingly Indian, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, that the small number of visitors staying for extended periods often reach a point of wanting a non-Indian dinner, and Canton Royale is where the city's tourist-hotel business directs them. The dining room is classic hotel-Cantonese: red and gold palette, lazy-susan round tables for family-style ordering, an open-kitchen window showing the wok station. The kitchen team is Chinese-trained and the menu holds up to the scrutiny of genuine Cantonese palates.
The menu covers dim sum at lunch (the trolley-service format, the way serious Cantonese lunch should be served), the full range of Cantonese dinner dishes at evening service, and a supporting pan-Asian section covering Thai, Japanese sushi, and Indian-Chinese street-food preparations. Signature orders include the steamed whole fish (when available, supply depends on the day's delivery), the Peking duck (which must be pre-ordered 24 hours ahead), the dim sum platter, and the sweet-and-sour preparations. The pure-vegetarian Chinese section is unusually substantial for the city's cultural context. The wine list is the Radisson standard, adequate for business dining, not exceptional.
The occasion fit is team dinner and visiting-delegation secondary meal. For team dinners, a visiting corporate group staying several days in Varanasi, the family-style Cantonese format relieves the Indian-food fatigue that longer stays induce. For birthdays, Canton Royale is a solid alternative to an Indian room when the celebrant wants something different. For closing a deal or impressing clients on a second or third night, it provides the break from Indian cuisine that extended-stay visitors often appreciate. For first dates, the hotel setting and family-style format are more team-friendly than intimate, this is not the date-night pick.
Reservations by phone through the Radisson Blu or via the hotel concierge. Peking duck requires 24-hour advance ordering. The private-dining room accommodates groups of ten to sixteen. Request lazy-susan round tables for groups of five or more, the kitchen's format assumes family-style ordering.
Best for Team Dinner
Canton Royale is Varanasi's team-dinner pick when Indian-food fatigue sets in. The family-style Cantonese format flatters group dining, the menu is broad enough to accommodate any dietary setup including strict vegetarians, and the Radisson Blu hotel setting handles corporate-group dinners professionally. The default 'we need something other than Indian tonight' answer.