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.