As they are rated #1 on Yelp for Indian grocery stores in Prince George, I decided to phone them to ask for Kashmiri chili powder. The first call they asked me to wait a minute, and soon the line went dead. The second call went to voicemail, but just after the tone the lady answered again. I repeated my request and she said, "We dont have it." This is not a very professional way of treating customers, and certainly is not in keeping with good service. And the fact that they dont have a fairly common Indian ingredient doesnt endorse them as far as selection goes. read more

A little slow to get our order even though the place was not that busy. We ordered the butter chicken and butter naan bread. As well as the indian tea. The food was fabulous and looked beautiful The wait for the tea was well worth the wait. I would highly recommend you try this restaurant. Friendly staff welcomes you. read more

Indian Essence - Butter chicken - Indian Near Me - Prince George, British Columbia

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Friendly service & I love, love their food. We live up north & every time we go to PG we come here for dinner. Have been doing that for 4 yrs now. Delicious & they serve big pieces of naan read more

The Bigger Bites team has visited Dana Mandi & Indian Restaurant on three occasions, none of which were very good. On the first visit the lamb curry sucked, it was so tough that it was actually unfit for human consumption and it hit the trash can. Second time around a large order totalling over $50 bucks was placed and they totally messed it up and didn't give us the advertised 10% discount for take out orders. Third time the saag paneer was WAY too salty and the chicken curry was full of oil and tastest like it was cooked in a pile of throw-up...or maybe like it was just cheap and full of oil. Careless. Value: 3/10 You get lots of shitty food. read more

Stopped by for some dinner on my way through town, made the right choice! The naan is incredible, and the palak paneer was creamy and delicious with lots of chewy flavorful paneer hunks. read more

I used to live didn't the block from this place.... Let's just say that was bad walking home from the gym. Many "post-workout meals" have taken place here..... Butter chicken. Chicken tikka masala. Garlic Naan. With a side of rice. If you have that, you'll been in love with this place. One of Prince George's finest right here, I seem to always make my way back whenever I am in town. read more

I'll start off saying that I am definitely a fan of this restaurant! I tried it for the first time today, and the main dish and sides were all excellent. Before I get too in depth here, I should mention - if you are doing take-out ask for a fork!!! They don't give them out unless you request one. The tree-hugger in me kind of appreciates this aspect, however, if you aren't savvy to this info before going there, you may find yourself in the same shoes as me - in a hotel room trying to fashion an eating device out of whatever odds and ends you can find. Moving on... The butter chicken was incredible. The chicken was succulent - juicy and tender. I also tried their vegetable samosas and their garlic naan which were great as well. The man who served me my takeout order was very kind and friendly. I can't think of any parts of my experience that could have been improved upon. Definitely going to be a repeat customer to this establishment. read more

DANA MANDI At first, I thought I had made an unfortunate error. I was led to believe this was a restaurant. It turns out I was correct. This confusion occurred when I walked into an Indian grocery store filled linoleum to halogen with dried and canned goods; I noted a lack of chairs and menus. An Indian shopkeeper with loud lungs asked me if a required assistance. I declined and exited, then proceeded to orbit around the establishment until I found the entrance to Dana Mandi. I'm instantly shocked at the astounding level of workmanship in this tiny restaurant. Some corner located, privately owned eateries feature questionable build qualities, having to purchase furnishings and fixtures from a catalogue rather than having everything custom-built. Dana Mandi strikes me with the same level of workmanship seen with large, anchor restaurants--the ones other stores attach to for support. You could easily miss Dana Mandi on a drive by (actual drive, not a shooting...though that's also probably correct). Matching stained chairs and tables with dark toned walls that counterpart the carpet, my sister and her discriminating makeover talents would be impressed. Paintings depicting looms and deities hang from the walls, and appealing Indian music plays from a stereo by the wall. Here's the kicker, the door swings open and the same loud-lunged clerk from the store walks in and greets me. Turns out Dana Mundi is a grocery store and a restaurant. Cold water with no ice (thank you) is offered without a menu. This was expected and not an issue, as I was told ahead of time that the buffet was the only real option at lunch. I had mentioned in a previous post that I'd avoid the buffet where possible, but I also remember believing it was a bad idea at the time. I'm early and the relatively small counter is bare, so I wait. Not a big deal; I've written until this point talking about how nice Dana Mandi looks, though being four feet from the buffet, with its wafting smells, I'm beginning to go a little peculiar. The only problem is that the food isn't labeled, so I don't know what is what. I can spot a butter chicken, a masala, a curry or two. I'm not sure this one is lamb or goat. I sample each one on the first plate with plans to lock down on a favorite one a return trip...bad idea. Everything is delicious. Perfectly spiced, wonderfully tender, the plate is cleaned in minutes and a like a hyena, I cackle madly and race back for more food. I'm uncomfortable around buffets, just in general. Waddling shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, always worried one may reach over your personal space, or that you may reach over theirs. Worse, you're up there alone with people watching the back of your head. Do you return your plate or leave it and get another? And how many times can you walk back up? Nothing is too hot. Nothing chews tough or rubbery. I hear another patron asking the pale blonde server about specific dishes. Even she doesn't know the proper names of them all, whether a meat dish is goat, lamb or chicken, though she does explain goat meat usually includes bones. The naan is better than mine...and I am good at naan. The fat kid inside of me wants to go back for thirds. I must fight that urge. I lose. Just a few more of those little...I dunno what. Turns out it's vegetable pakora. At $16, this is a steal, with all the rice I can pile upon my plate. When I first sat down, I thought this place was called Dana Mundi, which made me think of Axis Mundi. In various mythologies, Axis Mundi is the axis of the planet, the center of the world, or the connecting thread between Earth and Heaven. Dana Mandi feels like one extra step to paradise. The only thing that would make this place better is if Kumar Pallana juggled rings by my table (and no, I won't explain that). Dana Mandi is the best Indian food I've had to date, and one of the more enjoyable restaurants since this blog began. Go. Food: 5/5 Service: 4/5 Presentation: 5/5 Value: 5/5 Recommendation: 5/5 Dana Mandi Prince George 2095-5th ave Prince George, BC V2M read more

Very nice little restaurant. Can compete without any problem against any of the Lower Mainland Indian restaurants as their food is as good as any. It was quite a surprise to find this little gem in Prince George of all places but it seems like there is a good Indian community in there. Good for us, Indian food lovers. Their butter chicken is great and the Tandoori is very good too. You know it's a good place when you ask for "as spicy as you can make it" and they say "are you sure?" Almost went back the next day but had to leave. What a shame... read more

Best Indian food in town. The chicken tikka masala and the butter chicken are very good. The roti and naan are good as well. Don't expect to be overwhelmed when walking into this place. Very basic furniture and decor, but they make up for it with the taste and quality of the food. read more

The saag paneer here is the best I've had in BC. Lots of greens and a creamy, home-made paneer. I've had it numerous times and it's never been too salty. The samosas are really yummy, too, and the dal makhni. Service is ok to good, the folks are friendly and the food is great. I'd rather have their food than 99% of the Indian restaurants in the Lower Mainland. I bring my colleagues here when we go through PG for work and they have all enjoyed the food as well. read more

Place is awesome. Great pakora and samosas. Changed names but the same Dana Mandi flavours and price.

Dana Mandi is heavenly. They are by far the best place to get Indian food at here in town. My best friend is very traditionally East Indian and when they're not making their own traditional dishes, they're ordering from Dana Mandi. Everything here is so well sliced and cooked. The naan is absolutely amazing, I can never get enough. I crave this food a lot. And that's saying something coming from me who usually only used to get the craving for curry once a year. The little grocery store on the one side got me the first time I went and I was severely confused as to why I wasn't standing in a restaurant but I figured it out and went to town on the food. If you're looking for some really fine Indian cuisine, here is the place to go! read more

I had the opportunity to visit this place two times. The first time the food was excellent and the service was amazing. However, I believe the only reason for that was our anthropology instructor had set up the dinner to allow us an introduction to this type of cuisine. Our group was offered a wide variety of sample items and they tasted absolutely marvelous!!! So as I had raved about the place, the next night I treated my husband to the same cuisine . Only to be extremely disappointed. The food did not have the same presentation, the service was horrendous, and the cleanliness of the restaurant was atrocious. We will never go back and I recommend the same for everyone else... read more

Very good Indian food! Although they had a buffet lunch, I opted for the Tandoori Chicken and Lamb Curry. Both were outstanding. I requested extra spicy and they did not let me down. It was perfect. Never thought I would say this, but their white, super-long grain rice is outstanding. Not sure what they do to it, but there is something special about it. read more

We went for the buffet.Ii was disappointed to find that a foot long black hair came with my Butter Chicken. The lady server wouldn't delete from bill, or offer any kind of comp. Horrid customer service. We will never bring our $$ there again... read more