Date: Wednesday 1st February 2012
Located on the famous Curry Mile, and rated as the best Indian on the road, possibly in Manchester. I personally feel this place has football's Scott Parker syndrome, decent but over-rated. It definitely is not the best place I have been to, far from it. But I thought it was pretty good and would probably make another visit ahead of most of the places on Curry Mile.
The place sticks out on the tacky neon lighted road as it looks classy. It has a Mughal themed look and sitting inside is definitely a different experience to other restaurants. There was clearly a heavy investment made for things like decoration, uniform, cutlery etc. One thing I liked was the cup they served lassis and cocktails in; it was a copper like mug which was pretty cool to drink from. One thing I disliked was that I was really cold inside the restaurant, which definitely decreased my enjoyment. Also I thought the music was way too loud, making it difficult to converse with my friends.
Poppadoms and chutney were not complementary, to our disappointment. I didn't mind too much to pay but the poppadoms arrived burnt so had to be replaced. The restaurant had an original chutney which I had not tried before at other Indian restaurants. It was a red tamarind sauce which was sweet and spicy; leading me to make this my chutney of choice ahead of the classic mango chutney.
The menu wasn't too interesting, having recognized most the dishes from other Indian restaurants. However unlike some places, it was very easy to choose, as each dish had a detailed English description of what to expect. You were also allowed to be flexible, letting you choose different fillings with your choice of sauce. I went with the lamb tikka sizzler dish, with my friends going for the kahari masala fish and the saag paneer.
We ordered naan and rice to accompany our dishes. I was disappointed when the naan came out. This is me being picky, but I rather like when the full naan comes out fresh on a stand, or a basket, looking appetisingly buttered up. However here the naan was sliced into quarters on what looked like a receipt stabber. One thing that also annoyed me is that the waiter seemed to be washing the table after we were done with the poppadoms, which he also did again when the other two were done eating but I had yet to finish.
Now onto the food. Admittedly I thought it was very good. The lamb came on a sizzling hot plate. The meat was very tender and spiced to perfection. The portion was very good. The saag paneer was very tasty, however I thought it could do with more paneer pieces inside. The best dish was definitely the kahari fish. It was excellent. The fish was juicy, and the kahari flavour had a hint of sweetness making the dish marvelous.
In conclusion, although this experience was slightly tarnished by a group of loud university lads clearly on the lash, with a few improvements I think this place has potential. This was far away from the perfect meal, but I do think if they work on a few things like restaurant etiquette and making the customer comfortable, you could come away with an enjoyable evening.
7.5 out of 10 review.
