Northern England is home to some of the best South Asian food anywhere in the world, including the Indian subcontinent itself. Manchester is home to the iconic Curry Mile. In these competitive environs, Akbar's holds its own with its gigantic naans and its flavorful curries. The offal-based offerings, such as maghaz (sheep's brain) masala and chicken liver tikka, are my personal favorites. The maghaz has a creamy, buttery texture and loads of flavor. The perfectly chewy naan is a great accompaniment to both dishes. A steaming cup of the sweet and salty Kashmiri chai is a perfect way to finish a meal on a cold Manchester winter evening (I usually find myself in Northern England around Christmastime). read more

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This is a fantastic place and I wish I'd known about it earlier! However, there are a couple of catches one needs to know about! For example, bookings in small numbers are not allowed, so if your party is less than 10 you would have to wait in the lounge. Moreover, you wouldn't be put in the queue for tables until all the people from your party have arrived! Once they have, you are given a device which will start flashing once your table is ready. For us it took just about 30 minutes (on a Thursday evening), so make sure you have no other plans this evening or come earlier. The place was full, we load to squeeze behind other guests backs - shows how popular the place is. Our waiter was very friendly and made us feel welcome immediately. Despite the venue being packed, food arrived quickly, and it was just delicious - couldn't find any faults! For those who feel adventurous, there are chef's challenges with spicy food (I heard you get s free dessert if you finish it- however , can't vouch for this). I have tried a tiny piece of this challenge from my friends plate, and almost cried from the amount of hot spices! Despite the wait, very enjoyable experience, and prices are more than friendly, which is very unusual for the city centre. read more

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I love Indian food in the UK. I was most excited to try this place for the gigantic naan. The menu is robust with a lot more dish offerings than the average Indian restaurant in the USA. Food comes very quickly. We ordered a bottle of wine and had to wait for glasses. That was a little weird. Food otherwise delicious. Space huge. Decor beautiful! The bar area in the front is also very big so it's a great place to hang if you have a wait. I'd definitely return! read more

Akbar's - Family size naan - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

They have a G next to dishes on the menu for gluten containing! Happy curry time for gluten free people! Serious points here for Akbar's! What a glorious (yes I said glorious) entrance and waiting area! Great big marble slabs, with big bench seating where you can order drinks from the bar on display at the front entrance. It's stocked full and the Orange juice tastes amazing! However, you won't be there waiting for long. Someone will be with you almost instantaneously to take you away down what seems to be a much more private area from the floor to ceiling glass window front of shop. As you're taken through to the back of the restaurant, you'll notice a few things. The lighting has dimmed, mood lighting is cascaded in different colours on the walls. The chairs and tables look sleek, stylish and so do the staff! They will ask you as soon as you sit down if you require poppadoms/dips/drinks to start off with. You will notice throughout your meal how many times they ask if everything is OK, if you need any more drinks or anything else. The poppadoms are lovely, crisp and light just how they should be and the accompanying sauces are delicious! A little limited but they will gladly bring you more if you ask. We ordered the vegetarian potato and onion bhaji starter to share which came with a tangy lemon dressing and plenty of salad. The bhaji's didn't sit heavy and the potatoes (fried) were light too. They didn't taste greasy like you can experience at other Indian restaurants. For mains I ordered pilau rice with chilli chicken balti. Yummy! Spicy, just the way I like it, the pilau wasn't sticky or stodgy, it was cooked perfectly so it fell off the fork. Sam M. had the egg fried rice and that was complimentary to my dish so I may have stolen a fair bit of his rice... I'd been drinking my glass of house rose wine which seemed to be going straight to my head. It was very very very warm and I looked up to see the air con was on full blast but heated. The tables next to us had also noticed and we asked the staff to turn it off. Even so, it didn't cool down. It wasn't a comfortable environment for the latter part of the meal and the staff noticed we had finished an immediately brought the bill over when we said no to dessert. You could say it seemed a bit like they were trying to push us out quickly but the place wasn't full. This is the only reason I haven't rated it 5*'s. read more

Akbar's - Potato and onion bahji veggie starter! - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

After much (hardly any) persuasion I found myself being dragged a long for a curry one cold night after work. I had a certain level of expectations for Akbar's and I'm sorry to say that it did not live up to them one iota. We were seated straight away in the busy side of the huge restaurant and it was super loud but smelt great! We were offered drinks and some poppadoms straight away with all the sauces you expect - they were delicious. I started with the prawn on puri which was the one highlight of the meal. Served on a fresh roti and with a certain kick it was tasty. For the mains we opted to share a couple of the curries with a side of pilau and a family nan (HUGE!) The curries were a complete disappointment with the naan arriving with a sheen of grease and oil on it. The chicken korma was over seasoned with a very strong and sickly coconut flavour being the overbearing taste. The colour was also off putting being what I describe as a fluorescent yellow. The chicken masala wasn't much better arriving with zero sauce and in a bowl of oil again it was lacking all taste... The final curry was ok - a balti served with potatoes and of a medium heat that had a good kick to it. The service was good with extra drinks taken in good time, however we didn't finish the majority if the food. read more

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Best curry of my life. My review could as well stop here. I reckon Akbar's deserves more words though. I wasn't expecting to find such a paradise for my taste buds when I got to this place a few minutes walking from Deansgate Locks. There are many other Indian restaurants on the way there, but my housemate, a regular at Akbar's, only stopped when we reached the place. I followed his advice, so we shared lamb kebab and chicken tikka masala, along with a huge and scenographic naam bread, soft and delicious. The meat was tasty, well cooked and perfectly flavoured, not too spicy; the sauce was great as well. The service has been considerably quick, and prices are so low! Honestly, great value. We managed to pay less than 20£ for food and drinks (Cobra beers). The fact that at some point all the waiters and the rest of the staff were sitting together having dinner made me think not only that food quality is excellent, but also that there's an incredibly positive vibe here. read more

Akbar's - Lamb kebab, chicken tikka masala and naan. - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

YES. just trust me on this, yes. Such a great lively atmosphere, friendly/well-attentive staff, and DELICIOUS food. I will let the pictures do the talking! read more

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Best curry everrrrrrrr!!! I have just come back from Akbars and it was amazing!!!! Having previously gone a couple months back on a works do me and the other half fancied trying it properly. The curry was insanely good, we had poppodoms then lamb chops and onion Bajis for starters, then for main had chicken tikka masala, lamb rogan josh, pilau rice and a huge garlic naan! Every part of the meal was so delicious and tasty and all for only £36 including drinks. Also the staff are lovely they were so attentive and we went to order a family garlic naan and our waiter explained the sizes as it would have been too big, which I thought was really nice of him! Will be returning here asap! read more

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In the dark days before I'd visited Akbar I could never work out whether opening an Indian restaurant somewhere other than the hallowed 'curry mile' was a brave or cowardly move. On one hand I thought- yeah I like the change of scenery, good on them for not feeling the need to line up in Rusholme with all the others. On the other I wondered- can they not stand the heat of major competition? Well now I've been and the answer is clear- Akbar couldn't care less what the other Indian establishments are up to because they have NOTHING to worry about. The Liverpool Rd location makes for a glamorous location that makes Akbar feel unique and untypical. The interior is a lesson in modern design. And the food, my lord the food! I'm going to keep this brief as I risk salivating on my precious laptop- there are restaurants in New Delhi that could learn lessons on Indian cuisine from Akbar. read more

Akbar's - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Best Indian food I have ear experienced. Known this place for 8 years and it keeps it quality. Great beer, food, and ambiance. Spicy and delicious. read more

Akbar's - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

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Overall good Indian food for the price. Cash only. Sunday evening. Fairly crowded, waited for 5 mins to be seated. Good service, speed of delivery was quick. Starters were ok, do recommend lamb chops! Chicken curry was nicely seasoned , just a bit salty for my personal taste. Naan was great, bigger than a regular human head. Chewy inside and crunchy outside. The dessert was a mix of ice cream/whipped cream with hot soft cake ball... very very sweet. read more

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Manchester has its fair share of curry houses but Akbars is the vindaloo of them all. The owner Shabir is a truly formidable businessman who, following success with an Akbars in Leeds, Sheffield, York, Birmingham and Bradford ( is this man attempting world domination?) decided to give it a go in Manchester and I am glad he did. Shabir is a top bloke with incredible business savvy, he knows what works and that if you give the masses excellent food in lovely surroundings they will keep coming back. For a couple years now he has constantly asked, well almost ordered me to dine at his restaurant and finally on a cold evening in January when my stomach needed a little warming up I did just that. On Liverpool Road near to the Museum of Science and Industry, Akbars is a huge building with funky lighting and the unenlightened could almost confuse it with a trendy winebar. Inside is an electric atmosphere and on the Friday night that I visited it it was buzzing with excitement. I had a thirty minute wait but the food more thhan compensated for this. My lamb chop starter was finger-lickin good. My mother told me never to do this in public but I had to! I licked my fingers Mum but at least I stopped at licking my plate ( although I wanted to) . I followed this with a Karahi Chicken which was a mouth-watering blend of subtle spices and fresh juicy tomatoes. Once we were seated, service was fast and smooth; friendly chatty waiters did not awkwardly hover beside your table in a ill concealed attempt to hurry you up. The naan breads were hysterical and could have been worn as hats! It is always a little awkward when you go somewhere that you are familiar with the management . What if you absolutely hate the experience? Trust me, i am no Oscar winning actress and I tell it how it is so I could not lie. I don't have to with Akbars though and the next time I bump into Shabir I will shake his hand and tell him well done. Akbars charges a couple pounds more per dish than your average restaurant but what do you expect? This is a V.I.P of Indian cuisine!! read more

Akbar's - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Visiting from the US, family recommended Akbar's. Food was great, I had the Chicken and Potato Balti. The drinks were watered down (I returned mine) and service was mediocre. The naan bread was really good. read more

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Had it not been for a couple of unfortunate events on the night I visited Akbars, this stylish restaurant would've been glittering with an extra star. The food was tasty and reasonably priced, the service was swift and polite and the atmosphere was comfortable, low lit and relaxed. Unfortunately, Akbars lost points when we found a crustean in the Veggie Mackhani...but in thier defence, the staff were very apologetic, refunded the dish AND surprised my boyfriend with a complementary birthday dessert. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to any indian food lover, but would urge them to venture out on foot, for the climax of my evening in Akbars ended with the theft of our vehicle right on the doorstep... p.s. be warned, the naan breads are ENORMOUS and are served on what looks like a Klingon war-blade...for a party of 7 healthy eaters, we barely made it through one garlic and one family sized naan... read more

Akbar's - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Great prices for the food! The family naan is the largest naan I ever seen. The curries were good but more like Brit-influenced curries. Great place for after work hangout especially with co-workers or large group. My son loved their mango lassie! read more

You might recall my categories from a previous curry related review; Akbar's is a limo... but not a celebrity limo, more like a hired-for-an-hour-hen-do limo. You know? No? Oh. Arriving on a busy Saturday night (at 8:30pm-ish), after calling earlier that night to make a booking to be told that they were no longer taking phone reservations and we'd have to come in, sit, drink and wait. We sat, drank and waited... for a whole hour. The curry here is worth it. The bar prices are actually very reasonable. A round of 5 drinks came to well under £20. A bottle of house white was £12.95. There's a long, thin area at the front of the restaurant with couches and tables to take the weight off while you wait. If you're lucky enough to grab a table or a couch that is... this place gets amazingly busy, especially at weekends. You can imagine our delight when our buzzer came alive and we were led to our table. Finally. We were shown to a table in the very top right hand corner of the room. Through the drapes and blinds you could just about make out quite a nice view, bit of a shame it was covered up. The table was incredibly cramped. Apologising to the couple, who were mid mouthful, on the tiny table next to us as we squeezed past wasn't ideal. Feeling uncomfortable, I asked if we could move and they sorted it straight away. Settled on our new, spacious table we were introduced to our server. We all chose a curry each, had 3 rice and one garlic family naan - plenty of food! Curries range from £7.95 to £10. Rice was less than £2 and the elephant ear sized family naan is amazing value at £4. Everything arrived together, piping hot and smelling brilliant. I tried the Chicken & Chilli Balti (£8.95), Chicken Korma (£7.65) and Chicken Tikka Masala (£9.45). All of which were amazing in their own ways. However dull you consider Korma to be, this one will change your whole perception - it's rich, creamy, coconutty and perfect. After a self initiated chilli challenge, which involved eating the whole chillies left as a garnish on the balti, the staff even brought us free milk. You guys! Once we had devoured our food, we soaked in the atmosphere holding our full tummies. The colourful lights, lit candles, drapes, plants and wall art create a lively but cosy ambience. I wouldn't say it's as posh as some of the fancier 'limo' places in town but it's perfect for sitting with friends and enjoying good food. As long as you save me a spot, I'll let you in on a secret - it's free to park on the street outside Akbar's after 8pm. Go. Try. Drink. Sit. Wait. Eat. It's worth it. read more

Great restaurant. Best Indian I've been to in a long time. Great service, buzzy atmosphere. Very busy considering it was a Tuesday- just shows how good it is. Well priced. Generous portions. I had the chicken tikka mahkani and pilau rice. Then shared a garlic naan which was huge and hung on a hook. So delicious!! read more

Akbar's - Garlic naan - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

When you arrive at Akbars you'll be told how busy it is and how long you will have to wait for a table. The dining experience is modern with lighting resembling a night club style. The price is a lot cheaper than other restaurants in the city centre. The quality and the taste of the food was good, looking forward to going again. read more

Akbar's - Lamb Chops - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Wow. Last night myself and the lass ate in Akbars, and we were literally blown away. I'm not one of these reviewers who go over the top about everything, but this curry is probably the best I have ever had, and I've had a few cheeky Ruby Murries in my time, I'll tell you that for free. Honestly, there's no charge. Put your money away. The restaurant, located in Castlefields, is uber-cool, and very busy. They don't take reservations which adds to the cool atmosphere by making all the tables full at all times. When you get there you have a drink for 15 or 20 minutes in the bar/lounge area, which has some cool seating and tables, and some exciting decorations such as large Indian statues (some life-size. You receive a little buzzer that goes off when your table is ready so you are free to roam the bar without having to keep an eye on the waiter the whole time. Then when you finish your bottle of Cobra you will be shown to your table in the large and bustling restaurant. The restaurant is so large and busy that the quality of service is literally incredible. The staff are attentive and you are never left waiting. Begin with poppadoms, which come with all the normal sauces plus an interesting yoghurty green one which is very spicy. Starters are unbelievable, and remarkably cheap. We had the most expensive one, a King Prawn Tikka, which was still less than £5. It was amazing. We also had the panneer for £2.50 or so, which was the second best I've ever had, after East Z East (see Yelp). For the mains I had another King Prawn thing. A King Prawn Karachi curry in a gorgeous thick sauce. Karachi and Balti are the restaurant's speciality dishes. My girlfriend had a chicken and garlic curry which was almost as good as mine. Mine was the most expensive on the menu, and was only a tenner, but most of the curries were around the 6-8 quid mark, as cheap as anywhere. Naan and rice were also cheap and huge. We got one naan and one rice to share and couldn't finish it all. And we took the remaining curry home. To top it all off, a bottle of house red was only a tenner, and bloody nice. I really cant say anything bad about this gorgeous restaurant. Its my second favorite restaurant in Manchester, after Sapporo Teppanyaki and my favourite curry house in the world. read more

I went to Akbar's on the strength of Yelp reviews and, once again, you guys got it spot on. Food, service and value-for-money all first class. I have to admit that, on first entering Akbar's, I was worried by its size. It's enormous. A kind of super curry house. But each one of its 200 covers were taken, with more eager customers waiting in the swanky reception area. We only had to wait 15 minutes for a table and you're provided with a buzzer which flashes when you're ready to go through. A nice touch and 15 minutes is a nice amount of time to enjoy a quick cobra (a shame there are no beers on draught - it's no bad thing to have a pint at the table, better than having to drink out of a bottle. But I'm nitpicking). All four of us had starters and mains, plus four beers each and a huge naan and rice to share. The bill was just £80. The restaurant was clean, well air-conditioned, well lit, classily decorated, and surprisingly intimate given its size. Akbar's is part of a chain, but everything is done so well it's difficult to criticise them for that. The food and table service were fantastic. I had calamari in an Indian batter. Tender (i.e fresh) and delicious. My friends went for masala fish, which I tried. Equally delicious. The chicken and keema balti for main was one of the best Indian dishes I've ever eaten. One of my colleagues said his lamb bhuna was the best he'd ever had. Well done Akbar's. And well done Yelpers! read more

Really nice food relatively cheap. We had lamb chops and onion bhaji for starter, with popadoms and a chutney tray For main I had rogan josh, and the Mrs had chicken tikka masala, both were really good.. If I'm honest I think I preferred the masala but I won't tell her that, being "always right" and all that.. We also got rice and chips, with every thing it all came to a reasonable 36 pounds. The only downfall in my opinion is that you can't book a table, it's a case of turning up and waiting for a table. This time just gone we went in on a Sunday around 4ish so it was pretty quiet, still busy but nothing like the previous time I'd been. The other time I'd gone was a Saturday night.. We were waiting around an hour and half for a table.. There is a bar in the waiting area so it's not all bad, but by the time we were actually sat down to our table I was pretty shnozzled and my wallet seemed a lot lighter. If I was going again in future, which I'm sure I will be, I'll try to avoid the peak times. They do also do take away.. So if you don't fancy the wait you could always go pick it up read more

I really don't get it! 10 years ago you might agree but these days when there are much better curry houses in the town how a greasy noisy place still makes it to the top!? The big family naan!!?? After eating the naan at the Asha's I am tempted to get the deliveroo man pedalling the naan from there while at Akbar's. It does not make sense!! read more

I find this place highly overrated. I have tried here a couple of times , each time involves a long waiting period in the packed waiting area. However we decided to book a table for ten of us for a friends birthday. What I did not like was due to the number of us we were forced to choose a set menu. Meat or Veggie. Having been seated at a large table we were surrounded mini parties. Several times we tried to flag down a waiter to order a beer, eventually we found it easier to walk to the bar. First course of the set meat meal was chicken skewers and lamb. This tasted okay along with the greasy onion bahji. The poppadums' and grilled fish were pleasant enough. Next came a array of curries, lamb, chicken fish and rice. The only veggie dish I saw was some lentils. Each curry dish tasted okay.. no better than a bog standard take away really..Everyone gasped at the sight of giant naan bread that overshadowed everything however it was not enough for me to enjoy the food. The décor in the dining area I could not make out due the packed state and the atmosphere was too busy for my liking. Overall I think there are much better curry places with better service and who would not enforce people a set menu for a party of ten. They could have asked us to pre-order our food? read more

Having recommended Akbar's to some out-of-towners they then insisted I came along with them. It's reassuring that Akbars is still good, and still recommendable. The dining experience is contempory modern, with almost night club style lightning. The price is a lot cheaper than other establishments in the centre of town. The quality of the food is high, and the service attentive, but not in-your-face. I had a lamb (Ghost) paneer which was spicey, but not too spicey. The family naan, is massive and makes me wish I had a family to feed. It worked well to share between 3, with 1 portion of pilau rice to accompany our main meal though. Splitting the meal 3 ways came in at £10 each, meaning they got a good % tip. When you arrive you'll be told how busy it is, and how long your wait for a table will be, and you're given a device that'll flash when it's ready. We were told 40 minutes, and happily it was less at around 15 minutes. Front of house they do have a bar, and seating area, so even if there is a big wait at peak times you're going to be waiting in style. Whilst Rusholme is still a great experience through the diversity of the countries' cuisine on offer, if you're in town then Akbars or East Z East are your main evening options for a good curry and dining in style. If it's during the day, then head on over to the Northern Quarter and check out This & That or Kabanna for a budget lunch. It's great that there's many good options in Manchester. read more

Akbars is a cut above your usual curry establishment. The food is fresh and you gotta love the massive nan breads! After experiencing this I'm convinced more of my food should hang from a hook... there is something gloriously barbaric about it. What's stopping it getting 5 stars is that I have had many dishes here that all taste the same. I find the food a little salty too. These are minor complaints though. The food is ace. Make sure you book as it gets massively busy read more

Turned up about 8pm on a Friday evening with a group of 7 and only waited for 40 mins for a table, after being turned away from most places around spinningfields with promises of 2 hour waiting times. I opted for a classic chicken tikka masala, while others went for seafood balti, lamb madras, some pilau to share, and finally (my favourite) a couple of family size hanging naans. This was probably the best curry I've had outside of the family home. Just the right heat level and mix of spices, and we fought hard to finish the lot. It's rare I can be served enough food that I have leftovers, but here, I had tears in my eyes and had to undo my belt to get the last of my curry in my mouth. Not the most revolutionary curry house in Manchester, but they deliver on flavour, consistency, and size, not forgetting to mention the staff, who were an absolute joy. The kind of place I'll definitely be bringing my dad, or my brother for an eating contest. read more

The flavors for the lamb chop appetizer is a problem. You order them, thinking that you will have a few and wait for the main meal that you ordered only to cry (and have a runny nose due to the great spices) because you did not order more and more and more. I was by myself on a business trip, and was wishing to be with my wife or friends with beers in hand, and knawing (thats a word correct?) with our hands on the chops just enjoying getting every last bit of meaty savoroucious bite. Then I ordered the Seafood dish that everyone else writes about with the Basmanti rice. As good or better than the reviews and the best part is the seasoned rice is light and you may just want to order this. Last, this place is run like a brazilian churrascaria with the waiters all waiting to pounce on your every need with an overlord boss looking on to assure top service. It just pisses me off that I have to leave Manchester so soon and not have another excuse to visit this place PS Look at the pictures of the Naan that others have taken. Freakin awsome and requires an exclamation the first time you see the guy walk out with one and say "what the heck is that? " read more

TL;DR - Nice curry and good service, but I've had better. Ever since moving to Manchester I've wanted to try Akbar's - everyone seems to say it's the best curry in town and the enormous queues would seem to back that up. Meeting up with a friend for dinner he suggested Akbar's so I finally got chance to give it a go. Upon arrival they'll give you an indication of how long you'll have to wait to be seated (45 minutes in our case) and give you a pager which buzzes and lights up when your table's ready. The waiting area is large, so even when it's busy there's space to spread out, but seating is in short supply. This was also the first place where we felt the place fell short - when we bought drinks at the bar there were no beers on tap and the fridge had just been restocked so the beers we bought weren't all that cold. On top of that, they didn't have enough change in the till so we had a long wait. Finally we got to our table and our server was incredibly helpful, polite and courteous. You can't really fault the service. We placed our orders and then... we waited. It took a long time for our starters to come and they were... OK. Nothing wrong with them really, just not out of this world. I had samosas, Mark had pakoras and Tom had chicken tikka. It was a similar story with the main course - a long wait and then our curries came which were nice, but nothing out of this world. The naan bread was great though - absolutely enormous and just one was more than enough for three of us. The other thing we can't fault the place on is value. At the end of our meal we were a bit surprised by the bill and thought we'd been undercharged, but it was right. So if you come here and are prepared to queue, you'll get good service and a good meal at a decent price. But is it the best curry house in Manchester? I'm not so sure. read more

Top quality food, great service, beautiful décor, excellent value for money, what more do you need? The only downside is that they don't take bookings for less than 10 people so you just have to turn up and wait - although there is a large bar area to have a drink in the meantime so it's not all bad. read more

Naan bread the size of an elephant's ear? CHECK! Why are you still reading? If that one simple fact isn't enough to make you want to check this place out for yourself then there must be something wrong with you!!! I've been here a couple of times, although always on a weekend, so there's been a bit of a wait for a table but I guess that's a by-product of the restaurant's popularity. On one visit I came with a large group of about 25 for a friend's birthday. We all had the set menu which I would thoroughly recommend. Although a few rounds of flaming sambucas over dessert prevent me from remembering the exact intricacies of the menu options and prices I do remember being very full, saying "yummmm, this is gooooood" (with a full mouth) quite a lot and still having enough money in my purse to hit the Northern Quarter for even more drinks. Would definitely recommend (if just for the massive naans alone!) read more

Really good indian eats; first time I tried Akbar's. Had papadoms and naan bread with four types of relish with my wife, chicken pakora and Chicken Tikka Massala. Customer service was very good. The price was good and we paid less than £30 with drinks. Later on someone told me this was a chain and there's an Akbar's in York, but it doesn't feel like a chain when you visit - it's definitely a proper indian restaurant. read more

Be prepared to wait for anywhere upto 45 minutes to 1 hour. To be honest, we're in a way used to it so we time our departure from home so that the hunger usually peaks when we're about to be seated or close enough. This wait although a minor inconvenience, is an excellent review in itself of the quality and taste of the food they serve here. Plus there is ample seating area near the bar whilst you wait, so, like I said, it's only a minor inconvenience. The food itself is amongst the best in Manchester. I usually avoid the poppadums and other items on the preamble and go straight to the business end of the menu. This usually is a chicken+lamb curry with a family naan to share with my wife who is a vegetarian by the way. This normally means she has to put up with what is being dished out at most restaurants, but not at Akbar's. The vegetarian menu is pretty competent in its own right and she is delighted everytime she's been there. If you're up for it, I'd recommend the chef's challenge, which a few of us have successfully completed a few times. It's an experience! If you're visiitng Manchester or if you're hungry and wondering where to go, head to Akbar's. read more

Beware. Those pictures of the giant nanns are the SMALL option. For some reason they do offer a 'family size' naan but I have no idea what rugby team would be able to eat all that! It's very rare I agree to waiting up to 45 mins to eat at a restaurant, but being in the city and not knowing any other alternatives we thought we'd prop up the bar and wait anyway. Akbar is a massive, loud restaurant with an eclectic mix of customers but one thing I know for sure, looks like a great place for a party/birthday. It's slightly out of the main city center, but it's great for the purposes of walking off the daal on the way home. The portions are very generous - by the end of the meal it didn't look like I'd touched a thing. First mistake - order a starter. Fish Nambali which we expected to be a little bit of fish with a bit of paneer. It turned out to be a wonderful melting pot of cheese, potato and fish. Soo yummy but sooo filling. For mains I went for the Karahi Fish & Potato with a special house blend of spices which had an amazing heat. Made my nose run - in the good way of course. Unfortunately I had to leave quite a lot of it as there was no point getting a doggie bag to take it back to the hotel - but if I was a Manchester dweller I'd have no hesitation. The whole meal was delicious and very reasonably priced. Service was exceptional. If I was local I'd be a regular. Well worth a visit and book ahead if you can. read more

Ruby Murrays? Bottom-burners? Forget Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle and their futile attempts to be considered curry capitals. How many of them can boast an entire mile of Indian restaurants? That's what we have here in Manchester, as Wilmslow Road is the pinnacle of curry tourism. Yards and yards of brightly lit, 1970s-esque spice huts with a smell that would entice even the most sceptical diner, dotted with off-licences because many of the Rusholme restaurants have a bring your own beer policy, and where there ain't a booze shop or a curry house, there's a sweet shop. Indian sweets are something to behold with fondants and colourful coconut slices... All this has nothing to do with what I'm about to talk about. Wait, don't go! Come back, what I'm about to say is the only issue with Rusholme is its out-of-town status. It's still part of Manchester but requires a bus ride or taxi. If you're in the city centre anyway and fancy a curry closer to home, many consider Akbar's to be the finest curry house here. It gives tradition a twist and offers sub-continent cooking, and the focus here isn't on food so hot that your bowels will reap revenge the next morning. Instead Akbar's showcases subtlety, with delicate balances of ginger, pepper, garlic and onion, such as in the fish and potato Karahi. And have you ever seen a naan bread on a tree? Try Akbar's, the breads are the size of a small child and displayed hilariously yet impressively on metal trees, enabling ease of chunk tearing but also meaning they go cold quicker. Akbar's giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other... Another highlight on the menu is my friend's favourite, the lamb handi which is cooked on the bone and so tender it melts in the mouth, I'm assured. It's a sophisticated looking place, a far cry from the retro charm of Rusholme, and the service is warm if a little over-attentive. Definitely a great alternative to the curry mile, and if you're a city centre dweller it means you can rush home quicker too. Rush home? Rusholme? Geddit? read more

I did Akbar's for the first time up in Boro, so I know I can get a reliable curry from here. The staff are always lovely and accommodating, and the curry is surprisingly non-greasy. I try to pick from the chef's specials, which say they're a little more traditional, and more Indian than British Indian food, though I do always love a korma or passanda when I fancy something mild. The saag and bombay aloo are great, poppadoms you can't really go wrong with, and the family naan is always a pretty good novelty, who doesn't want giant bread on a spike? Even though peshwari is my favourite. Their hotter ones can pack a punch, whilst still being flavoursome too. read more

I don't usually care for chain restaurants, but occasionally, I find one I like. Akbar's is like this, I have been to several locations around Britain, and this one excels. Great service, tasty food, cold beer and all at a fair price. Be careful with the Naan, though- it's HUGE! read more

This is an absolutely top curry house. I lived in the UK for 25 years but have been in the US for the last 6. My brother is a regular here and he is raving about this place that is "better than Sangam". Never thought I would find such a place but it is REALLY good. Lots of flavour in the relishes that are served with the pops. The starter of samosa was very good as well. Karahi was fantastic with chicken and potato and the naan is something all to itself. Highly highly recommend. read more

You just can't go wrong at Akbars! We headed here with a fairly large group from work and the meal was amazing. Kicked things off with poppadoms and the dips are so so lovely and fresh (I would moan there wasn't enough of them, but they bought over extra anyway!). We then shared a few naans to go with our mains - these really are the star attraction at this place! Hanging naans (I recommend the garlic) about twice the size of your own head. What's not to like?! I've tried a few of their curries now and they're amazing - very fresh, and not too bogged down with too much sauce - infact a lot appear to be tomato based. Although several are hotter than you would expect (either that or I'm just a wuss). My only gripe is that it's really hard to book a table - they do say over 10 people they will take a booking but ours got completely messed up. Oh well - worth waiting for! read more

Akbar's - Amazing naan bread! - Indian Near Me - Manchester, XGM

Aahhh Akbar's. What a place. I have to agree with James, if you want a curry and you're in Manchester, off to Rusholme you go. But one day someone came along with a different suggestion, Akbar's. No need to leave town and good food. We were easily persuaded to try it out. We had to wait for a table which wasn't too bad (and happens most times you go actually) as there's a bar with seats to lounge around in. When we were brought through to the restaurant we were greeted by incredibly friendly staff and seated in a lovely albeit very busy restaurant. The decor was much more modern than traditional and it worked well with the city centre location. The food going out to other tables looked and smelled amazing...we couldn't wait for ours to come to see how it tasted...we were not disappointed. It was incredible. I've since been back tons of times and it's been fantastic every time. I really do urge you to go here if you like Indian food. read more

Before I had been to Akbars, I had only heard good things about it, but equally had only had bad curry experiences from Manchester's Curry mile; these had left me emotionally scarred and therefore unable to trust that Manchester could actually have a great curry house. Akbars has restored my faith; I have learned to love again. Akbars is exceptional. Far and away the best curry I have ever had in Manchester, and probably the best curry I have ever had ever. When I went the place was packed and the atmosphere was buzzing; it felt exciting to be there. To start, I had Tandoori King Prawns and the boyf had Fried Spiced Paneer. Both were excellent. Our main's were just as good, and the portion sizes generous. The Naan came strung up on a stand, which was pretty cool. The staff were perfect. You didn't really notice them there, but then if you needed something they sorted you out straight away. By the end of the experience, I thought that, although it had been fantastic; it would leave quite a dint in my wallet. How wrong was I!? It is so reasonably priced that for a moment I thought they must have got the bill wrong. I honestly have no idea why anyone bothers with the substandard curry mile nonsense when such high quality places like this exist at no extra cost. Akbars get a very well deserved 5 stars. read more