Cancel

Open app

Search

Lal Qila

3.5 (31 reviews)
ModerateIndian, Pakistani

Lal Qila Photos

LAL QILA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

Recommended Reviews - Lal Qila

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Sophie C.

Let me set the scene for you: Rusholme. Lal Qila, an Indian restaurant. There is low lighting. Your dining companion may be quite attractive I don't know. Anyway, the food is nice enough but not anything special plus there are no surprises on the menu but you don't mind. The tables have white tablecloths on with plastic diamonds on the top. It is tacky in a sweet way. What could happen next to disturb this dream, to burst your bubble of contentment? Waiters that are so dismissive it borders on rude. And that is (almost) the only thing you remember from the whole Lal Qila experience. Shame.

Angela B.

There's something to be said about a restaurant that is successful enough to advertise on the Manchester bus fleet. I'm not sure about their recent refurbishment as it kind of looks like a Disney theme palace now, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the food. The great thing about Lal Qila is that it stays true to traditional Pakistani cuisine, it's drier and hotter and less Anglo-sized for which it's won a legion of accolades. The last time I went I tried the Machli Masala Dupiaza (salmon marinated with ginger, garlic, spices, deep fried then cooked with onions, tomatoes and coriander in a bhuna style sauce) which was heaven on a plate. My friend went for the full Lobster in spices for a very reasonable £15. That's what I love about this place, they haven't got your run of the mill ingredients and they make fish taste delectable. I feel bad for Sophie, she obviously caught a waiter on an off night, I've had only good experiences. Perhaps they were particularly busy that night but I guess that isn't an excuse.

Alistair H.

Lal Qila is one of my favourite restaurants of the curry mile. I always had good experiences there, the food was always great and the service attentive. Prices were pretty reasonable too. I guess at this point I should note that i'm talking about experiences from a good 6 or so years ago. One particular time I remember bringing my parents. No sooner had we sat down than they had placed a pile of poppadoms and some chuntneys on the table. They then asked for our drinks order, and promptly came back with the drinks - this was well within 5 minutes of entering the place. We ordered food, it came in about 10 minutes, we finished, payed the bill and we ready to leave within about 30 minutes of entering. Now while this may be a little too fast for a nice sit-down meal, we could have been slower. It was our choice to be in and out so fast, and it's nice to find a place with service good enough to allow the option...

See all

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Sophie C.
6
360
370

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Angela B.
49
958
1179

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Alistair H.
54
673
1839

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

13 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

16 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

16 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Vic D.
0
22
1

7 years ago

Exellent food, outstanding service and reasonable prices. Will definitely be back next time I'm in Manchester. Amid was remarkable.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Thomas B.
8
355
355

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Kirsten P.
14
426
387

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Trisha B.
10
363
130

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Alfie B.
89
689
682

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Rob T.
7
37
48

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Truly enjoyable, pleasant food, enjoyable service in a nice environment. I can would come back any time.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

18 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

14 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

17 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

16 years ago

is this place on the curry nation uk discount site? would like to save some money as eat here fairly often!

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Review Highlights - Lal Qila

I would say that this is the best place to eat on the curry mile, there is lots of choice on the menu and the quality of food is good.

Mentioned in 13 reviews

Read more highlights

Verify this business for free

People searched for Indian 235 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

My Nawaab - Restaurant for over 400 guests.

My Nawaab

3.8(36 reviews)
1.7 miLevenshulme
££

What a lovely experience and had during a two-day business trip to the Manchester area. As a last…read moreminute recollection, I remembered the recommendation a friend from work long ago mentioned that I tried and loved about 13-14 years ago. I managed to track down My Nawaab and it was far better than my already fond recollection They have perhaps the broadest range of Pakistani and South Asian Cuisine I've ever seen. The service is top notch and I cannot herald the staff enough for their warmth and friendliness. As a stranger on my own, I was made to feel so at home. As a huge bonus, they have my absolute favourite dessert in the world, Oymali, which I last had in Cairo. As a grand finale when I returned for a second night in a row before driving onward to York, they personally made sure that I had a helping of faluda. I do hope to come back again and a special thanks to the wonderfully lovely staff at My Nawaab.

Nice food service and the staff are really helpful so I recommend this place if you want to be…read moretreated like an actual person (just saying because some places don't have good service) and I hope this review is usefull because by all means this food is far from bland and dry and it has a rich vibe to the place so if you want a nice place with hot food then this might just be the place for you and I can't say much more then that so I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Photos
My Nawaab
My Nawaab
My Nawaab

See all

Lahori Kebabish

Lahori Kebabish

2.7(3 reviews)
2.8 mi

Writing all these reviews has made me realise just how much money I spend on food (i.e. not from…read morethe supermarket). I must endeavour to find a cookbook and rediscover the lost art of knowing exactly what you are eating. That said, when food tastes as good as it does from Lahori Kebabish I'd just say put the whisk and chopping board away my friends. I don't think its been here very long but me and my friends discovered this the other week - we were cruising around in my friend's car looking for somewhere we could grab some food. You see, after a few bad run ins with waiting forever for home delivery, we prefer to take matters into our own hands. Lahori Kebabish is pretty good value for money - for under a tenner, you get three different curries plus loads of pilau rice etc. With cheap prices comes mediocre tastes but we were all plesantly surprised. We'll definitely be trying here again for the next film night - good food to share/ mix and match.

Kebabish is a franchised brand whose restaurants are quickly spreading across the country. When you…read moretaste the 'apna' style, lumpwood charcoaled kebabs here you can see why, but it isn't just kebabs that they offer. The menu is extensive and covers many mediterranean classics as well as a large choice of curries, karahis, biriyanis, steaks, vegetarian options and even a kid's menu. It doesn't look like much from the outside but inside the decor is modern and clean and the service is quick, even quicker if you're purchasing the faster items. Kebabish also delivers, but only until midnight so eat before you drink! Cheap and good value, especially as it's BYOB.

Photos
Lahori Kebabish - From website

See all

From website

Dera

Dera

3.5(2 reviews)
3.6 mi

Wow! It's extremely rare you get an eatery that serves food on par with homecooked food. Dera is…read moreone of those rare places. Having driven past it a few times it had been on my radar for a few weeks. The reason for the delayed visit is the fact that I don't venture into these parts that often. The location is a tad out the way and in no man's land near what I like to call 'textile district' of Cheetham hill. Aside from a few buffet/banquet hall restaurants and takeaways there's not much here as you drive out the city on Cheetham hill road towards Prestwich. Dera is the one exception. In fact its exceptional in pretty much every way possible. Why? A few reasons; Guaranteed a table any time of the week!! We arrived at prime time in dining terms on a Saturday night at 8:30pm without a reservation. This is a dangerous tactic but if you know me well enough it's the kind of thing I'd do. Mainly because there's so many dining options in our great city but more importantly, spontaneity and I get along well. To our bemusement the restaurant wasn't busy at all and we got a table immediately. I made a note of this for future reference. A quiet and intimate spot for dinner on a Saturday night away from the pretension of city centre white noise maraudery? Hell yes please! Unique and Authentic decor!! Upon entering there's an air of informality about the place. Things are very simple here. It'd be weird if they weren't. Dera refers to the Urdu/punjabi word for the makeshift restaurant/eatery across Pakistan. They can be found in Villages or are littered across the motorways that join major cities to these remote villages. (a simpler version of motorway service stations if you will) The huge wall paintings depict life in the villages. There's a main stage area that's littered with beautiful ornaments synonmous with Pakistani villages. There's everythign from hand made decorated chairs and pots to 'patangs' (kites). An ideal photo oppurtunity for social media savvy folk. There's even an old school replica farm tractor parked outside much like the ones used by farmers in said villages. Holy Moly batman, the food!! I honestly cannot recall tasting a rice dish that's cooked better in a restaurant than the Saji I tried here. It was nothing short of blow your socks off sensational. Also, I challenge anyone to find me a main course at £14 that could feed 4 people. That portion was, let's just say sizeable. Saji is a bit like a biryani but with slow cooked tandoori chicken. The chicken was melt in your mouth tender. Understandably I took more than half of the portiion home and had it for lunch the next day. It tasted even better the next day! How's that even possible? In conclusion I can't recommend this place highly enough if you like Pakistani food. Note: Much like a lot of other authentic eaterys from Pakistan they don't serve alcohol here. There's a huge car park at the back but beware the sharp left turn entrance which is a tad obscured. I don't normally make grand statements but 'Dera say it', this could be my new fav eatery in Manchester.

By far my least favourite McDonald's restaurant, they didn't even have any beef for their Big Mac!…read moreI came in at around 1am from the pub and instantly realised something was wrong with this maccies. There were none of their traditional golden arches in sight. And I noticed a peculiar fact, that all the staff were Asian, actually everyone here is Asian! This is why we need a hard Brexit! Take back our boarders please Farage-sama!!! #UKIPForever #YouCan'tBarageTheFarage

Photos
Dera - It's Saturday right!!? Not that I'm complaining!! This is perfect! Got a table straight away

It's Saturday right!!? Not that I'm complaining!! This is perfect! Got a table straight away

Dera
Dera - Authentic food has me at hello!

See all

Authentic food has me at hello!

EastZEast - BBQ chicken sizzler, rice and tandoori roti

EastZEast

3.5(39 reviews)
2.2 miCity Centre
££

I've been eyeing EastZEast out of the window of my chambers for months now but ended up here…read morerandomly off a pub crawl* because the American client/friend of my bf's that we were showing around Manchester turned out NEVER TO HAVE TRIED INDIAN FOOD. The doorman dressed in gorgeous Indian finery was an exciting start and we were warmly greeted on arrival. Drinks were served promptly from the friendly bartender. Downstairs in the fancy dining room we enjoyed some poppadoms with a stellar pickle tray - much wider choice than usual including my favourite lime pickle and a couple of other unusual choices. For mains I had the peshawari chicken, a new dish from their punjabi specialities section which was rich and flavourful, I'd recommend it. I also ordered an aubergine side dish which I thought was absolutely excellent although i could barely eat it as my mains portion was so generous. This is easily up there with Akbar's and Zouk as one of the premium Indian restaurants in Manchester city centre.

I cannot knock the dedication of East Z East's host. In all weathers he stands outside in full…read moreregal regalia, greeting patrons and pointing them in the direction of the valet service, something it's taken us so long to grasp on this side of the pond. How handy is that for a city centre? Located right on the edge of the heart of Manchester's shopping district, it's a great spot to stop off on the way home or make an effort for in the context of a night out. And its riverside location certainly doesn't hurt. The Punjabi themed menu is delicious and inspiring. One of my favourite accompaniments is the aloo paratha, a chapatti which you think looks dry but is actually chockfull of coriander and tender, moist mashed potatoes. The Karahi section is truly amazing, with a tasty chickpea dahl, paneer shahi (Indian cheese with cream of cashew nuts, mustard seeds and tomatoes), and some incredible, melt in the mouth meats. Seafood is super too, the tiger prawns with peppery leaves being an excellent choice. We had delicious marinated white fish, tandoori chicken, mixed starters and a truly awe-inspiring giant naan on a tree. Wowsers! It was a great place to bring my London colleagues for a lovely bit of dinner on a Tuesday night. They were so accommodating, and brought all our food over speedily, even bringing us extra mango chutney and onion and tomato for our poppadoms. It's not formulaic or over-traditional, and it feels special. This place has a modern twist, and housed in one of the most impressive riverside buildings the city offers it makes for a delightful dining experience with its soft neon lighting, urban styling and water feature. It's definitely for connoisseurs who are looking for something slightly different, and it's a great place to bring a date or a family member... anyone you're looking to impress really!

Photos
EastZEast - Indian Thali

Indian Thali

EastZEast - Www.eastzeast.com

Www.eastzeast.com

EastZEast - Www.eastzeast.com

See all

Www.eastzeast.com

Lal Qila - indpak - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...