I'd not eaten in Rusholme for about 5 years until earlier in 2014 when I began to hear great things about Mughli, which if you haven't been to I really recommend it. A few weeks ago a new restaurant started to get mentioned that's opposite Mughli, namely Ziya. It's obvious from just looking at the outside that it's had a LOT of money spent on it - it's 3 floors, including a newly built balcony. It's a totally different ambience than anywhere else on Rusholme and wouldn't be out of placed in Mayfair, London! Having eaten the meal I do think it'd be better suited in the city centre, especially given the prices which I think are a little steep for Rusholme (although I do think it's worth the money).
We booked in on a Thursday evening but on arrival we found out we were the only people in the restaurant so the ratio of staff to customer was 6:1! The Head Chef was a very nice chap who came to talk to us whilst ordering to offer his suggestions and tell us about the dishes - admittedly he may not do this when it's busy but it was a nice touch given it was so quiet - he also let us have a half portion of the lamb chops as a starter, which as they were so good I'm very thankful for.
Whilst it's on Rusholme it's Pan Asian rather than solely Indian so has a number of different things on the menu and it's also nice to see Indian influenced main courses that aren't covered in sauce
Poppadom Basket - Great dips and each type (including prawn crackers) had a good crunch to them 7/10
Salmon Tikka - I loved this salmon as it was cooked perfectly, almost translucent in the middle and great flavour from the lime, spices and yoghurt 9/10
Chicken Satay - These were probably the weakest part of the meal but were still pretty good; nowhere ever gives me enough peanut taste when I have satay 7/10
Masala Seared Beef - This was excellent quality fillet steak, cooked perfectly and complimented well by the juniper berries. I'd have liked a bit more beef though
Lamb Chops - Marinated for 36 hours in a blend of figs and spices and enriched with sour cream - these were probably the best lamb chops I've had in my life. A great char from the cooking, flavour from the spices, great chutney (if the chef sold this to take away I'd have bought lots) and even the salad deserved a mention 9.5/10
Lamb Khorma - apparently it should be spelt with an h. This was a family recipe and apparently a Khorma must be cooked at every Indian wedding. It's not the best photo but it was brown rather than orange - a real Khorma is all about the onions and has very little, if any cream hence the much darker colour. This was recommended as their signature curry and I can see why, although there's a few others I'd like to try on the menu.
Chargrilled Duck Break rubbed with sea salt, crushed black pepper and olive oil served with carrots and great beans and tossed in an almond butter - I loved this dish as it was perfectly cooked duck with a sauced spiced to perfection, which didn't have any hint of orange (which is the obvious combination to go for with duck) 9/10
Rusholme now has 2 great restaurants and I'd recommend both - Mughli is more your every day curry house and Ziya is a destination meal - I'll be visiting both regularly I suspect (and hope) read more