Curry has now become a staple of British cuisine. Chicken Tikka Masala is now one of our national dishes and a trip to the curry house is a long and storied tradition for friends, Sunday league football teams and co-workers. Now with that being said some places in the United Kingdom are better for a curry than others. I’m pretty lucky that my home town of Stafford is basically an off-run of Birmingham so we have a wonderful selection of places there, but Stafford doesn’t quite compare to The Manchester Curry Mile. The name is exactly what it says it is, a mile long of fantastic South Asian eateries and Heart Home Magazine has picked out our favourites for our lovely reads to take a look at down the famous Wilmslow Road.
Ziya Restaurant – 65-67 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M14 5TB, United Kingdom
We will be starting off at Ziya. This place has tons of positive reviews and features some fantastic food. An authentic Indian and street food restaurant offering a fine dining experience for a pretty fantastic price. You could get away with spending £20 quid here if you go easy on the drinks and you’ll still leave with a full belly. In a cost of living crisis that is music to most people’s ears.
The menu, developed by the Head Chef and his team, features a range of dishes designed to appeal to both sophisticated palates and traditional tastes. Basically, if you like it spicy they have you covered and if you fancy a milder dish they can sort you out as well. The jalfrazi here always gets my tastebuds going, add a keema naan, egg fried rice and a few pints of draught beer and my order is usually pretty bang on.
The restaurant’s decor is pretty flashy as well. Ziya combines copper and gold tones with warm burnt orange seating and striking marble sourced from across Europe. This venue provides one of the more luxurious settings on Manchester’s Curry Mile, making it ideal for special occasions. They also feature a comprehensive list of cocktails and mocktails if that’s your thing.
Mussarat’s Restaurant – 123-127 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M14 5AN, United Kingdom
Next, we are off to Mussarats. This popular spot has some of the best starters on the mile and the Reshmi Kebab is probably the item that stands out from the crowd here the most. The dish consists of Finely minced chicken imbued with traditional herbs, coriander, cumin, garlic and ginger, tenderly cooked on a skewer in a charcoal clay oven. This is an example of a really simple and effective concept for a dish, and with the perfect level of spices to really get your tastebuds dancing it’s a must-have from us here at Heart Home.
Now this place isn’t a traditional curry house as they also serve burgers as well as some pretty decent Indian street food, but the house special has to be the choice for the main. It may be cliche but just choose the butter chicken if it’s your first time venturing here as when you taste the succulent chicken pieces enveloped in a tomato, butter and cream gravy flavoured with fenugreek leaves you will be transported to heaven.
Mughli Charcoal Pit – 30 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M14 5TQ, United Kingdom
This spot has to be on the list because it’s fantastic for vegans and vegetarians while also not skimping on the meat-based offerings for more carnivorous folk. They have over 20 Vegan dishes so there really is a lot of selection here, this a place where you can bring anyone who loves Indian food and everyone will leave happy due to the flexibility of the menu.
For meat eaters, the charcoal really stands out as the mixed grill they offer is an absolute showstopper. The chicken tikka and lamb are expertly roasted in the pit which gives the meat a really distinctive flavour. Once again they also offer a pretty banging broccoli dish cooked in this fashion so the vegans don’t have to miss out either. Mughli’s is also fitted with a fully licenced bar which is a nice touch. I do like the bring your own booze establishments as well of course, but I also love a proper pint too.
Bardez – Indian Street Food and Grill – 35 Wilmslow Rd, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5TB, United Kingdom
Bardez has a few locations now but their spot on Wilmslow Road is the best. The food doesn’t differ in quality at each place I just love the setting here and of course, it’s on the Curry mile which helps (especially when you are writing about this specific location).
The restaurant’s story began in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and Bardez in Goa, so you really are getting a taste of something authentic here. There are two stand-out dishes here for me the first being the Lamb Shank Rogan Josh, which is a bit of a masterpiece and the slow-cooked lamb shank with onion and tomato combined with the chef’s special spices leaves a rich and spicy flavour profile on your pallet, of course, it’s topped with fresh coriander too which always enhances the flavour.
The second dish I would recommend here would have to be the Chicken Malvani, this is a South Konkan dish and is one for the heat seekers out there. If you like spice this is the dish for you. A whole chicken leg is cooked in a very spicy sauce (they don’t give us specifics so it must be a secret) and this leaves the meat nice and tender. Have some yoghurt on the side if you want to make the spice levels a little easier or wash it down with one of their signature cocktails. The alcohol won’t help with the spice, but you won’t care as much. Also as a side note, this spot is great for vegetarians too.
MyLahore Manchester – 14-18 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M14 5TQ, United Kingdom
Mylahore’s roots are based in Yorkshire but this spot is so popular we would be inanse not to give it a mention. This place is brilliant for sharing boxes and you can even have them sent to your homes ready to eat. Each Sharing Box generously feeds five and includes starters, mains and desserts. Dishes are freshly cooked in their kitchen, and if they are to be delivered they are then chilled and ready to heat. They send dishes all around the nation so that is why they chill them first, of course, you can always eat at the restaurant or if you are local they will send you your food warm.
At the establishment itself, the samosas are the pick of the bunch when it comes to starters. I am a meat eater but I usually prefer a vegetable samosa and here is the blend of the delicious crispy pastry filled with slightly spiced carrots, peas, cut beans, broad beans, sweetcorn, potato and onions really get my mouth watering.
Don’t sleep on the Lamb Nihari either, this is a newer menu item so naturally it has been selling out quickly recently. A classic dish made with tender lamb shank traditionally slow-cooked in a rich and flavourful broth using their special in-house spice blend. Topped with fresh ginger, coriander, fried onions and bullet chillies, plus sliced lime for extra zing. Sounds good right?
Well, that brings us to the end of our top picks for the Manchester Curry Mile, if you have any suggestions or feel we missed anything please let us know in the comments as we are sure to be back here for a feast or two sooner rather than later.