Nawaab

The Nawaab Indian Restaurant

The Nawaab is a group of Indian restaurants that has establishments in Bradford, Huddersfield, Manchester and Spain. We made a special trip to sample the Nawaab in Manchester. We had planned to do this for a very long time, since we reviewed one of its Sister establishments, the Nawaab in Bradford. On the basis of that previous visit we had extremely high expectations of the Manchester restaurant.

First and lasting impressions were that the décor and surroundings had seen better days, the carpet was shabby and the tablecloth on our table had holes in it. All in all the décor left a lot to be desired for a reputably ‘up-market’ Indian restaurant, and was a big disappointment to us. However the restaurant has some reputation in the area, which implies that what it offers must be to a lot of people’s taste.

We went on a Friday evening and the restaurant was busy which added to the general ambience. We ordered drinks and poppadums and studied an extensive menu. I was tempted to depart from the norm and went for Chicken Livers to start. My wife ordered Onion Bhajis. Sandro ordered Aloo Chana on Puri (Potato and Chickpeas on fried bread) and Marg went for the Chiken Tikka.

The menu deserves a special mention as it introduces a number of dishes that are not standard on the typical provincial Indian restaurant menu There is also a good choice of vegetarian and seafood dishes to compliment the carnivore section. There are also a couple of set meals that require 24 hour notice, Murgh Massallam and Lamb Raan.

The poppadums and starters were fine. I possibly regret slightly choosing the Chicken Livers as they were a little bitter, I suggest they probably lend themselves better to a Mediterranean treatment, with a good sauce rather than as a fairly dry presentation. However, full marks to the Nawaab for providing additional and unusual choice onto the menu. Linda, Sandro and Marg all enjoyed their starters, which were all described as good but not exceptional.

For main course I decided to choose a Lamb dish, as I have a particular preference for Lamb in a curry dish. I chose the Karahi Gosht. Sandro wanted to try the Chicken Haandi, which was one of the dishes we tried in the Bradford restaurant and found exceptionally good on that occasion. Marg chose the Chicken Tikka Dopiaza and Linda went for the Mushroom and Aloo Makhani. We ordered an assortment of Pilau Rice, Saffron Rice and Vegetable Rice and some Nan breads.

The main courses were enjoyable except for the Mushroom and Aloo Makhani, which we all agreed was a little thin and insipid. The rice was not the best we had been served by a long way, it was also impossible to tell the Saffron Rice from the Pilau Rice, and the Vegetable Rice appeared also exactly the same as both, but with an unremarkable amount of vegetable content.

We had a couple of rounds of drinks, with Linda just drinking water. The bill came to £68 for the four of us. Hardly breaking the bank, and probably representing decent value. In conclusion, I would give the Nawaab in Manchester a tentative recommendation, but in comparison the Nawaab in Bradford there is no comparison.

Phil.