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Years ago, traveling to Manchester, England was a pretty regular occurrence. It wasn’t until much later, after we temporarily discontinued service, that I found out Manchester was known for some pretty fabulous Indian food and I had missed the boat.
My return to Manchester was much anticipated, especially having an extra day there to do some sightseeing. However, as much as I love my picture-taking and sightseeing, the thing I was looking forward to was getting to sample the Indian cuisine.
After braving the windy, rainy afternoon, I returned to the hotel to mourn the loss of my umbrella, dry off, freshen up and meet my crew for dinner.
Shortly after our arranged meeting, a brief discussion ensued as to which Indian restaurant we were going to dine. A place called Akbar’s won the debate!
Located a few blocks away, we arrived to an extremely crowded bar area overshadowed by a large Buddha statue.
The wait was going to be about an hour, but, hey, did I mention there was a bar? After spending time in London and experiencing the agony of parting with too many pound notes just to quench your thirst, the best part about this bar was that drinks were quite cheap! Bottles of Indian beer and healthy pours of wine were only 3 pounds.
Patrons continued to stream into the place, striving to find any niche, cubbyhole or square foot of floor space to wedge themselves into while waiting for their table. Soon, our table for eight was ready and we were ushered into the crowded and noisy dining room and seated at a long rectangular table. Our waiter soon appeared and recorded our orders, one by one.
One of my favorite entrees has always been Chicken Tikka Masala, however, lately, my taste has turned to Butter Chicken. Not seeing it on the menu, I inquired as to whether or not I was missing it. My waiter said, “no”, however, he would ask the chef to prepare it especially for me. The same thing happened when we asked for Cheese Naan. Needless to say, I was very impressed!
No long after our orders were taken, our waiter brought our naan to the table…one garlic and and one cheese. The restaurant has these metal “trees” that the huge naan hangs from. And it was huge! We all began tearing the delicious naan apart and soon after, our entrees were delivered.
My Butter Chicken…oh, what can I say? Mmmmm! I have never had Butter Chicken or any Indian food, for that matter, that tasted so delicious! I am not sure that I uttered any words, besides, “you all have to try this” because I was so busy stuffing my face. I did try some of my fellow diner’s dishes; Seafood Balti, Chicken Tikka Masala and the Chicken Tikka Makhani, the latter of which I have to say was a close second to my Butter Chicken. It was very apparent why this was an award winning restaurant.
Soon, our dining experience was complete, but I made sure to leave with a copy of their menu and the knowledge that I have truly tasted some of the best Indian food in the city (actually many cities)…and if you don’t want to leave the comfort of your hotel room…they deliver!
Akbar’s
- http://akbars.co.uk
- 73-83 Liverpool Road, Manchester, M3 4NQ
- Phone: 0161 834 8444
- Asian Curry Award 2015, English Curry Award 2014
- Best of Manchester and Restaurant of the Year
- Other locations: Bradford, Leeds, Eastgate, York, Sheffield, Bradford Cafe de Akbar, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow