Akbar's in Manchester

Booked a table for 8 on a Saturday and after half an hour they couldn't provide one for us, absolute shambles

Absolutely bloody unbelievable! Food was epic. Chicken wings were amazing and the lamb shank was out of this world (think it was called nigari). Highly highly recommended and will definitely return. Update October 2024: Still bloody epic!!

Excellent Food Service and staff everyone is great there, but one person is exceptional 👌 Zain, He is a real gem 💎 of the restaurant. We go there because of his hospitality.

The worst curry I have ever had. Way, way too spicy, unnecessarily spicy. Waited 90 minutes. People behind me in the queue were given priority and shown to their tables before me. Avoid this restaurant.

Go to place for a curry in town, Lamb chops are the best around. Pictures look shit because I have a samsung

Excellent food and service highly recommended 👌

4 star on atmosphere, only coz it was too loud, not coz it was busy, but rather a man was bit drunk and talking really loud. i guess that doesn't happen all the time, just us unlucky, besides that, one of the best place to have indian pakistani food. the quality of the food was 7 star, service was also good. definitely recommend. if you visit Manchester you got to visit this place, it in centre too.

Absolutely delicious food. Had 2 of the specials. We also had the infamous hanging nan. That was delicious! Everyone around was having a great time. Fab service. Thanks all

We recently visited Akbar’s in Manchester, expecting a good meal, but was left thoroughly disappointed. We specifically asked for a home-style meal, hoping for balanced flavours, but what we got was ridiculous! Everything was unbearably spicy with zero flavour balance. We ordered naan, rice, kofta, chicken, and fish, and none of the dishes lived up to expectations. The spiciness overpowered everything, and there was no real taste. To make things worse, the service was terrible. When we asked for yogurt to help cool down the dish, the waiter laughed and said we should have mentioned it after the first bite. It was clear they didn’t care. We’ll definitely be stocking up my visits to EastZEast instead—clearly the No. 1 spot in Manchester for great food. Won’t be returning to Akbar’s!

This restaurant is extremely overpriced and the quality of the food itself does not justify the price. I paid £14 for “Biryani”, which in fact was just pulao rice with chicken cubes in it. We also ordered “fresh orange juice”, we asked the staff if this was fresh, as stated on menu, in fact we were told the juice was from a box, we had paid £4 for it. The service was decent and staff were attentive, but the price of the food is an absolute rip off, there are far better restaurants in Manchester. I was very underwhelmed and disappointed.

One of the nicest restaurants I've had the pleasure of visiting. The food and service is perfect every time.

We had booked a table for 5 people for 6pm and once we had arrived we were escorted to our table which was a really suitable table for ourselves. The occasion was for a birthday . We were then rudely asked by the manager to move seats where he then Forced us to move out the seat and then took us to a cramped booth for 5 people and added a whole other table on to it which was ridiculous. We were then plaved on a table which was dirty and next to the fire exit . Then the manager told us the original table was for a larger party yet the table had 5 seats . The manager was super rude and Unhelpful and we didn’t get a good service from the very beginning .

Excellent service from Tasha and Danny Really good curry, fantastic Naan breads Gets very busy with a buzzing atmosphere

I pre booked a table for 20 for close family back in July. Due to being from Bradford, we were unable to locate parking at this branch. We tried to call to update them of our situation and they wouldn't answer. We had to wait in the reception for over an hour because we were told we were 15 mins late from our booking time. After complaining about the wait we were finally seated. The manager on the day was Zain, he was normal to begin with and offered free poppadoms or a 10% discount. I refused due to the length of time and the didn't feel this was adequate. He told me to take it or leave it, his attitude stunk. I told him I'd leave an honest review about our experience to which he replied well you won't get nothing then and walked off. I was so furious I didn't eat my food. Had my family not come from Bradford, we would have left immediately. Unfortunately I had to feed them. Another manager came along as he noticed I wasn't eating and clearly angry (can't remember his name he wore glasses) was totally opposite, so nice and professional. I explained we loved Akbar's we go to our Bradford branch all the time and Zain has offended me and ruined or day. My complaint is solely about Zain. Food was on point, other staff were excellent and polite. I kept my promise Zain and left you the review you didn't think I'd leave. Your a disgrace to Akbar's. I know the owners well and informed them. I hope everyone else reads this 👍🏻

Superb range of dishes all of which are great - curries go from mild to very hot. Prices have. Iincreased considerably. Extremely busy Friday and Saturday. Since my last visit, prices have increased again and portion size slightly reduced. Not as popular as it used to be, tonight it was less than a quarter full.

Beautiful food, good prices and fast service

Found food not really good, the taste is below average - will not visit again.

I visited this restaurant on 28th of August 2024 evening time at around half 6 with my family, firstly i asked one of the waiters when giving my order can i have a mix grill for starters he didn’t have a clue what that is even though he was working in a indian restaurant he called another guy who seemed like a supervisor and this person seemed very rude he had no communication skills what so ever and just looked at me like i was asking for something free didn’t even suggest what alternatives they had just said look at the menu we only have those and buggered off, anyway we had our starters but had us waiting another 50 minutes for the main meal, when i brought this to the supervisors attention he didn’t apologise but asked how long we had waited so i said close to an hour he went away and brought back which looked like a receipt for the time i had placed the order and stated you placed the order this time and it hasn’t been an hour and got very confrontational i said well i did say close to an hour and regardless it has been very long to the point it seemed they had forgotten the order, he again didn’t apologise and just went away with a bad attitude, other customers had come after us and had their orders ready well before and one other customer sat close to us even went and pointed that out to us, the service was shockingly slow that day, when the main meal arrived the naan roti was very cold, i just want Akbars to look into this employee further who lacks communication skills and just doesn’t know how to talk to people, he was supervising on the date mentioned above.

Staff was so rude, been served with cold food that big naan. Very bad staff nature with customers. Highly dissatisfied and disappointed.

One of my friend recommended Akbars and I visited it yesterday. Can’t be more than happy. Food, service, atmosphere everything was perfect. Specially Mr. Zain was extremely helpful and friendly. Will definitely visit it in future. Highly recommend 👍

Best experience ever with staff specially the cooperative manager Zain who recommended some dishes , made a platter for us , His recommended Butter chicken and lamb on the bone was a class Thanks to all Will visit soon with university friends

Tasty food, just so busy / loud it was lacking any atmosphere.

Absolutely diabolical service from the manager Zain. Been coming here since 2006 but never again. Got given a tiny table in a crowded space which my elderly mother was struggling to sit on. A booth became available but I was told as there is only 2 of us we weren’t allowed to sit there. Literally 10 minutes later he sat 2 young adults there. The table was so small they couldn’t fit all our order onto it so I had to have my curry in the lamb chops platter and not even enough room to put a bottle of water on the table! Ended up having soggy curry drenched chips as there was not enough room for a separate plate

First visit to Manchester, looking for halal restaurant. Waw Waw the service from the door to the Seat was professionnel than the gentleman bring the menu out standing smile polite and knowledge about the food . And finally the food is the best Asian cuisine I never had. We will come back for sure . thanks to all Akbars.

Excellent service, 1 order was wrong, but they quickly sorted it out for us. The dessert Galab Jaman and Ice Cream is absolutely delicious 😋

The food is very good and delicious and the waiter was very Nice wajid,Yusra ,Ahmed

Excellent service and nice staff

I've been going to Akbars for 12 years now and it has never disappointed! A great place to dine in with friends/family/colleagues. Must try their lamb chops!

Went for a birthday dinner, food was so good, so was the atmosphere but best of all was the staff all very pleasant and polite, will definitely come back soon. Ps completed the chef challenge

Careful before tasting any food weather it’s fresh or not because butter chicken and paneer next day creates stomachache

I had a highly disappointing experience at this Indian restaurant. I specifically asked for lamb chops, and they told me they were called "meat chops." When I asked the waiter if they were lamb or something else, he said lamb but didn’t seem to know why they were called meat. We ordered two portions, and both looked like they had been attacked by a cat—nothing like a lamb chop at all. We also ordered four main dishes, all of which were bland and tasteless. This was probably the worst Indian food we’ve had in a long time. They claimed it was authentic, but there was nothing authentic about it. The best part of the meal was the chips and mayo. I won’t be returning.

Oh come on, how could you not be impressed with Naan served on a metal hanger, and ours was only a regular one. The family naan is delivered by an HGV. Akbar's has been here a while now, it's still a really good curry house. No pretentious menus, but staff who want to look after you and look happy, food which is freshly cooked and isn't just a "curry", and all for a reasonable price. No wonder on a wet Wednesday evening it was still busy and feeling lively. Enjoy, but don't order too many poppadoms, or (unless you're a big family) a family naan. 😀

Fantastic food here, the waiter I had tonight did a fantastic job. Super attentive and very polite. Reasonably priced too. Well done to all staff and manager

One of the best restaurants in Manchester Great food with alot of options

A great experience. Fabulous food in an attractive restaurant. Great atmosphere, busy with an exciting vibe. The family naans are awesome! Only downside was slow service to get a drink while waiting to be seated but we didn't book so you can avoid that!

Super authentic food! Though the service was slow and the restaurant was loud. All of the food you order here is spectacular, can’t go wrong with anything. Their naans are humongous and made to be shared. The lamb nihari was tender and came with tons of complex spices.

Service was very fast, unfortunately, there are now far better options for food quality in many nearby places. Also, there are obvious items missing from the menu you would expect e.g. more coffee and tea options. The mutton chops were very poor, in that, they were small, chewy and overcooked.

Akbars never fails to disappoint. Lovely food which is reasonably priced and with friendly and polite staff. Can’t wait for our next visit.

Ate here two weeks ago. A top tip is to choose dishes from the "Desi Apna" side of the menu. Authentic food and hits the spot. Will visit again. The food is too good.

It’s always amazing,food service atmosphere All outstanding. Never had a bad experience. Been going since it’s opened. Keep it up.

We had the highly rated nihari and Karahi gosht and spinach and family naan All were the best and usual standards we have to got used to over the years Service top notch too. Bare in mind they have very limited quantity of nihari. Best to call ahead

My friend and I went extremely close to the restaurant’s closing time, which I’m a bit ashamed that we did, but we were starving. Still, the service was excellent and we felt extremely welcomed. The staff is genuinely top tier, they were very accommodating and assured us to take our time with eating. I’ve been twice and I’m going to continue visiting this restaurant, the food is excellent. I also appreciate the variety of dishes in the menu. I recommend the fish pakora and the chicken with spinach karahi.

amazing service from Ali , thanks

I took friends there who were visiting from canada as but this time it was a disaster. The food was below average. Even the garlic naan wasn’t up to the mark. 80 pounds wasted. The restaurant was super noisy. I had to scream literally to talk to my friend. Came out of there with a headache.

Came with my sister in law tonight. The food was delightful. Staff were very friendly and attentive. I will definitely be back to try more of the amazing food.

This place never seems to disappoint. The quality of the food is always on point. The service is first class. Would definitely recommend to everyone

I visited akbar's first time with a group of 5, and this place was the best of all time Very nice starters and then mains butter chicken was the best Recommended for everyone Waiter Usman was very polite , and we wanted to pay separately what we ate , where the cashier Dany sorted for us in a very short time Thankyou your service was the best

The prices are great! The food portions are huge for the prices and every time I go there, there is a great atmosphere. defo would go again!

Shah was a fabulous waiter. Brilliant experience and I would recommend this restaurant, the food, and the staff, to anyone.

All food is really nice, I love chips with my meals. Had take out for the first time, chips were sooo bad, stale and greasy, like they refried cold chips left for ages.

Had a meal this evening, with a group of friends, We were served by Dhanush who provided excellent service , food and drinks all served promptly and most helpful and pleasant service, thank you

Delicious food, unforgettable experience!

Went to Akbars with a few of my friends. Dishes were really nice and spiced. We ordered the seafood balti, lamb chops, chicken and chilli karahi, gosht and spinach karahi and the butter chicken. All very tasty and cooked well. Service was great, especially our table's (no 38) waiter (unfortunately I was not able to catch his name but based off of my receipt it says Kishore) but he was very attentive and well mannered.

Very good food service and staff like Mr Mohsin, will come again thanks

Always excellent service and food never disappoints 🙌🏾🙌🏾

Excellent food, Excellent service, very loud inside yet really authentic

The food was delicious. I could not fault it. It is never hit and miss here. The food and staff are pleasing, to say the least. I didn't look at the bill as I didn't care how much it was. We went back the next day for lunch

Good value for the price. Service is very helpful and present when needed. Given it's Indian food, the spice level can be adjusted. Only regret is that the place's accoustics makes it very noisy, so not good for business dinners

Really great service from my man Abdul. Will definitely be back !!

First visit there and definitely not the last👍 Very kind staff, perfect service with disponibility for good advices about the menu and the size of the dishes ( you must try the gigantic Nan 😝) Quality and very fare prices 👍👍👍 Maybe... But I insist on the "maybe" , just maybe a bit "noisy" when the place is crouded... " La rançon de la gloire" as we say in France 😏😉... Nevermind , still a very VERY good adress 👍👍👍

Poor service, poor food, Dirty looking and tired! Was virtually rushed to get out.

Without one of the finest restaurants if you are looking for Indian food. They have a lot of varieties and are priced very moderately. If you are craving Indian food, definitely give it a try. Also, all the staff are very cordial and helpful. They make sure everyone is having a nice time at the rest

Very nice food i'm very good service

So nice. I can't say enough to justify the deliciousness of every bite. The chicken was succulent tender, tasty and spiced to perfection. If I wore a hat I would take it off to the chef. We would go back weekly. Loved it

We attended for a birthday meal. From the moment we arrived the service was fantastic. All of the staff were smiling and were very efficient at taking our order. The food was delicious and the portions were generous. I am glad we chose Akbars.

Went today event greeted by amazing host who’s name was Jang, very polite making sure we were welcomed. Great service would definitely come again soon.

Food was incredible, albeit a little on the spicy side, excellent value for money, great service

Akbars is a fantastic destination for authentic Pakistani cuisine! From the moment we arrived, we were seated quickly and greeted by an attentive and friendly waiter, which set the tone for a delightful dining experience. The butter chicken was absolutely amazing, rich, creamy, and bursting with flavor. The seekh kebab was perfectly spiced and cooked to perfection, a true highlight of our meal. The naan bread was fresh, huge, and complemented the dishes beautifully. We also tried the Chicken Nambali, which was a bit of a letdown as it was bland and lacked the flavor we were expecting. However, this did not detract from the overall excellent quality of the other dishes. The environment at Akbars is clean and elegant, providing a comfortable and pleasant dining atmosphere. Despite getting busy, the service remained top-notch, and the nearby easy parking added to the convenience. Overall, Akbars is a wonderful place for delicious and authentic Pakistani food. Highly recommend (with a slight caution about the Chicken Nambali)!

Consistently good at Akbars. They've got their recipes just right. This time, I went with family, and we got various starters and 3 different curries and Naan breads etc. I had a chicken tikka and keema curry. Very tasty. I'd give Akbars 5 stars normally but their curries have gone up to £13 - £14 per curry and the starters have gone up too. So, only 4 stars this time.

Went by chance Saturday night they squeezed us in without booking had a lovely meal hope to return if in Manchester 😁

We had a nice dinner time here. The lamb (Nihari) is sooo good and the garlic naan is just fancy. Tikka is a nice choice if u wanna have king prawn. Lassi is just classic drink with mango taste. We also had Popadom as pre-meal taste. The service is considerate and we all enjoyed it.

Absolutely fantastic place to eat!! Fabulous food and atmosphere 👌 highly recommend coming here with either family or friends. The food was fantastic 😋.

Staff were great food was delicious. Staff were more than happy to help which is one reason I would return. But also the food was delicious with a memorable flavour that I look forward to tasting again. The man who served us today in the white shirt deserves a lot of credit for his service.

Small plates, very limited menu considering. Don't even sell mixed grills. Service was terrible, staff kept bringing the wrong drinks, forgetting items ordered. Gave the wrong drink to someone who tasted it and said thats not his then expected the person whose it was to have the same drink someone drank from?? All in all, it was very expensive for the amount of food you actually got and the poor service and drinks were also expensive. This was for a party of 13. Wouldn't suggest this place again.

Just finished eating - really enjoyed our food! The chicken and prawn biryani and the butter chicken were to die for! Service was great, everpresent but not pushy - can highly recommend.

Let me explain my 1 star review (formally 5 stars, 10 years ago…). Firstly, the food is no longer a true taste of what South Asian is supposed to taste of. It is as though the chefs from 10 years ago have returned to Pakistan/ India and instead have hired Andy from the local pub. The service was up to standard until the waiter decided to forget the order on multiple occasions, where we decided to accept what was brought to us. Furthermore, before any of that, we were waiting for approximately 11 minutes and 35 seconds for the ladies at the front to finish their TikTok/Snapchat where we were eventually seated. I would have been happy paying for the food and service here 10+ years ago, but it seems as though management/ ownership may have changed.

Tonight, we enjoyed exceptional service from MALAK and the food was delightful. Thanks

Came back after around 3 years. The food is not how it use to be, lamb chops, lamb karai tasted very different, even though we asked for Asian style how we usually use to the karai was just lacking flavour, they use to do one of the best lamb chops but I don’t know what’s changed in this place, it’s very unfortunate that the food isn’t the same as it use to be. I got the chicken Nimbali which was ok, never had it before from here so can’t really compare it. The masala fish I had the first time but wifes had it before and said it wasn’t the same. It’s a shame because the service and atmosphere was still intact.

Ordered a takeaway which was delicious. Lamb Karahi was one of the best I’ve had. Lamb chops also amazing and came with a huge naan.

Good food accompanied by immaculate service by all the waiters, especially by a gentleman named Bashir. Will definitely be returning.

We booked a table a week earlier for 8pm on Saturday night. After 2 drinks and 45 minutes with still no table, we left. It's put me off coming here again.

Good but need to improve taste a bit by using more spices

One of my favourite Indian curry houses

Try a lot of different place on center but Akbar is always my number 1, good price, delicious food and fast service with great staffs

Takeaways are always good. Poor experience eating in on a Friday evening. Sat down 30 minutes after our reservation and the small woman who sits people down was very rude to us. Ordered quickly however starters were cold and mains took about 45 minutes to arrive. One of my beers was warm. We will stick to takeaways!

Food quality and taste is very good, so as the service but it's very noisy and congested. We struggle to hear each other even if we are sitting close together. I visited them 2-3 times, weekend and weekdays but since it's popular and has a good food, it was always noisy and congested.

Akbars is the best in the country by far! I love Indian food and I have been to many places in and out of the country but nothing come close to Akbars! Food heaven. If I could have shares in this place, I would. Incredible food.

Didn’t seat us after 15 minutes after our booking! They have a waiting room with a bar, it is clearly part of their plan, and we were early!!

Superb meal with some work colleagues. Very attentive staff and a great atmosphere. Will definitely be back.

Food was beautiful. Service was slightly off as they forgot a few items on the order but server was lovely. Great place. Tbf it was packed out so can't blame em for it

Akbars is always a good choice! We go regularly and they never disappoint. The quality of the food is great and you get great value. Perfect location in the city too.

Great place , amazing food. Real good value for money. Friendly staff. 100% recommend.

Great food great service. Very tasty. Will be heading back there very soon. Naan breads are some of the best around. Great value.

Food was nice, quick wait time, nice decor and atmosphere. Only issue we had was the staff when we first entered. This was a family meal and as we knew it was busy, we called beforehand to book a table, my husband had proof of this call on his phone log and i was present myself when he made the phonecall. When we arrived, they refused that we'd booked a table and Tasha was really impolite about it, even after we showed proof. Her manners went completely out of the window as she was rude and abrupt and it was really unnecessary. The rest of our experience was lovely but it didn't start off great due to the customer service.

The dining experience was enjoyable. However, the cleanliness of the establishment was not up to par. The atmosphere was uncomfortable due to the lack of proper ventilation and the absence of air conditioning or fans. Furthermore, the waiter attempted to add unwanted items to our order, which was inconvenient. Additionally, the excessive noise level from other guests was disruptive and created an unpleasant environment. It was not a peaceful dining experience.

Very very disappointed,smelly seekh kebabs 100% rotten meat, Never ever go there,

We gave treat to mum but Very very bad family experience in Akbar,first hair was in pickle tray,when I called the waiter,he smiled and brought two papadams,we were surprised instead of saying sorry he was smiling. We ordered lamb Karahi,seekh kabab and chicken nimbali.. As soon as seekh kabab came,the rotten meat smell was everywhere,when we smell closely,OMG it was disgusting, I called the manager and he said I will take the money out from total,no sorry nothing,I was shocked,all of our family trip with my 80 years old mum was ruined,instead of enjoying we were all gaging and disappointed, The waiter came and said madam you did a good job to complain,the seekh kababs are actually not in a condition of eating etc. I called the manager to tell him everything he said madam I will give you 10% off this and that. I told him it’s not about money,you shouldn’t do such the things. I am very disappointed with their service,I will never ever go their.

Good god! Since last July been on 3 birthday meals here, last night being last one - each time we’ve been overcharged for extra meals that we didn’t have - and blatant rudeness from staff when this was pointed out! Then November another birthday , I had a staff member kneel down beside my seat and snatched payment from my hand £20 after £20 without giving me chance to count out, then threw £20 back on my knee as he got up and left - I vowed never to go back, Last night another birthday,(not my choice) could have booked a holiday with the bill! There were 6 Rogan josh and only 1 ordered and eaten, 3 butter chicken, only 1 ordered and eaten - other various things added to bill we certainly did not order! We were spoke down to by staff when we were going to bar for our drinks, they didn’t like this - our booking was for 6 clock we weren’t served until after 9 where they have obv thought a few people on our table wouldn’t dispute the bill - absolute shocking service and shocking daylight robbery with extras on reciept nobody had and this has happened last 3 times Iv been there - never again considering contacting trading standards - stay away folks

I’ve been coming here for as long as I remember and the starters are still the best of an Indian/Pakistani restaurant anywhere in the UK, it’s got such a good reputation for it that you’re best off getting them as your mains too The curry mains are a bit watered down compared to the Bradford branch, probably due to the demographic being more mixed here compared to the large South Asian demand there, and the fact it serves Alcohol (major downside) - It can get very loud at peak times otherwise the atmosphere is near perfect. Staff always provide good service Being a Halal restaurant with majority Muslim staff, the tiny prayer room is a disappointment as its a closet that fits 2 people - which I’d appreciate if they actually prioritised and expanded

Food was mixed. The chapli kebab and lamb chops were great. Our chicken curries were yummy too. Service was quick However Sheek Kebab , Egg Rice and Palak Paneer were not great. And they do not serve salad or dressing with the starters . Just some lettuce and brown onions. No lemon or any other greens. Naan was unique, came in a family big size hanging, their signature. It was very noisy and to make it worse loud music which was not clear anyways. So didn’t understand why the loud music. We had booked earlier but still had to wait for 20 mins to be seated. Worth doing a takeaway if you know what exactly to order. Not an eat in option especially with family or for a relaxing evening.