Anaz in Blackburn with Darwen

As always excellent food friendly helpful staff

Our first time visiting here and it most certainly will not be the last time the staff are very professional and attentive the atmosphere is just lovely and the food is sensational full of flavor and just melts in your mouth would definitely recommend

Excellent food and friendly staff. Prices acceptable and atmosphere just as you'd expect. We particularly enjoyed the naan

Absolutely Amazing, such a Beautiful restaurant with amazing food and very friendly attentive staff. We will definitely be coming again in the future

Absolutely Amazing, such a Beautiful restaurant with amazing food and very friendly attentive staff. We will definitely be coming again in the future

Anaz is a very beautiful restaurant with amazing food and very attentive staff. We hadnt booked but we was seated quickly and looked after very well definitely worth a visit

Called in while visiting the area on a busy Saturday evening. Very accommodating and lovely food especially the Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi.

Called in while visiting the area on a busy Saturday evening. Very accommodating and lovely food especially the Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi.

ANAZ INDIAN RESTAURANT. 112 Duckworth Street, Darwen, Blackburn Lancashire. Tel: 01254 703357. Date of Visit, 8th September 2024 SAVED BY ONE OF THE BEST INDIAN RESTAURANTS IN THE COUNTRY! On what started of as a day full of anticipation with a trip into what turned out to be one of the worst towns in Yorkshire. I had planned, with the help of other supposedly informed individuals a trip to Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. To the “Biggest “Asian “Sunday market in the country” You will think you are in Lahore, I was told! All your spices and herbs fruit and vegetables you will find. In a vibrant market. Well, it certainly does cover a large area but absolutely no good whatsoever on what also was the wettest day, of a very wet summer, and the market was CLOSED! And to be fair there was very little else going on in this poor, run down, Town, except the high number of “Turkish Barbers “shops with no customers in them and an open “The Works” shop and that was it! Then it was on to the “Pind” A Taste of Lahore, Pakistani restaurant in Bradford which, I was under the impression opened at 1400 hrs on Sunday! Wrong, it opens at 1700 hrs! So, fed up with bad intel, and a filthy day I head off for home. The Sat Nav had brought me to Dewsbury via the scenic route of the A65 but decided to take me back home via the M62. BIG MISTAKE, The M62 was closed completely north of Rochdale whilst they replace a railway bridge, forcing everyone off the motorway at Oldham/Shaw turn off. Clogging everywhere within twenty miles up completely! Of course, the Sat Nav did not understand this, and constantly tried to redirect me back on to the Motorway! As I know the area quite well, I decided to make my way to the M66 which would take me eventually to the M6 and back home. I was starving, I’d had nothing to eat all day, so it was a case of finding somewhere, ANYWHERE, to feed myself and found myself in the small town of Darwen near Blackburn. Then I see the old familiar ANAZ INDIAN RESTAURANT still in its old place on Duckworth Street. The last time I wrote a report on this place was way back on the 30th of February 1992, an old haunt of mine in those days. That was in the days when I lived a lot closer than I do now. I reported then that this was a first-class establishment and gave it rave review. I uphold that sentiment today. ANAZ was opened in December 1981 by a Mr Ali who I am led to believe still steers this popular establishment. The first thing you will notice in this 101-seater is the warm welcome extended to everyone who comes to ANAZ by its friendly smiling and very attentive staff of which there are at leas six or seven on duty. Nothing was too much trouble for these guys. Then you will notice the investment of the high-quality, spotlessly clean, interior decorating to the place. Decked out in rich warm Gold White and Blue, a warm ambience envelope’s you, Modern subdued lighting with a very attractive modern light fitting at the centre of the ceiling. Prints of Indian scenes adorn the walls, I must say that this extends to the Toilets also. So on to the cuisine, you will choose from a comprehensive Menu All your old favourites and a few special dishes too. I of course chose Poppadom’s to start with one of the best pickle trays ever, I then went for my benchmark choice of Shish Kebab, absolutely top shelf, Tasty, well spiced and juicy rolls of minced Lamb infused with herbs and spices presented on a bed of very fresh salad. Next, I went for their Naga Chicken, large chunks of succulent chicken, soft and freshly made with the most delicious curry sauce with exactly the right amount of spicing! One of the nicest Mushroom Rice dishes I have had in a long time, soft fluffy separate grains of Basmati Rice with perfectly cooked Mushrooms. A soft and fresh peshwari naan that resembled a dustbin lid, was there to mop up with. OMG what a perfect end to what had been a truly awful day. So, what else can I add, well not much to be frank, except maybe when you are in the area give this place a try, I am sure that most of you would be pleased that you did. And no, I’m not on any commission or handouts whatsoever for this statement. Dare I say that it is right up there with the Babar Elephant at Lancaster! I’m going to give this place 10/10…. I know this is the third I have given in as many months! Parking was no problem and at £38.15 was absolutely good value for the quality of what I had which did include two pints of Kingfisher Beer from their well-stocked bar which also included Cobra Lager on draft. Oh, and a free, on the house shot of complimentary Baileys Cream!

It's been a while since we last visited but the food did not disappoint. Amazing food & great service.

Delicious food and excellent service as always. Been eating here for nearly 30- no make that nearer 35- years, STILL never had a bad meal. Something of a local legend, you still get offered a lolly on departure... Really unless you want to drive to Bradford or maybe Rusholme you won't get better Asian food anywhere local. If I had to be picky, it isn't truly 'authentic' to Asia, but it is what locals expect from a curry house, and the overall experience is hard to beat. Be aware that the dishes marked as hot on the menu are properly hot, not for those unused to northern curries😀.

Every time I eat here, no matter what I choose, I am blown away. We've stopped even trying other restaurants because they can't compare. Honestly, delicious food.

Good food, friendly service and lovely atmosphere.

Absolutely food was good I would recommend this restaurant to anybody waiters was absolutely great. Food was out of this world. So big ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me

Very good food & immaculate service

Lovely restaurant with friendly staff

First rate restaurant, immaculate, amazing food and outstanding service

In our opinion The Anaz is the best curry house in the district. Good quality food served piping hot. The staff are lovely and happy to get extra drinks etc. Service is brilliant and there is a nice atmosphere in the restaurant. It is reasonably priced too. These days, we would rather eat here and know we’ll have a brilliant meal than order a takeaway and be disappointed.

Everything always spot on . Deserves far more than 5

The food and staff here are Amazing 👏

Incredible food and fab service Best curry we have had for a long time and we eat a lot of curries! Thank you for a great meal

Never had a meal in such a clean and tidy restaurant. Food was good too.

0 star. Poor staff Poor food Eat nothing and paid huge bill of 106£ Such a ridiculous restaurant

The food is amazing and well priced, with the service being spectacular! You are well looked after by staff and they make sure you have enjoyed your experience.

Best Indian Restaurant in Darwen The food, the staff amazing ! King Prawn tikka is the best about will not bet it ! All the food is delicious try it if you’ve not been before you won’t be disappointed! Super service super food 👏👏 thank you 👍😄

Been going for year's and always enjoyed the whole experience, spotless, excellent food and service.we no longer live in Darwen,we live in Clitheroe but if we want an Indian we always go to Anaz.

Placed our order at 16:45 for a 18:00 hr delivery Sat waiting at 18:35 so called and gave them my details and they were happy to take my order!!!! 18:54 no food. Not using these jokers again. Hope it doesn’t turn up now. Ps £7.00 deliver charge to Livesey!!

Lovely food as alwys Long as can remember 🔥❤️❤️

Chose to go here because it has mainly good reviews. My favourite Indian dish is pathia which I try in almost every Indian restaurant I visit and usually love it, however this one was decidedly bland and uninspiring; the nan was really good though. The service was fine - the restaurant was busy, but we weren’t in any rush. But the lighting… OMG you nearly need a welding mask it’s so bright! The atmosphere could be drastically improved by just dimming everything so it feels more warm and welcoming. It wasn’t a terrible experience by any stretch, but the pleasure was mainly due to being with a good friend I hadn’t seen for ages, and not the overall dining experience. Unlike some other great Indian restaurants I know dotted round the UK, this place did not grab me enough to make me think I’ll go back. Sorry!

Consistently good food in a beautiful restaurant.

Absolutely wonderful evening, thank you so much,food absolutely incredible and wonderful staff, totally recommend the restaurant, AWSOME. Can not wait to return

Staff food and service were exceptional. We especially enjoyed the silver service. So good to be served properly in an age of click and drop it on the table you get in other restaurants. Vibrant atmosphere as very busy. Menu was excellent. Flavours unique to every dish. Papadums and pickles were light, fresh and delicious. I had Coriander Fish Curry which was excellent. Great find we will be back.

Simply the best restaurant for miles around. Been going here for at least 7 years. Professional, attentive and friendly staff, great ambience, great food, great value. The best Indian I have ever visited.

What a find . Ventured from Ramsbottom to Darwen to this great restaurant. So clean friendly attentive and great food . For the first time since visiting India i had food that you could taste every single ingredient and each dish had its own flavours. Fantastic Chicken Chat which i loved as street food in Calcutta! I Loved the unique menu

Very busy Indian restaurant in the heart of Darwen town centre. Place is spotless, staff very efficient and polite. We called in on a Saturday eve and it was heaving, despite not having a booking we were shown to a seating area where we could view the menu and have a pre dinner drink. A table became available after around a 20 minute wait. The let down for us was the food, nothing wrong with it but nothing special either, just your bog standard Indian fare available almost everywhere. Given its local reputation for food, how smart and well kept the building is, we expected more and left a little disappointed. We wont be rushing back anytime soon.

When Ali the owner isn’t there, the service is absolutely shocking, no smiles on the waiters faces, pushy, really bad attitudes. Ali, sort them out, get better service at Akash, just the food isn’t as good as Anaz

Not been to many Indian restaurants as it I don't always favour this sort of food but Anaz as got to be the best king prawn curry I have ever had. We will definitely be returning for more.

The customer service is gorgeous 💕 and the food is heavenly 😇

Highly recommended. Great food, great price! I will definitely be back.

Just brilliant, thanks 😊 four starters, four mains, and 8 drinks very reasonable. Loved it will definitely go back

We booked to eat here for a family Christmas meal on Christmas Day. The restaurant was rammed and massively overbooked. By 7 o clock there was no signs of me and my family being seen to. I asked if our table was nearly ready several times and we were fobbed off each time. Just after 7, I asked for a refund and we left, no apology at all. Absolutely disgusted with the amount of overbookings and not being able to sit down on Christmas Day and share a meal with my family. Zero out of 10.

As soon as I walked in it was mega busy and I thought perhaps it may not run smoothly when I saw some staff running around with a little look of stress/panic. It was 8 of us, they came and took our drinks orders promptly and after we had got them another member off staff came over with the same drinks. This happened a couple of times but was no bother. The food I have to say was amazing and everyday was happy. The flavours are all authentic aromatic etc. Spot on. On xmas day it is cash only and they do put prices up, something that struck me as odd as Christmas is not a celebratory day for Muslims and they would be open as usual anyway. Staff wouldn't need paying extra as again it is just classed as an ordinary day. There was 5 in my part of the group and in total was 150 to pay and that was with the 25 deposit knocked off. Now 175 for an Indian for 5 is pretty expensive even if it was enjoyable. Would I go again, of course and probably again next xmas even though it is expensive. Because compared to the Fernhurst which I booked last year at 250 quid this food was flavourful and not frozen crap like Fernhurst. So would rather stick with anaz. And the staff are lovely.

3.5 starts. Mediocre. I think maybe I expected too much because everyone had good words but it was very so so, nothing special. Had lamb chops and rogan josh, pretty bland.. Ours was a long table, very tight for space, once you sat down u can't get out unless person next to you gets out too.

I ordered a takeaway from Anaz on Sunday 26th Nov 2023. the food was collected and was stone cold. The chips were cold and tasteless. The curry was watery and cold. Sauces had just been spooned into large tin curry trays. Really really poor I would avoid this place, worst curry I have had cold and tasteless!

This is the best Imdian Restaurant I know. Been going for 25 years and it always impresses. Excellent food, service, lovely decor and well priced 👌

Fabulous Food and Great Service everytime! Highly Reccomended.

Dissapointing. I haven't been to Anaz for some 35 or more years, but I remember it well. As soon as our party of 4 walked through the door, we knew things wouldn't run that smoothly. It was absolutely heaving. Our table was at 6:30, and 7:10 we were seated, and poppadoms were promptly provided. However, no sooner that we started to eat those, the starters arrived. The table was cramped, to say the least, and we were taken aback as we felt like we were rushed, but then.. it was 1hr later and our mains hadn't arrived. I asked where they were, and an apology was provided, that they were very busy. Then...their thank you drink arrived, you know the one you get at the end of the meal! eventually, 1hr 20 mins later, our mains came, and at that point, the table became way too small. We all commented on how bland and watery our curries were, there was no individuality to any of the dishes, the naans were good especially my fresh garlic and chilli, but that didn't make up for the curries. Oh, and 1.5 hours from entering, I was still asking where my water was. I'm sorry, Mr Ali, we won't be returning. Your curries were nothing like what you used to make me, way back then. It was you who worked me up to a naga curry all those years ago. Your tables are too small, and your staff were overwhelmed by the number of people they had to deal with. It seems you have put quantity over quality, which is a shame.

Love this place, been travelling to Darwen to eat here for nearly 40 years

Great, high quality food, service is excellent. Will be coming back here again for sure!

Mr Ali and his team are always welcoming. There’s a reason they’ve been open for so long!

A lot better than the Raj. It was very tasty.

Never a bad meal,excellent staff really helpfu,l long time favourite of mine, known Mr Ali for over 40 years and he still comes in to oversea his staff.

Couldn't find the prices online anywhere, Called the restaurant to ask about where their prices are, only to be told they can't be accessed without going into the restaurant! I have no issue with paying a decent price for decent food, but I do have a problem with prices intentionally being hidden. Disingenuous and pretty rude. I instead called another Indian in Darwen, who were more than happy to share their prices and we subsequently booked there.

Food amazing so is the staff would recommend to anyone lovely scrounging and felt very comfortable staff make you feel spe

Great place to eat great food ,only one thing negative about it ,its very bright in there ,to many lights, but please go you won't regret this experience

Great long standing resturant. Very good food served quick. Reasonable priced food and drink.

Food and service, excellent, staff friendly service spot in with time between starters and main perfect. Only criticism is that it is a little bit too bright and maybe ambient lighting would help. Will be coming again though.

Normally rate the anaz 5 star but this visit in july has ruined it for us and we will not return firstly one of the waiters was constantly staring at us even whilst eating and we felt uncomfortable also the food on this occasion was not great we will Now be going to the raj mahal opposite which is a better experience mr ali u need to train your staff not to stare at. Customers otherwise you wont have any customers left also your food is not consistent this is not good enough

Went here with the little lady for a meal. Bank holiday Sunday. It was busy but not overly. We were greeted by the manager,who has been there for years. Very welcoming indeed. We sat in the lounge bit waiting for a table. Had a few drinks and then we were seated. I had a mixed starter and the little lady had meat samosas. Very nice 👍. For main meals I had chicken tikka Rogan Josh and rice, little lady had lamb keema and chips. Very tasty indeed. Will be going again. Top notch grub.

Just had another fantastic meal at Anaz. The staff are amazing and the food is always delicious and excellent value. We have never had a bad meal in all the years we have been going to this restaurant. Keep up the good work 👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Always come here when in Darwen. Great food, staff are brilliant. Good choice of menu. 5 star.

A lovely warm, clean restaurant with very attentive staff and excellent food.

Second time here and again good customer service and very clean the food is out of this world mr Ali the owner is a wonderful person very respectful along with the waiters really made us feel welcome I definitely will be going back again 😀 thank you.

Fantastic food, friendly staff what more do you need will definitely be returning

Lovely food and service, thanks Anaz

All round excellent but could have been more meat/ chicken in my main dish

The place was clean enough. I like a chicken madras and found it was a bit basic here. Still enjoyed it though.

Amazing curry, onion baji etc. Great service and friendly staff. Also very clean. I can’t wait to come again!

Consistently tasty food on all our visits. Option to go hotter on some of the dishes. Attentive service. Will definitely continue to go to the Anaz.

The food here is excellent although I find the nann breads to soft and fluffy. I prefer mine to be a little more crisp! A meal for two with poppadoms, main meal, 1 garlic nann and two drinks was £42.50. Go see for yourself.

Everything amazing ... Always happy after 35 years of going here! The manager is a legend and remembers all his customers who attend. Great business man!

Boring and overpriced…and boring! The atmosphere was like a cruise ship with neutral music and nothing resembling an Indian restaurant. Staff were polite however Chapatis were £2 each(after complaining to the owner, apparently this is cheap…), this is the equivalent of trying to sell a slice of bread for a pound (and thats generous). Overall, boring and glad to leave this place. Food lacked depth and also portion, although more concerned about the former. I was glad to leave. Hope you have a better experience

Quite simply exquisite in every way, I chose prawn puri starter and lamb shank madras both of which were first class. The establishment is spotlessly clean and well decorated, the service was attentive and genuinely friendly , welcoming and professional. One of the best if not the best restaurant in the North West.

We travelled from Blackpool especially to go to the Anaz Indian restaurant. The restaurant is very clean and well kept. The owner and staff are very welcoming and attentive. The food was excellent. The best pakora I've had in years, the batter was so light. You can have your main course as mild or hot as you prefer. Will definitely be going back.

Fantastic food but ordering a vodka and coke it was pored out of a vodka bottle but tasted of Perno the second one tasted of jd eventually they went a bought a bottle of vodka The bill did add up when we checked the day after It was my 60th and there was 18 of us so it was harder to add up at the time

Outstanding food. Great service. Very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

what a fantastic meal we had here would definately go again.

First time visiting this location with friends. The menu provided a good selection of dishes, the staff were friendly and the service was very good as was the venue. We all enjoyed our food, of which there plenty. Considering we visited on a Wednesday and early, it soon got busy, it's well worth a visit.

Lovely food; first visit here; great service. Only downside was the under par poppadoms (undercooked? warmed up?)

Second time in a week we have been, who would have realised this little slice of heaven was in darwen? The food was amazing, the service was above an beyond what i expected and Mr Ali gives a personal touch that most restaurant owners neglect. I had an absolutely lovely evening both nights and for a price that actually shocked me. In short great value for money, amazing customer service and food i can not praise high enough.

Excellent place, the food and service was top class.

First time and it won’t be the last. Good and service was amazing. The portions are perfect sizes. You should really give this one a try.

Excellent service and food was excellent as usual highly recommended. Top notch👍😊

Been here many times always delicious food and tonights meal was incredible the waiters were super friendly and welcoming the restaurant is immaculately clean and also comfortable i recommend the anaz

Only got a takeaway from her for 6 of us. All good food at reasonable price. Staff helped to take good to car which was nice touch.

This is the best Curry Restaurant that I have ever been introduced to, thanks to my lovely Darwen family.... Mr Ali is in charge of magnificent food served by a fine tuned group of friendly staff in extremely comfortable surroundings ..... The presentation of our banquet of spectacular food was exceptional... Our home town Curry establishments back in Perth, Western Australia can't compare with our group of fours brilliant evening meal.... Will look forward to revisiting and giving Mr Ali another well deserved hug !

Such a clean beautiful restaurant, amazing service and the food was delicious. Will definitely be back thank you

Visited for the first time on Monday evening. A warm welcome was given. Our meal was top class and the service excellent even though they were busy with 2 large parties. Been a while since we enjoyed an Indian meal as much. Well worth a visit.

Excellent food and friendly staff! Not been for years but will definitely visit again soon

Delicious, great service with very friendly staff. Food came quickly and was fresh and tasty. Look forward to coming again.

Never had a bad meal, been going over 30 years, friendly staff, nice decor.

Attended on a very very busy Saturday night. We had to wait for our table as it was so busy but this was fine as we had pushed our booking back very last minute.. The service was a bit ragged. Very speedy at some points pedestrian at others but I can forgive this at what I would say is the busiest Indian restaurant, I have ever seen. The waiting staff were working flat out and did a good job. Despite the volume of customers the quality of food was good. Would recommend but suspect would be even better when not so busy. Very very good. Thank you.

Came here for a family meal for my 40th birthday. Felt rushed straight away with the service. Ordered poppadoms to start and we only just started when they bought out our starters which we said we aren't ready, the server give us the dirty look and said he would tell the kitchen. Never happened before. Server's rushing everyone in the dining room, made us very uncomfortable. Bring back Mr. Anaz, never there now we us go and this seems to us the problem. Food, great as always. Service needs slowing right down. Don't think we will be back this time.

Love it here . Food is always brilliant and the staff are brilliant too . Best curry house in Darwen 😁👍

Must be the best Indian. Always spot on for cleanliness, service, food and prices. Excellent curries. Garlic Nans are the best. Staff so friendly and efficient. See you again soon.

It was OK but felt that we were being rushed

What a disappointment. Table booked for the 7.30 pm sitting. We were shown to the table at 7.35, ordered food before 8 pm but didn’t get the actual meal until 9.50pm. Totally unacceptable. When the food did eventually arrive it was good. We also had to wait ages for our drinks to arrive, when they did it the order was wrong. The staff worked really hard but there just wasn’t enough of them for the amount of people in the restaurant. We’ve always enjoyed the Anas restaurant but we won’t be going back after this. Shame

Went Christmas eve with the16 members of family, everything was over priced, had to ask for deposit to be knocked off are bill, curry was watery and had no taste, when we mentioned it his reply was "I'll tell the chef" not the response I was hoping for considering our bill was over £500

Visited Christmas Eve after having many meals here in the past. Was told we had to be there before 5.30pm due to staggered bookings which was fine as we had to leave by 7.30pm. There were 5 children on our 2 tables. After constantly asking it was 1 hour 45 minutes before the children received any food. Extortionate prices and told our 2 year old had to order a full meal ! Usually 3 children share a curry ! The staff served other tables that came in after us with food yet left our children nearly 2 hours from arrival without anything. No apology they just kept saying it was because of Christmas, the restaurant was empty when we arrived ! We took our family saying it was the best in town! Never again.

Had a fantastic Christmas day meal with my wife and mum Very nice time had by everyone Great food , attentive staff Definitely recommend.