Akbar's Restaurant — Restaurant in Bradford

We attended Akbar's Restaurant around 17:55 on Sunday 09/07/23.

As soon as we entered were greeted instantly, the lady was professional and informative she did advise they have stopped selling alcohol (I didn’t even know they sold it I would have left if they did sorry but personal preference).

It was quite busy so this must be popular establishment.

We were given a table for 2 but this was quite close to the entrance and little privacy and besides us 2 lady’s were given the same type of table and they requested a more private sitting which staff did honour there requests, so I asked the gentlemen (I assume he was the manager) if we could get a larger/private table, he did state that he could put the table the ladies left together with ours to make it bigger but we wanted something private, we did notice a table that was getting cleaned but they didn’t give us that an showed us a table further in the restaurant (same size as the one given previously) but it was close to the kitchen and stairs as it was better than the first option we took this option.

Once seated we realised the table was wobbly and every time someone walk past (mainly staff) as the floor board were slightly sunk due year of staff walking past it would shake our table so we have to be careful with drinks and the family naan as it would feel like they would topple over. Also, the music was really loud in the establishment or we were seated in close proximity of a speaker.

There were a lot of waiters and they did ask if we were ready to order.

We ordered:

1 x Veg Samosa Chaat 1 x Keema Cheese Samosa 1 x Spicy Chips 1 x Pilau Rice 1 x Chicken & Chilli Balti 1 x Family Naan (the really big one on hook) 2 x Harrogate bottles of water Total = £39.75

I thought the total would be around £45 so price wise they are okay.

Starter took around 6-8 minutes to arrive which I thought was fast and the Mrs loved the samosa chaat and the keema cheese samosa was amazing! Spicy were okay I was expecting more spice but nothing major complain about, I did have to call over the waiter to ask for our main to come as I didn’t want to finish my starters and wait for long time to get the mains, my Mrs stated she didn't like the pilau rice (she is very picky with rice) so we didn't eat that, the chicken & chilli balti was really good also but our family naan was burnt quite a bit (I compared to naans given to other patrons).

Our waiter was very nice and helpful (I only tipped due to the service he gave) when paying you are given an option to give tip, they are not pushy on this (which is plus) the waiters carry with the tasks until you have paid or call them over.

We did ask for food to be prepared in take out boxes and to my surprise the waiter came with take put boxes, lids and bag for the naan – I did mention this to my Mrs but she stated other people had to pack there food away then later on I saw another couple do the same, not impressed with this method I understand this is self service (this assists staff with less work) but the last thing I expect in half decent restaurant it getting my hands dirty (after cleaning them) to pack my food away, especially on table so small, would not have been a big issue if the table was larger!

Also, the toilets were really clean and they have lolta in the men's restroom (but the ladies restroom doesn't - Mrs advised me) unique wash basins.

One plus is they have there own parking across the restaurant, I confirmed with the manager both parking lots our for Akbar’s Restaurant.

I don’t think they have prayer room but I do think they would benefit from this.

Food 3.8 stars Seating, Service and Atmosphere 3.5 stars Price Wise 4.4 stars

Overall 4 stars.

I would only recommend my family and friends to come here on less busy periods, I personally believe if we attended on less busy period the overall experience would be...

Not really sure where to begin.

Saturday evening meal out for 5 people. Arrived at 6. Seated straight away. It was quiet.

We’ve been coming here for years so ordered without even looking at the menu.

Starters are normally amazing. Not this time. The marinade was so bland and flavourless and felt like it was a thick floury dough on the prawn tikka and lamb chops (which are normally my fave thing to eat here). The seekh kebab were more food colouring and ‘filler’ than meat. Just poor.

The waiters must have known how bad the starters were because they started clearing them away along with the plates that we were literally still eating off, and started placing dinner plates on our table ready for the next course which was now imminent even though we still the starters in our mouths. Clearly they were in a hurry to get the table back.

The mains were meant to be ‘desi style’ but they weren’t really. They were nice enough but not the usual standard. We ordered keema with peas and charsi chicken. The family naan had been butchered into pieces (we asked for it to be cut up and served in a plate rather those god awful trees) with what could only have been a chainsaw and was more like cracker bread than soft fluffy naan. Disappointing.

The staff were good and kept checking in on us to see if everything was ok. My kids refused to let me speak up so I held my tongue and smiled politely and said everything was fine.

Then the bill came. £91!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair. £3.30 each for canned soft drinks, the curries were £14.90 and the family naan was £7!!!!!! We’ve never spent more than £50 in Akbars for the five of us so this was ridiculous. I was speechless. I wouldn’t mind if the food was out of this world… well it was, but not in a good way.

We had been served two courses and had the bill presented even though we hadn’t yet asked for it all within a tidy time of 45 minutes. This must have been a record. We’ve felt ‘rushed’ many times before but this was exceptional.

The couple of times we’ve been previous to tonight the waiters left a pickle tray on our table that we never ordered and assumed was a complimentary addition to the starter dishes (as it always used to be) only to find a cheeky £2.50 charge on the bill for something we never asked for!

After 30 years of coming here this is definitely the last time.

The food used to be second to none here and I refused to eat Pakistani food anywhere else. Not any more. Standards have really dropped I just can’t understand all the...

I always go to Akbars and lastnight was no different for our valentine's meal. Normally i love the food, atmosphere and customer service is superb. Lastnight we were waiting for our table, as we waited we saw a guy talking crossly to a waiter not so far from us. After he finished he took us to our table, just as he was about to leave, I asked the guy if would lite our candle which he did but they normally would without being asked. I thought it was probably cos he was stressed. when we were ready to order there was no one to take our order, no one was dedicated to us, normally after being seated someone comes to the table introduces themselves and takes care of your order and you until you leave. I asked the waiter serving people next to us if could take our order, he asked where is ur table guy i said don't know. Another guy came took our order and left. Our drinks were served few min later. 5min later our starters was received but no chips and No tray with mix of dips/ sauces i asked another guy where are chips was and dips he said ill go find out. Didn't return i asked another guy walking past and he did. Starter wasn't as good as usually is. Food seemed well done on outside a little rare on inside. After this we asked another guy walking past if could order our desert and he did i also told him about another couple i could see getting really frustrated because there was no one to take there order too. This waiter asked another guy to do so which he did. The same guy who showed us to our table was saying quickly clear the tables away and turn the lights on he seemed to want to finish quickly. Desert was really nice. I was given a wet wipe and my hubby asked what time they were closing we were told 12.15 am and was only going onto 11pm I have been on valentine's day many times here and has been perfect although i have never been as late as getting here for 10pm. I don't know if the staff were too tired or overwhelmed by how busy they were, which didn't make the experience as good as...