ANAZ INDIAN RESTAURANT DARWEN — Restaurant in England

3 of us went for dinner on a Wednesday evening. I managed to park on the road directly across from the restaurant. Up to 7pm you are limited to 30 minutes but our table was booked for 7.30pm so no issues. Large step at entrance but hand grabs on both sides to help get in and out. Didn't see an alternative entrance do cannot confirm if wheelchair friendly. Place wasn't that busy but a fairly large party came in shortly after us. Meant plenty of options on where to sit. We placed our order whilst seated at the bar. Lots of space there. They did seem to have quite a few people coming in for takeaway orders. We were shown to a table by the front window looking out onto the main road. Initially impressions were good. The place looked very clean and tidy. And plenty of spaces between tables. We had ordered 3 starters. Onion Bhaji; Shish kebab and Lamb Puri. For mains Chicken Dupiaza with chips; Chicken Korai and Lamb Shank. Both meals came with chips or boiled or pilau rice. For £1.00 you could get one of the special rices. We opted for the Garlic rice. And I ordered a Garlic Naan bread. Had ordered a pint of Cobra. Reasonably priced at £4.50. Starters arrived promptly. Once finished we were asked if we wanted to wait for mains or have as soon as they were ready. We opted to have as soon as they were ready. I had ordered the Lamb. Plenty of meat on it and very tender. It was easy to get off the bone. Dish is served medium but you can ask for hotter. I asked for mine around madras strength. It was fine. I could have handled spicier so those into Indian cuisine might want to address that when ordering. Have to be honest the Nann bread wasn't one of the better ones I've had. But then again nothing wrong with it. I finished my meal and I was full. Staff were attentive. Came over several times to check everything was ok. Also quick to take dishes and the tea light warmers away once they were finished with therby clearing space on the tables. A free shot of Baileys ended the meal. Been a long time since I had that in a restaurant so it was a nice touch. No issues at all. Although not the best Indian restaurant I have ever visited it was a very nice venue with some interesting dishes on the menu and at reasonable prices. I would recommend this restaurant and would...

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,...

Food was good. The Medium spicy level is nothing for an Asian's palate. Go for at least Hot if not Extra hot. Unfortunately, the service was really bad. They took forever to get our drinks order. While we did order drinks for all, we also asked for tap water for all, and they made us feel very uncomfortable for asking. We would be fine if they told us no tap water, and that we could only order bottled water. But instead they kept chatting between themselves, using hand gestures to show "8" - we were 8 pax. And in the end, they only brought 1 glass of water for us. Food took forever to arrive, more than an hour, when other tables who arrived later than us finished their meal before we even started eating ! I really hope they do something to improve their service, cause the food was really quite good,...