Ziya Asian Grill — Restaurant in Manchester

It was a rainy and cold night in Manchester. Some colleagues suggested having dinner, and I decided to join them. Little did I know that someone would propose going to a curry restaurant. Why? I asked myself with every fibre of my being. It is not that I despise curry, but my past experiences have often been a chaotic blend of flavours competing with one another, leaving me wondering what exactly I had eaten. Resigned to the same fate, I arrived at this establishment, which proudly advertised itself as the winner of the Curry Award in 2021. "Wonderful!" I thought sarcastically. "If only we had come three years ago to confirm that."

My colleagues’ excitement over the menu struck me as a naïve enthusiasm to fulfil their culinary desires. The vast array of curry options was baffling. I eventually opted for lamb with lentils, as lentils evoke fond memories of my childhood. I also ordered a chilli garlic naan bread, cynically assuming it would be a pre-made frozen option. My colleagues chose other dishes from the extensive menu.

When the food arrived, I took my first spoonful of lamb and lentils. Do you recall the scene in Ratatouille where the stern food critic, fully expecting disappointment, is suddenly transported back to his childhood through the magic of one bite? That was my experience. The lamb was tender, melting in my mouth while retaining its integrity on the plate. The flavours were orchestrated like a flawless symphony—no chaotic clash of spices, just harmony. The spiciness was subtle, distinct, and in perfect balance with the other flavours. The naan bread, far from being pre-made, was fresh, warm, and an ideal companion—crispy in the right places and soft where it mattered.

Still in disbelief, I sampled the dishes my colleagues were generous enough to share. Astonishing! The saffron chicken tikka was not just a treat for the palate but a delight for the senses, with its aroma enhancing every bite. The pilau and basmati rice were equally impressive—fragrant, perfectly cooked, and the ideal accompaniment to the curries. The food was plentiful and beautifully presented, reminiscent of an Olympic feast. Despite the variety of dishes, each retained its distinct identity, and my taste buds never felt overwhelmed. The delicate balance of spices and the seamless harmony of ingredients convinced me of a new world of curry that had been waiting to be rediscovered.

I am well aware of the immense skill and care required to create such culinary masterpieces, particularly when dealing with the complexity of Indian cuisine. It is a challenge that borders on alchemy—achieving the perfect balance between countless elements. In this restaurant, they have truly...

Written by my girlfriend:

this was my first time visiting manchester’s infamous curry mile, and i was not disappointed. we ordered the seekh kebab, lamb methi gosht, lamb jalfreizi, pilau rice, and a peshwari naan.

seekh kebab: this was delicious. the seekh kebab was the perfect level of spice, and so succulent. it was served with a goos amount of salad, with a lovely mint yoghurt sauce over the top. i would highly recommend as a starter, either to share, or just for one.

lamb methi gosht and lamb jalfreizi: these curry’s were so tasty, and the meat was so tender. i enjoyed them both very much. starting with the methi gosht - i wasn’t sure what to expect with this as i have never had a methi gosht before, but it was gorgeous. it was almost like a stew. this was a very hearty dish and i would highly recommend it. the meat was so tender and tasty, and there was a good amount of it. big thumbs up from me.

the lamb jalfreizi was equally as delicious. the sauce was more tomato based, and the meat was very similar, however not as tender as the methi gosht. i liked this a lot and would highly recommend it. as we ordered two lamb curry’s it was nice to see a stark distinction between the two, as there is nothing more annoying than being served pretty much the same thing despite ordering two separate dishes. one thing i would comment on is the spice level - i like my curries SPICY. this was a good level of spice, however i was expecting it to be a little hotter. however i didn’t specify this when ordering so i will be asking for it a little spicier next time.

pilau rice and peshwari naan: this rice was nice basic pilau rice, there is nothing much to comment. the peshwari naan was interesting as it has cherries in it. i’ve never had peshwari with cherries, and i do think it was lacking the nuts and honey. however it was still very tasty and i enjoyed it. and the pink naan was pretty

overall - great experience. i really enjoyed going to the curry mile for the first time. it is very similar to the balti triangle/sparkbrook in birmingham, so if you like that you’ll love this. as i said before, the curry’s were not as spicy as i was expecting, like they are in sparkbrook, but i will be asking for a little more spice next time. this does not diminish the fact that the curry was delicious. the staff here were lovely, the service was good, a little slow at the end but the restaurant was busy. there was live music playing which added to the already great ambiance. i had a great time at ziya’s and i will be...

Staff were friendly, the popadoms are ok but the lack of sauces is really bad, only 2 sauces for £5 wow thats terrible, everywhere else gives like 4 to 5 sauces.

My friend and me ordered our starters and chose chips with them, my chips was missing, we were still charged for this, you can see in the picture there is no chips, the waitress insisted the chips were in the dish, you decide if you can see any chips haha, must be magical chips, also said there is no price difference of having chips or not, but the menu says differently.

My starter the indo chinese was very bad, everything was very very overly tangy, there wasn't anything indo chinese about it, the chicken lollipops were nice, i wasn't expecting the rest of it to be fish, there was maybe 1 piece of chicken in it, rest was tangy fish bites, very poor, the long prawns were ok but had no taste, just tasted like battered prawns haha, and you can see in the picture they just plain not seasoning, no marination. I still don't know why this restuarant was on my to go list as it was very poor.

The next thing is the table next to us with the man in the suit was overly favoured over us, they got all their food first, they got their starters and finished them, got their mains, and still our starters hadn't come, they prioritised the rich looking gentleman rather than giving a fair service to all customers. We waited very long time for starters close to 20 minutes or more, the place was dead inside only 3 tables of 2, no takeaways, so why they were struggling i couldn't tell you.

The next thing is the curry was pretty nice, but was very big thieffery, there was maybe 3 pieces of chicken in the entire curry, i was left with half my rice left as i had nothing to eat it with. The starters had more stuff to eat in them haha.

Sort it out man otherwise this place won't be around for future if this is how you look...