Akbar's Restaurant — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

I have been a dedicated and loyal customer of Akbars for over 13 years. I have been twice here. The first was a complete disaster. I only came this time on the instructions of the Area Manager Dhillon. Even then this branch is poor. Staff poor. Sardar, the Head chef is very lacklustre and has a very poor attitude. Did not even have his long hair curls on the side covered in a net/hat! Is this how a chef should portray himself? No professionalism. He said plainly he had only been here for 4 months and is still under training. That is no excuse as the restaurant is charging extortionate prices for a Head Chef who admits he is not up to scratch as he has only been here 4 months. That shows his lack or no motivation at all and completely being oblivious as he said he has not received any complaints! I witnessed other customers complaining. The Haleem i ordered was like porridge/weetabix. It had no tarqa. When it was redone it was overpowered with ginger! Complete disaster. Don’t serve food altogether. When they serve curries they always serve first curries, you then wait 4-5 mins for your naan. Whilst you are sat looking at your curries going cold. Naan cold. Crispy onions were prepacked and stuck together like cement. This again i witnessed happening with other customers. It happened to me twice on the day. Also they served the meal whilst we were still having our appetisers and had not even finished it. Absolutely atrocious. Resent all food back and the same mistakes were repeated the second time. Spoke to the Head Chef and his second in line who is from Kashmir both very rude and not at all loyal to Akbars. I recommend to others having a negative experience to try Akbar’s in Middlesbrough. Huge contrast. Sadly will never come back to Newcastle even living 5 mins from it. Would rather drive 1hr to Middlesbrough instead of spending 1 minute in the Newcastle branch. I cannot see this restaurant being successful if drastic changes don’t take place from top to bottom particularly all the staff present there. Particularly the head chef and all waiters poor and lacking smiles and general courtesy. Head chef i called upon and he said we cannot make curries how they do in Pakistan! If that is the case then don’t call yourselves the King of Curry and Akbar’s meaning the GREAT! It definitely isn’t in Newcastle but in Middlesbrough it is definitely a branch to try as it is well run with a dedicated team of staff. And the food is great in Middlesbrough. This branch is bringing a bad name to Akbars. Drastic and immediate changes required from removing Head chef, his colleagues and all waiters including managers (Suman/Ries) are completely lacklustre and not even bothered about complaints. Rather Ries was sat in front of me and was more interested in eating his own food and lamb chops he ordered (free probably) whilst we were sat dissatisfied and not once did he even enquire on what is the issue. No apologies received from anyone. I only went here a second time on the instructions of Dhillon and Raaj. Never again until the staff is cleared out and refreshed with new loyal and dedicated blood to bring back the glory days of Akbars as was in the old Newcastle branch. With this branch as it is, this is nowhere near even a 1 star. Staff behaviour is disgraceful. Desi tea is not even worth saying anything...

The return of this South Asian institution showcases lots of potential. I'm excited to see it realised on a future visit.

Following a warm welcome from the staff we're beckoned into the dining room. A buzzing mix of people in, from large family feasts to intimate, romantic meals. The space is stylish and modern, while giving each table enough space and comfort.

In the first few minutes our server, Anju, introduces herself and it's immediately apparent that the staff are the best thing about Akbar's. She's friendly and takes the time to understand our palettes (and, crucially, for one with a sensitive stomach, appetite for spice). As always, we're in the pursuit of authenticity; the chef's signature dishes, recipes passed down through generations of South Asian grannies and mams. Anju kindly recommends two authentic dishes as mains, taking care to find the cuts of meat and spice profiles we'll enjoy.

Two starters: a plate of chicken livers and a masala fish. These end up being fun, flavourful riffs on British favourites. The chicken evokes liver n' onions with a playful bouquet of curry flavours. My heart sank when I saw the masala fish, plonked next to tired salad like a frozen Young's fillet howked from the back of the freezer. But as the warm spices caressed and cajoled the delicate fish, my fears were unfounded and I felt a big smile stretch across my face.

And onto Anju's mains. We had the Lamb charsi - a fiery, urgent punk-rock anthem of a curry dish. This was accompanied beautifully by the Lahori lamb-leg dish; a rich, complex symphony of bone broth. At first we were disappointed by the lack of discernible red meat in the dish, dominated as it was by bone and sinew. But as the intricacies of the gravy revealed themselves to us, it established itself as the centrepiece of the evening.

We capped the evening off with rassomali. The cottage cheese in sweetened milk was cooling respite after the concerto of curry spices, but somewhat lacking as a crescendo thanks to a pitiful sigh of the signature saffron in the pudding.

The pudding paired with the substantial bill (there are far more economical ways to enjoy authentic South Asian food in the West End) left us feeling that, while elements of Akbars' offering wowed us - namely Anju and her recommended Lahori lamb-leg dish - there's still potential to be realised from Akbar's return...

We were group of 16 reserved the table for Sunday evening, as soon as we arrived been seated which is a good sign that shows they respect the reservation during busy time as well, the staff received welcomed us with smile which is most welcoming, which we can't see in most of the restaurants, the decor is fantastic, I can even call it as masterpiece, we weren't rushed to place the order they gave fair amount of time to settle down, and the waitress asked for popadums and drinks order, the drinks and popadums came in no time their chutneys are the best, we all ordered starters first been informed 20 mins for starters after the order taken which is really good, starters arrived before the time I had lamb chops finger licking good, not only that all other starters are very good, no complaints, after the waitress cleared the starters we been provided with napkins and fresh set of cutleries, and we ordered for the second round of drinks, we got our main course after 15 mins served by chef's which is a nice touch, being an only asian in the group I ordered for Haleem VOW I never had this kind of Haleem in my life, at some point my friend's started stealing my food, probably the best chef, their Nan breads are massive and soft we ordered for 5 garlic nan and 5 peshwari nan, all the five garlic nan in same quality so do peshwari nan awesome, we been checked twice about the food and drink by 2 different person, which is very good, for the whole night we don't need to look for any person to help us, the service is fantastic each and every person in the group were happy about the service and satisfied. Overall very the best restaurant in Newcastle with good food, drinks and service, I recommend to everyone, we will be back for office...