Shiruku — Restaurant in Salford

A premium dining experience I didn't think I'd get in the UK

The location is in a lovely, spacious part of town and the NCP is literally right beside the restaurant.

To start with, the decor is beautifully and tastefully done and the attention to detail is something that stood out, and became a recurring theme throughout. It's unfortunately common to see restaurants focus on the food alone, forgetting that dining is often an experience that extends beyond what you eat.

The service struck the right balance, checking on us when we needed it and not too frequently so as interrupt our conversation. The waiter genuinely made us feel important and placed the food and cutlery down delicately and subtly. Now you may think this is irrelevant, but I notice these things. When service is done well, everything else tends to go well.

And the food...wow.

The menu focuses on a decent number of mains, but too many (which I find reassuring for higher-end places, and makes choosing easier!) and gives you plenty of options for the starters. We went for the dim sum, gyoza and teriyaki short rib beef tacos, and I have to stay the beef tacos threatened to steal the entire show for me (pictured with the dim sum).

I had a side of black bean vegetables which complemented my dish so well. I love black bean so I jumped into this straight away.

We also got 4pcs of sushi, I can't remember which one. My wife, who's not normally a sushi fan was raving about it.

For mains we had the sea bass which included a really generous portion and the beef short rib (both pictured). The sea bass is cooked with a number of different flavours, none of which are overpowering but rather bring out eachother.

The beef rib is served with creamed mash. The ginger and cinnamon juices mix with the mash and tastes utterly incredible. The beef was so soft and so tender I genuinely wondered if I'd ordered lamb at one point. Again, the portion was really generous and I even ended up taking some home.

I feel like I could say so much more but I'll suffice with the above for now. You know you've struck gold when you regret not being able to try more dishes.

I honestly think Manchester has been crying out for cuisine of this calibre that's halal. You'd have to travel to Dubai to get an experience and quality like this.

The bar has well and truly been raised. As you can imagine (if you've made it this far), I'll...

I went here for wife’s birthday.

We was greeted by Hassan and Ali who were our servers for the evening.

Hassan politely came over to the table introduced himself and described what Shiruku was about. After giving us the menus he served us water and asked if there are any questions feel free to ask.

As we browsed through the menu, we called Hassan over to ask what the favourite dishes on the menu are. He provided ample information of every dish we asked about and we ordered:

Starter 1x steamed buns 1x gyoza

Main

Beef Ramen Short rib with creamed potato and veggies

Hassan reassured us that the short rib was one of his favourites, he also suggested an awesome drink which my wife loved!

The starters arrived and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of the dishes. Specifically the steamed buns, these were amazing.

As soon as we finished, Hassan noticed promptly and asked if we’d like our plates taking away and mains to arrive. His service was exceptional.

Our mains arrived promptly via Hassan and Ali. They both ensured that everything was of good quality before bringing it to the table. Ali asked if we would like anything else, more drinks or sides. We kindly refused as the food we had ordered was plenty enough.

The short rib was melt in your mouth and complimented the creamed mash brilliantly.

The ramen stole the show, I initially ordered this. But the wife stole it from me so I made do with the short rib. Which I loved. Quality food.

After we finished this. Ali arrived and checked to see if we enjoyed our food asked if the service had been good and if we would like our dessert and bill. We were teased by the dessert, however we had eaten enough.

Ali asked if we would like the bill and he was happy that we enjoyed the food, genuinely

Hassan and Ali did a great job and they should be proud of the service they provided.

The bill came and it came to about £90.

I do think this was a little pricey but for the occasion and the service provided by Ali and Hassan made this worth it.

It’s a solid 8/10. The dessert menu I think needs work; the paper provided didn’t entice. But that’s just constructive criticism..

All the staff when we left wished us well and took a photo of us because we requested they were more than happy to help!

Thank you for...

My partner took me here for our anniversary dinner. Stepping inside, it’s certainly a visual experience , vast, glitzy, and dramatic with an abundance of glass butterflies hanging from the ceiling, faux trees, and water features. Definitely designed to impress.

He had booked ahead, though being a Monday night, it was naturally quite quiet. It turns out it is a dry bar, something he hadn’t realised but that wasn’t a dealbreaker. That said, for £8 a pop, I was expecting alcohol-free cocktails with a bit more finesse. Mine looked great but tasted more like a health tonic, while his watermelon drink reminded us both of Jolly Ranchers. After that, we stuck with water.

To start, we shared a 24-piece sushi set, presented beautifully inside a large shell. Visually, it was stunning but unfortunately, the taste didn’t quite match up. The rice didn’t have the texture or flavour of proper sushi rice, and it seemed shaped by a mould rather than hand-formed. The tuna sashimi looked quite pale and lacked flavour. The standout was the crispy katsu roll, which had a satisfying crunch and was nicely complemented by a little extra sauce, kindly offered by the server.

Before our mains, we were asked if we’d like to move tables to maintain the ambiance before a group arrived, a thoughtful gesture that added to the overall good service experience.

For mains, I had the lamb on a potato rosti with grape jus, and we added truffle parmesan chips on the side. The lamb was cooked beautifully. Tender, flavourful, and a definite highlight of the meal. (Not to sound vampiric, but the richness you get from non-halal lamb was slightly missed.) The chips were tasty too, but I was already full by then.

Overall, I found the service to be impeccable, friendly, attentive, and considerate. The setting is luxurious, maybe a little over-themed, and I was left wondering why it’s called Silk/shiruku when everything is so heavily butterfly-focused.

The food? A mixed bag. The sushi, for me, fell short and didn’t justify the price especially when compared to other places I’ve been. But the lamb dish was genuinely enjoyable.

Glad I tried it for the experience, but it wouldn’t be my first pick for a return visit unless they improve the...