Annapurna Curry & Sekuwa House — Restaurant in Manchester

This place is the real deal!  As soon as we walked in, we were met with a smell of all the right spices; we knew we were in for something special.  I underestimated how special it would be.

After sitting down we were brought......something.  Oof.  I feel terrible for not remembering the name, but it was a very thin and crispy flatbread made with pepper in it, and we were given a trio of salsa: one was kind of a sweet and sour (imported from India), another was a fresh mint salsa, and the other was some really spicy red sauce.  My apologies to Annapurna for failing at the names of all this (feel free to comment with the correct names!), but they were all incredibly delicious.  We had only gotten to this point when my wife told me how authentic this was (she grew up overseas).  The authenticity continued the whole night.

We ordered garlic naan and the Annapurna Special appetizer platter, followed by Chicken Tandoori and Vegetable Biryani.  I will go through these one-by-one.

The naan has a perfectly light crisp on the edge, yes was soft and chewy on the inside.  Fresh and hot out of the tandoor, the garlic flavor was present and delightful, yet neither harsh nor overpowering.  This is some of the best naan I've ever had, and the last time I remember naan this good was during a visit to Tanzania.  I could get fat off the naan here.

The Annapurna Special was an absolute highlight, and one that should not be overlooked, as it's a perfect way to sample so many tasty treats.  The breading on the various types of pakora was so flavorful, yet the frying was light and fresh.  You couldn't ask for anything better.  The samosa was fantastic, and a nice change of pace from the fried meats.  I want to know where that paneer has been all my life.  I need more of it.

The giant bowl of biryani was loaded with flavor.  We ordered it medium, and it had a nice kick to it, but was still a perfectly reasonable heat.  It came with a delightful yogurt-like sauce (again, my apologies for not knowing what this was called) to mix in, which simply brought out even more flavors.  I don't understand how that's possible, but there was just so much flavor, and it was all perfect.

Okay, now for the chicken tandoori.  As we were sitting at the table, I heard an incredibly loud sizzling sound.  I turned around (I was at the front of the restaurant facing the street), and on the complete opposite side of the place was our wonderful, kind, and extremely friendly server coming over with our chicken on it.  Yes, the sizzle was that loud.  Once she put it on our table, I couldn't help but woft the heavenly smell of the chicken to me; I was in heaven.  I hate people that pull their phones out and take pictures before they eat it, but I just couldn't help it this time....everything looked so beautiful, and the sizzle was so loud, I just had to share it immediately.

The chicken had the absolute perfect char on the outside, yet was juicy and tender on the inside, and again, the absolute perfect blend of spices.  This was some of the best chicken I've ever had, and this has set a new standard by which other chicken is judged.  I could try my whole life and never get chicken this tender, juicy, flavorful, and perfectly charred.  The perfection of this chicken simply cannot be overstated.  The sizzle.  The char.  The juiciness.  I kept looking lustfully at the remaining chicken, wanting more, yet knowing I was absolutely stuffed.  I will dream about this chicken.

This is instantly one of my favorite restaurants around.  We hadn't even finished our meal before we started planning our next visit, who to bring with us, and what to order next time.  I can't say enough good things about Annapurna.  Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy food from Annapurna, which is basically the same thing.  Please stay around forever; I will keep...

This place is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. I still remember the first time I was there. I believe I went alone and sat in a restaurant that was if not completely empty, mostly empty. This put my guard up a little, but I had a mission that night and that was spicy food. I was greeted by one of the kindest and most gentle waitress I have ever encountered. She filled my water gave me a menu and waited peacefully across the restaurant as I perused the menu. I landed on a mango lassi, garlic naan, and a lamb curry, I can't remember the name, maybe Madras(?) and when asked how spicy I wanted it I looked my waitress dead in the eye and told her I wanted the spiciest she's got. She was reluctant she looked at my fair skin and knew I could not handle this. I assured her that I would not send it back no matter what and I would like to know how spicy they can make their food, I had a death wish and Annapurna was my Sheppard in the valley of death. The lassi came with a smile from my waitress, beautiful southeast Asian music playing in the background, the experience was heavenly. As I was finishing this delicious treat of a drink, my food arrived. I looked at it and I thought to myself there was not enough food to satisfy me, a small innocent looking bowl of red with a tinge of brown curry decorated with cilantro or parsley or something accompanied with a plate of rice not sticky but not dry, and fragrant of an aroma that I did not know rice could have and a beautiful basket of garlic naan. My waitress hesitant as she sets my meal down in front of me, her mouth said enjoy but her eyes told me there was no enjoyment in what I was about to experience. As she's still standing there I take my first bite to assure her I could take it from here. Sweet? I couldn't tell what all the fuss was about. When I looked back to assure this was the correct dish, it started coming on. And let me tell you it didn't stop coming on. No matter what I ate, it got hotter and hotter. The stark red walls started to blend in with my face and the music began to play faster ramping up the intensity of the moment. The garlic naan and rice could not quell this heat, but it did pair nicely with the lamb curry. My tongue swelled up and I started sweating so much that my hair changed color and my shirt became translucent. No amount of water would cool my mouth, I had received the torture I had requested and then some. I spent about an hour and a half there until the place was about to close, my waitress now giving me the look of "I told you so" along with "you poor thing" I took the check and paid still with my tongue throbbing. This is without a doubt one of if not the spiciest meal I've ever consumed. The next day I tried to cook out some of the spice, I cooked this curry for an hour and no matter what I did this thing was not getting any less spicy. It took me another 2 hours for a grand total of 3 and a half hours for a meal I originally thought I could finish in 5 bites. The experience was out of this world and it became one of my favorite restaurants in the world. I brought my friends there my girlfriend, anyone adventurous enough to...

Used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Manchester. Then one day, I ordered the usual vegan momos I always would get, and they goofed and gave me chicken ones, which I discovered only after eating a couple of them. They acted like it was my fault after too, which was very unprofessional and inconsiderate.

Asian restaurants are usually the best for people with dietary restrictions, especially if they serve Indian food like this place, since so many Indians are either vegetarian or vegan as I am. The waitress does not understand or speak English well enough to confidently give you something according to your dietary needs, meaning they've forever lost my trust, and I cannot return to this place.

The management need to do better and understand what's required of a restaurant in the middle of a city in 2025. And most of all, make sure your wait staff actually can take orders taking dietary restrictions into account, or you might feed someone something that could literally...