In general I'm a big fan of this place - it's still under £5 for 3 meat curries and rice which is very good value, OK once in a while the portions aren't huge but so what? - Get a chapatti. The flavours here are up there with the best.
April 2012
Still good, little to add from previous excustions. The standards are still high and on its day it's right up there.
Rice & 3 and Roti - £5
Fantastic - Lamb, chicken and daal all excellent. Not much more to say - nothing major has changed but it was all on form, loved it. Best in a long while. £4.99
17/08/11
Back again so soon - Karahi Gosht only this time, extremely tasty - though perhaps too oily for some, not me though I think you just accept that about the dish or not. The lamb was delicious and the additional chillies, ginger and coriander really added the top note zesty-ness - so much required with lamb.
10/08/11 - very early trip, 11.15 AM the morning after the riots - and in the month of Ramadan. Open for business. It was genuinely good to see. I was the first customer and everyone was friendly and happy to chat a bit about the night's events. The food was great and I was very full - though I did have one roti. The guys serving was keen I got everything hot and fresh and I was reminded of why I used to like it here so much. Exceleent trip and great, good value food - which is what this blog is all about.
May 2011
No complaints, just a slightly small portion (pictured bottom). As ever here the chicken is cooked so long that it disintegrates, that doesn't both us as it remains moist enough and tasty. The keema and potato was probably the highlight. - We really like it here, the only negative is the reasonable chance of leaving still pretty hungry. Now £5.15 for Rice & 3 + a chapatti (which was required). The taste is always good though - there's no getting away from it.
Mid March 2011
Just the ticket. No surprises. Excellent mixed veg.
Late Jan 2011
Spot on for quality and flavour again. The channa was superb - sweet and very spicy, with really well-cooked chickpeas. The keema with potatoes was the real star. This had subtle flavours - rather than heavy spices - and the texture of the fatty lamb mince and the soft potato worked nicely together. Again this had a sweetness to it. The kofte was an interesting dish, and this was served with spinach, which again was a good combination. The chicken and lamb curries and the daal were also very tasty. We were also served by someone other than Mr Scrooge, which helped with the portion size. The chappatis were a bit cold, but they were fine and they are cheap.
Jan 2011
Getting a rice & 3 takeaway didn't really work. It all melded into one big ricey mess with no distinctive flavours - which is usually Yadgar's strong point. Shame.
July '10
Another great trip, the non-meat dishes really stood out today, channa, spinach & potato and aubergine & potato were all excellent. The meat dishes were up to the usual high standards and the portion sizes were fine due to a slight change in staff responsibilities behind the counter.
May '10
Excellent trip - back on form. £4.70 for rice & 3 is still decent.
March '10
Not as good as last time - the bald headed miserable bloke was the only fella serving - extremely slowly and only giving small portions, as usual. This might sound ridiculous but the mere sight of him is enough to make us consider turning round and clearing off to Kabana. What was not his fault was that the bread was not great either. However, there's no getting away from the quality of the curries here - they're just very good.
December 09
Fantastic trip today, six different dishes sampled, some of the more interesting being: lamb on the bone, yoghurt curry with pakora dumplings and lentils with gourd - all six were excellent. The older guy with the bald head and the beard was not behind the counter so the portions were of a decent size. Best ever visit and one to remember. The rice was interestgly spiced and very pleasnat - with 3 very good curries (by any standards) for £4.50 is one of the best value meals available in the city. Yadgar's very much back near the top of the tree (health warnings or not).
Key Ingredients 19.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 9.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 8.0 (out of 10)
Value for Money 4.5 (out of 5)
Range 5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 9.1 (out of 10)
- 2008
Yadgar is highly rated by many amongst the 'rice and three' community. However, the portions here are often smaller than the other cafes. There is not a huge amount of food, but it is of a very high standard. The curries are richer, and closer to restaurant style dishes - being slightly oilier, having more pronounced flavours and being more distinctly different from one another - than in other cafes. The service is efficient, but can be unhelpful (depending on which member of staff is serving) - with a slight reluctance to discuss the curries available on the day - this seems a bit odd as the advertised dishes are inaccurate and the food is not on show like in This & That - so how are we supposed to know? Chillies, coriander and ginger have to be requested rather than being freely available. The setting is good and there is sufficient space for the numbers who dine here. Being one of the cafes with a charcoal grill, also makes Yadgar a good option for kebabs, with 50p seekhs and 40p chapattis looking as good value as the curries: £4.30 (now £4.70 - July 2010) for 2 meat, 1 veg. Part of the function of the Curry Cafe is providing a decent feed for realtively little money, so to be slightly short on portion size is a little irritating - thought the quality of food is arguably the best around. Big eaters are recommended to get additional roti or side dishes. Those with smaller appetites may well have found their ideal venue.
Key Ingredients 18.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 9.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 8.0 (out of 10)
Value for Money 4.5 (out of 5)
Range 4.5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 8.8 (out of 10)
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I've just taken a job that requires me to be in Manchester 4 days a week, and this was my first experience of the legendary "Curry Caff's".
ReplyDeleteIt was about 7pm and so it was the last knockings, but I enjoyed an excellent plate of Chicken and Lamb with a chickpea daal... wonderful flavours and slightly tingly lips.
For a fiver, that's as good as it gets!
i love yadgar i ate there for many years they use pretty much the same spice mix in the curries which is no bad thing if ya know it,Nihari every sunday was superb,best taditional curry house in manchester
ReplyDeleteMy favourite in the northern quarter- don't even bother with anywhere else any more.
ReplyDelete