Kebabish Original (Rusholme)

Photo is pre-refurbishment - it looks much smarter now

May 2010
It's been tarted up somewhat - the food looked good but it has gone flashier and become more like a restaurant. And hence too expensive (and slow) to fit in this blog. £5.90 for a chicken tikka kebab and £6.90 for lamb tikka is just too much - in the case of lamb tikka literally double the price of surrounding places. We were offered a table and a menu but declined, didn't order and left. - The food under the glass counter looked really good and making choices based on how it looks is all part of the experience - why steer the customer away from it to make a choice looking at a menu? On the other hand for a 'meal out' this might be OK, it's clean, bright etc etc - but these prices aren't sustainable for regular lunchtime trips and the associated delay caused by table servcice doesn't help either. Big parts of what's good about low-key kebab-type places are speed, reasonable prices and not relying on menus but seeing what's there on the day. K.O. doesn't have these things going for it and is clearly trying to be 'classier' but the added time and price are big negatives for us - perhaps the food is good - it looked fine, but I don't think we'll find out soon.

2008
This place is half way between a kebab house and a restaurant. It's large and has table service. The meat had been cooked before, and it was tough. The marinade was tasty. There are sauces and water on the tables - which was good. The music from the television was pretty loud and rather distracting - but plenty of places are like that. The kebabs are almost the most expensive (£5.30) and not worth the extra cost. The curries and mixed grill look good though.

Scores out of 10
Meat 6.5
Bread 7.5
Salad/Sauces 6.5
Service/Setting 7.0
Average 6.9

Kebabish

Hilton St

March 19th 2010 - Kebabs
We finally returned for food - this time kebabs (although curries are still available).  This place is so stark it's frankly a bit odd. There's no information posted - other than opening times. No menus or blackboards or anything - not even any dirt, it's like an operating theatre - and equally disorientating.  Shout through the hatch and hope they've got what you want seems to be the way.  The food was fine if a little expensive, £4.30 for a chicken tikka kebab. The chicken kebab was nicely done - good puffy, fresh naan , but nothing to get really excited about. Slightly strange place.
Meat 7.5
Bread 8.0
Salad and sauces 6.0
Service and setting 7.0
Average - 7.1

Feb '10 - No idea what's going on with this place, no curries on the board - perhaps not doing them anymore.  Hopefully solve this soon

...Seemingly nothing to do with the small chain of Kebabish Original (K.O.) with branches in Rusholme and Cheetham Hill.  This place has completely different branding, different logos and signs and doesn't use the 'Thrill of the Grill' tag line.

The small range of freshly made curries, in this rather too clean and sterile cafe, are at the top end of what's available for this type of establishment.  The slightly strange and rather high pricing system is a little difficult to navigate. 'Rice and three' is probably to be avoided, with the customer seemingly paying for a full portion of the most expensive dish, no matter what else is ordered, similarly the 'special rice' which costs £2.50 before anything is added to it. However, the lamb dish was particularly good and authentic and the rice and roti both excellent. Though given the nearby competition the price of £7.00 is too high.  Boiled rice and the non-'special' curries can be had for £5, and are certainly worth trying. Grills and some basic starters are also available and reasonably priced.

Key Ingredients 17.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 9.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 7.0 (out of 10)
Value for Money 2.5 (out of 5)
Range 3.5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 7.8 (out of 10)


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Kebabish Xpress

High St

CLOSED - August 2010

Curry - First visit: this was both Chandni and Shalimar in previous incarnations. At the time of our first (curry) visit this place didn’t even have a name and was basically unprepared. Our second visit was for a kebab and the place seemed more settled – with completely different staff. However, it’s difficult to judge from either visit what the curries are like now. All we can do is relate it as it was and go back sometime soon. The corner positioning offers good views of the lunchtime commings and goings around Shudehill - though the interior itself is a rather stark affair. The service was poor, and we were forced to wait a long time for the food - despite ordering a simple rice and curry dish. This runs contrary to the curry cafe ethos of readily available hot food. Also, chapatis were not available. The food was pretty bland and badly cooked. – the kebab review is separate. This place basically wasn’t ready – after chatting to the main man when we went for kebabs. We are more hopeful of getting something decent next time. Although, as it stands, the results are pretty poor.

Curry - Revisit: forget it. This is just as bad as before - even with new staff and time to settle in. We don't think this place really wants to serve curry. Three dollops of tomatoey mush and raw onion were presented, containing chicken, lamb and chickpeas. The food had hardly any flavour at all, with not even enough salt. This would be poor even by pub curry standards. It was an edible plate of hot food but that was it. This place is, for now, off the list for curry cafe venues.

Key Ingredients 10.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 7.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 5.0 (out of 10)
Value for Money 2.5 (out of 5)
Range 2.0 (out of 5)
Average Rating 5.6 (out of 10)

Kebabs
The range is relatively small with no lamb tikka or starters available. The chicken and seekh kebabs were freshly and nicely cooked with a well judged array of salad and sauces - that can be added as desired by the customer, which is a welcome touch. The bread was fresh and of an unusually doughy but crispy quality - which made for a pleasant and filling meal. One of the best kebabs available in this area of town - however the place is rather dreary and gloomy.

Scores out of 10
Meat 8.0
Bread 8.5
Salad/Sauces 8.0
Service/Setting 5.0
Average 7.4