Karims
Restaurant Manchester - reader comments
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"I
visited Karim's after the matinee performance of Zorro (excellent
musical by the way!) with my wife and two restaurant trained children
on Saturday at 6.30pm. The restaurant was empty apart from two other
dinners, who left before we ordered our meal. We opted for the Karim's
Buffet Menu, which was a mistake. The selection was dull,
some of the dishes were dry, others were luke warm and to
be honest we've had much better.
The service was good, but as there were more staff
than customers, thats hardly surprising! The restaurant offers 'to
provide the highest quality food in the most sensually vibrant atmosphere'.
Sadly they failed to deliver on both counts. However, the
interior decor of the restaurant is something else.
This is a non-alcoholic restaurant and whilst I'm
not a big drinker, I really missed a glass of beer with my curry!
On a positive note, it wasn't particularly expensive to dine
at Karims, but that was probably because there was no drinks on the
bill.
I am afraid Karims gets the thumbs down from us.
There are plenty of other places in Manchester to get a good curry
and a beer!"
- richard newman, chinley 14/4/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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| "I
love my curries and welcome the addition of Karim's to the small list
of Indian restaurants in the city centre. Upto now we've been well
serviced by the fantastic Shimla Pinks, Rajdoot, EastZEast, Akbars
and Lights Of India, with Haanan, Ashoka and Grand Buffet playing
second fiddle. Karim's potentially could win the best reputation of
these, thanks largely to it's impressive setting. Somehow, it just
didn't do it for me. The food, whilst good, isn't as remarkable as
the '5 best' and the service was woeful. So much so, they got my starters
wrong - delivering a Chicken Boti starter with mint sauce(!!!), instead
of the Lamb Boti I ordered, and failing to deliver a cola I asked
for twice. I overhead another table complaining about something to
the boss and the non-alcohol policy maybe a brave gamble but my biggest
gripe is with the music policy - hardcore dance tracks don't exactly
provide the best soundtrack for a building this grand, or for any
restaurant come to think of it! On the positive side, the prices are
extremely good (especially if you take advantage of the 20% off voucher)
and it is early days. I will certainly return, more through benefit
of the doubt rather than excitement."
- john henley, hale 1/2/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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"I
read the Manchester Restaurants review with great interest as I'm
a big fan of Akbars and Lights Of India. Karim's is a new restaurant
that offers a little more than the usual Asian cuisine restaurant.
The dishes they serve are diferent (in a good way) to what you may
expect. I ordered one of the house specialties, Chicken Sulimaanya,
and it was very impressive, a subtle mix of spices
and without being overly hot. It is a 'dry restaurant', which may
not be to everyone's taste, but this establishment is all about the
food. I certainly didn't really notice, and you can expect a certain
type of clientele due to this. It is refreshing to see someone
doing something different in the centre of the city. I look
forward to sampling other dishes from the menu when I return."
- paul, bolton 8/1/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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"When Establishment
closed down, many of Manchester's fine diners shed a tear into their
silk hanky's. When it was announced that the beautifully grand building
was to become an Indian/Chinese Buffet Restaurant there was outcry
within some circles. In reality though, the outcry was a bit premature.
Karim's s a welcome addition to Manchester's restaurant scene and
successfully delivers in this most impressive of dining arenas.
There has been widespread
outcry amongst some blinkered so-called restaurant reviewers about
Karim's no-alcohol policy resulting in 'it will never work' predictions.
What these 'lazy' journalists fail to mention however is the history
of Karim's. Having ran a very successful alcohol-free restaurant
in Middleton for over 10 years, the restaurant is very much aimed
at family diners or for those not wanting to be surrounded by rowdy
drunken groups, so familiar with many Asian restaurants in the UK.
There are plenty of alternatives as well, including non-alcoholic
wines and beers, fresh fruit juices, Lassi's and the usual choice
of soft drinks.
The building is incredible,
large chandeliers, huge pillars and a raised seating area offering
views through the grand windows of some of the city's best buildings
along King Street. The roof, with its beautiful glass dome, is that
high it can often give the false impression that the restaurant
is empty even when most tables are full. The grandeur is almost
reminiscent of the days of the Raj in some of the sub-continent's
most exclusive hotels. It's the ideal place for a wedding party
or a function - something the Karim family have had great success
with in their Middleton restaurant.
The food is also impressive.
We've visited on many occasions and have tried both the lunch time
Buffet and evening a la carte menus. The buffet is good quality
and good value for as much as you can eat but the choice is very
limited. The Daal Tarka comes highly recommended. To experience
Karim's at its best you should order from the a la carte menu. The
dishes are excellent value ranging from £5 for a Grilled Vegetable
Skewer up to just £14 for the King Prawn Zakki or King Prawn
Lassun, both created by Mr Karim adding an Eastern twist to Asian
dishes. The Lamb Karahi (£8.95 with rice and salad) comes
very highly recommended and one member of our team has returned
3 times in the space of two weeks alone to get his fix of the superb
Chicken Sulimaanya Asian-fusion special (£12 with rice or
potatoes). The prices certainly don't reflect the surroundings yet
at the same time this is not a down market restaurant and the clientele
is largely made up of professionals from the nearby offices together
with smartly dressed Asian families.
Unless the chef's are
employed from around the world, we're not normally a fan of restaurants
who offer mixed cuisine and Karim's menu of Indian, Chinese and
Asian Fusion could be criticised at first glance. The dishes however
are mainly Asian and even the four Chinese dishes on offer have
an Asian slant. Overall this is an excellent destination restaurant
within the city centre and will sit proudly alongside the likes
of Akbar's and EastZEast (who's owner was dining on the next table
during our last visit to Karim's). As we already have done, we'll
certainly be returning again and again regardless of the alcohol
policy."
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Manchester Restaurants 24/12/07 (visited on a Weds evening) |
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