Indian restaurants in Manchester

Manchester has had a close relationship with curry for decades. The Curry Mile remains its best-known destination, but the city’s Indian food scene now stretches far beyond one road.

There are traditional curry houses, small no-frills cafés, modern street-food restaurants and some very large venues designed for parties and celebrations. This isn’t intended to be a definitive ranking. It’s a selection of places that each represent a different part of Manchester’s curry story.

Mughli Charcoal Pit

Mughli has been a long-standing favourite on Manchester’s Curry Mile. It’s lively, informal and nearly always busy, with a particularly strong following among the city’s students.

The "charcoal pit" is central to its appeal, but it’s the atmosphere that makes Mughli such an enduring part of Wilmslow Road.

Dishoom

Dishoom was a welcome addition to Manchester’s restaurant scene, bringing a more modern approach and an excellent choice of all-day dining.

The building is also a large part of the experience. It’s an impressive setting that suits everything from breakfast and lunch to dinner and drinks.

Indian Tiffin Room

Indian Tiffin Room started small before expanding to central Manchester (and now Leeds). Its focus on Indian street food helped it stand apart from the more traditional curry-house model.

The food is inventive, the presentation is modern and the overall approach feels different without losing sight of where the dishes came from.

Bundobust

Bundobust combines vegetarian Indian street food with beer brewed through its own brewery operation.

It was an innovative idea when it launched and remains one of Manchester’s most distinctive casual dining options. It’s informal, lively and deservedly popular. Both the Piccadilly and Oxford Road sites are worth a visit.

Zouk

Zouk offers a modern take on the traditional Indian restaurant. It has a large, contemporary dining room but still delivers the food and service you would expect from a well-run curry house.

It works equally well for an ordinary meal or a larger occasion and has become an established part of Manchester’s restaurant scene. An excellent Sunday roast too!

Rajdoot

Rajdoot has been serving Manchester for more than 50 years and remains proudly traditional.

This is the sort of restaurant you take your mother and father to. The surroundings, service and menu all feel reassuringly familiar, and that is very much part of its appeal.

Vermilion

Vermilion is particularly well suited to larger groups, parties and celebrations.

Its menu combines Indian and Pan-Asian dishes, while the scale and styling of the venue make it feel more like an occasion than a straightforward meal out. Some of best starters I have ever eaten.

This & That Café

This & That is one of the original cafés from the early days of Indian food in Manchester.

There are no frills and very little interest in following restaurant trends. It serves straightforward rice-and-three style meals and has become a Manchester institution by doing what it does well for a very long time.

Royal Nawaab Stockport

Royal Nawaab occupies the Stockport Pyramid, the distinctive former Co-operative Bank building beside the motorway.

It is an enormous venue and must be a contender for one of the largest curry restaurants anywhere. This is a place built for families, celebrations and very large gatherings rather than a quiet meal for two. There's a Channel 4 documentary about the place if you want to know more.

Lily’s, Ashton-under-Lyne

Lily’s is an excellent vegetarian café, restaurant and deli in Ashton-under-Lyne.

It has built a strong reputation for traditional vegetarian food and also offers sweets, snacks and ingredients to take home. It’s well worth the short journey outside Manchester city centre.

A city with plenty of choice

These restaurants only represent part of what Manchester has to offer. Some are institutions, while others have helped change how Indian food is presented and enjoyed in the city.

That variety is what makes Manchester’s curry scene so interesting. You can eat in a tiny café, drink brewery beer with Indian street food, revisit a traditional curry house or book a table in one of the largest restaurants you’re ever likely to see.