 | |  | | | Karims Restaurant Manchester - reader comments | | " I frequented the Middleton Karim's many times for its excellent, service and food and the City Centre Karim's employs the same high standards in an exotic and impressive building and surrounding. We dine out often and Karim's has always been a favourite choice of ours, also the non alchol policy suits us making for an enjoyable and guaranteed trouble free meal out. What's more, there is a good choice of drinks available to cater for all. Always recommended." - graham nabb, bury 1/1/09 (visited on a sunday evening) |
| | "Went to Karims for a works do, we didn't realise it didn't serve alcohol. Not that we were going for a big booze, but it would have been nice to have a beer. Very grand decor, big restaurant, which unfortunatley resulted in a cold atmosphere. Our party were the only diners in the restaurant, despite it being a Thursday evening, with surrounding restaurants packed out. No choice in menu, just told it was buffet style. Food was poor, very greasy, and dried out. Would not go back to Karims. Food bill was £17." - debbie, manchester 8/12/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
| | "The decor in this place was great. Knew it did not serve alcohol before we went, but we did expect any alcohol free drinks to be chilled, they were not. Expected a combination menu as per the web site. We were given plates and given details of how to find our food at the buffet. We will not visit this restaurant again, very disappointed in the food offered. Starters OK, main courses cold, very wet and greasy. Certainly not what we expected." - senga, cheshire 24/11/08 (visited on a fri evening) |
| | "This is a very good Indian restaurant serving authentic Indian dishes. Best part is you can eat as much as you like and know that you are only going to pay set price of £12. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to my friends and the decor is the best." - mir, manchester 21/10/08 (visited on a fri after 11pm) |
| | "Very disappointing" - sharon davis, manchester 16/10/08 (visited on a weds lunch) |
| | "We were going to the Opera House and wanted a pre-theatre meal and found this restaurant on Restaurants Of Manchester. Unfortunately at the time we had not read any reviews. On entering the building we thought we had made a wise choice as the surroundings were magnificent. That was the only good thing about it. On asking for the menu we were told there was no menu, only the buffet style menu. We should have left there and then. We thought okay we will risk it - Big mistake! The pappadoms were like sponge. The main meals were so disgusting which can only be described as water with a little curry or tandoori flavouring with a little of what must have been left over from the previous sitting of the day. When complaining to the waiter we were treated with utter contempt and dismissed out of hand. We paid the bill (God knows why) and when given change the waiter's attitude was beyond belief. We have been to several upmarket Indian Restaurants in the city centre and have never had need to complain once. But that said, this restaurant is not an upmarket restaurant except for its decor and never will be. An experience never to be repeated" - stephen hodkinson, ashton-under-lyne 8/9/08 (visited on a sat evening) |
| | "We have visited the Middleton branch often and thought whilst we were shopping in the city we would try out this one... And we thought the food was as good as their other branch, also the service... the only thing is there is not as much choice on the buffet but there is still plenty to choose from! Fabulous!" - debbie, middleton 31/8/08 (visited on a thurs lunch) |
| "Walking through the doors of this restaurant I felt like a million pounds, the decor is breathtaking, the bathrooms were amazing and the waiting team made you feel looked after. The food on the other hand was not so amazing. I was celebrating my friend's birthday with 8 other friends, We were expecting the A La Carte menu, but instead we were given a few plates and directed to the buffet. The selection of food was great, but I thought the food itself was horrible. The curries were like water and the rice was old and dry. Not good.
The drinks are great, i reccomend the Mango & Strawberry Lassi's, they are made fresh and are gorgeous!" -roz, manchester 17/7/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
| "I visited on Sunday night, we walked in and waited whilst someone came to greet us and take us to a table. we were seated and the waiter placed plates in front of us, one of which was dirty - we told the waiter and he apologised and brought back a clean one. We then had to ask if we could order drinks - we asked for Coke but were told they had run out and they offered Pepsi as that was the only soft drink available. When it came, it was an odd colour. The waiter told us that this was a new drink, Pepsi Raw - I asked him to take it away.
We then asked if we could order, we said that we didn't want the buffet menu and were then given menus. Another waiter came over to take our order. He didn't understand us very well and we had to point out what we wanted on the menu. We ordered papodoms, kebabs, lamb chops, king prawns and chips for starters.
Our chips came before anything else, then the papdoms and then the sauces. It looked like someone's left orders that had been watered down. We called the waiter and asked what was this and he replied one of the sauces was mint sauce and the other a mango one. Another waiter came over and apologised and took the tray away and said he would make the sauces fresh for us. Our starters came and we thought things couldn't get any worse, the king prawns seemed raw! At this point we had enough, we were embarassed to complain so much so got up and asked for a manager. As there was no manager there, we ended up just walking out. Nice place but a big disappointment!" -shaz, manchester 14/7/08 (visited on a sunday evening) |
| "Went this evening with a few friends to celebrate a birthday and was really not impressed. The menu on the website looked really good with plenty of variety which was one of the main reasons we booked. When we got there we were greeted by a friendly chap in tradtional dress who showed us to the waiting area. We were not asked about drinks. A few minutes later we were shown to our table by another friendly member of staff. He gave us a drinks menu then asked if we had been before. We said no and quick as a flash plates were plonked on the table and we were told (first shock moment coming) that it was buffet style and to help yourself. Urghh! Buffet! Not what I was expecting. Anyway the waiter walked away without bothering to ask about drinks so we stopped the next passing member of staff and asked to order drinks. We asked what lagers were available (second shock moment) we were looked at like we were neanderthals and told, as she looked down her nose at us, that we don't serve alcohol! Big disappointment but hey the menu made the food sound good so we thought the beers could stay on ice for an hour or so while we enjoyed the food. Well what a mistake, we should have walked out there and then rather than eat what turned out to be quite possibly the worst Indian food I have ever eaten (even worse than my local takeaway which takes some beating!). To be fair it all started well and the starters were ok, but really how wrong could you go with pakoras and samosas and if I stopped eating after the starters I would recommend Karims. Unfortunately I ventured to the mains which were very poor. The Tikka Massala was was blood red and had the consistancy of water, also it was like panning for gold trying to find the chicken in it. I tried a small portion of that and also the Lamb Bhuna and Chicken and Spinach along wih Pilau rice. By the time I got back to my table all the grease had separated leaving my plate swimming in grease, lovely! The food itself was not pleasant at all and in fact each of the dishes were quite indistinguishable from the last. We asked for some water to help wash it down and the waiter turned up with glasses of warm tap water. On to desserts and the choice of Carrot Cake and ice cream, which was rather nice actually. In all we were in Karims for roughly 40 minutes, we couldn't wait to leave. The first nice surprise of the evening came with the bill which was £70 for 5 of us for the food and a couple of cokes each. But in all honesty I doubt they could get away with charging anymore. I would not recommend Karims to anybody and certainly would not visit again which is a shame as almost every evening as I catch the bus home from work from King Street I have looked down at the fantastic looking building and thought to myself I really should try there one day. I'll be looking the other way from now on" - john, worsley 6/7/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
| | "3 words - Fan bloody tastic!" - ali khan, manchester 7/6/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
|  "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) |
| | "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) |
| | "I read the Restaurants Of Manchester 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) |
| "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." - Restaurants Of Manchester 24/12/07 (visited on a Weds evening) |
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