Cafe De Akbar

Is Akbar's the finest Bradford Curry eating experience in Bradford?  The eternal question has just reared its head yet again, following a fantastic trip to the new (new to me but has now been open a while to be fair) Cafe de Akbar.

All new Mughals - Breakfast a Study #6

After a rather lengthy refurbishment, Mughals is now back open and fully operational.  On entering, it is clear a total overhaul has been undertaken.  The main counter has been moved and is now perpendicular to the entrance, off to the left, but the main semi open kitchen and general shape of the room have remained essentially the same.  The extra room provided with the sweet counter re-positioning, is now filled with extra tables and chairs.  The decore is all modern cream floor tiles, dark wood and cream leatherette seats.  Nice.

An early visit for me for my first visit since the refurb, so channa puri breakfast was ordered.  I fancied a pink tea but... no pink tea!  I was told it was being made and was 4hrs away! I said it's ok I'll wait, but I think my joke was lost on the waiter!

Yaadgaar - Breakfast a Study #5

Yaadgaar, on Leeds Road, Bradford must be fairly new - or at least very well kept, as it all seems shiny and very clean.  As you enter, a counter, spread well with traditional sweets, greets you perpendicularly to the frontage of the shop, and there are a couple of small tables and bars with high stools.  Pretty relaxed feel to the place.  Posters on the walls promise a plethora of products, both sweet and savory, and all looks very nice.

Late Breakfast was the order of the day, but rather than messing about sitting and bothering with a menu... "Do you do Chana Puri Breakfast please?" I chimed to the bloke behind the counter.... seemed the perfect opening gambit.  "We do the the Chana, but not Puri's..."  "Puris are pretty greasy... but we do Parathas if you like?"  "I'll have that then!"  Sorted. Happy days.

Food Republic

Food Republic on Leeds Road, Bradford, is a bit of an enigma.  Nestled as it is in the epicenter of one of Bradford's curry hot spots, it trades blows closely with Akbars and Zouk to name but two.

Although driven past on numerous occasions, I'd never ventured in for fodder!  Peering through the window had given me the impression (from a muraled rear wall, visible from the car) that Food Republic concentrated more on coffee, paninis, pastries, etc, rather than curry.

However, on this occasion, a sign in the window promised Karahi with Naan or Rotis.  Time to give it a whirl.  Once sat at my table and reading the menu, it became obvious my initial ideas of what Food Republic was all about were a little off the mark.  Here is one of the new fangled cafe bar type eateries.  Although not wall to wall curries (the menu had four I believe and some biryanis), a massive Asian inspired grill menu was the main attraction.  The easy to follow menu utilised colour coding to simplify the ordering process.  You selected your grill of choice which had three prices adjacent in different colours - each colour represented either naan, rice, chips, etc.  Pretty simple really.  However, I've not fully embraced the 'grill' yet, so Meat Karahi it was.

The menu said all the food was freshly prepared and with the trendy decor etc, I was looking forward.  I was not offered any heat options when ordering, but a little later I did overhear the waiter ask the question to a near by table.  An easily done oversight, and I'm by no means criticizing, but merely pointing out, your curry of choice can be tailored to your personal preferences if required.

The Meat Karahi arrived in good time and suggested some care had been taking in its preparation.  It was light in colour, with a looseness good for dunking.  A full, quality, rounded flavour was accented with strong gingery overtones and a fair slap of heat.  It was quality and I enjoyed it very much.

Two massive fresh and tasty rotis were included but were no measure of my massive belly.  Sauces were also provided on the side, along with water.  All top quality service.

Again, Food Republic is yet another high quality Bradford eater, and is well worthy of a visit.  Bradford is the Best in the World!!

Birthday Breakfast at Mughals

What better way to start my birthday day off than with a chickpea curry breakfast.

Ever since trying this early morning traditional breakfast many years ago on the Curry Mile in Manchester, I have been a big fan.

Back then the delicacy seemed hard to come by here in Bradford, but not any more. A trad brekkie can be found all over - probably most popularly the Sweet Center on Lumb Lane.

Mughals breakfast, by comparison, was far more robust in texture, and sat thick and proud on a small plate. It was nice and mild and had the zing of a little lime pickle. It was good.  Served with three wonderfully chewy and greasy puris, it's the perfect way to start the day.

Cafe de Akbar

New Akbars opened up at the top of Leeds Road. The original cafe has now been closed down. Will visit soon I'm sure.

Mughals

Well it doesn't seem like 2.5 years since last time we ventured to Mughals!  See here.  Amazing how time flies when you're having fun.

Lamb Karahi and Chicken Karahi

Way back then I remember a dark and wintry November night, but Mughals was excellent - even if the service was a little laboured and hap hazard, due to our large party - and provided me a fabulous Karahi.  Today's supposed 'spring' visit exhibited very similar wintry conditions - strangely?  A hail storm ensued as we more or less fell through the door, at just gone midday.

The menus seem to may be have had a little revamp since our last visit, and now offers a variety of options including such things as a few burgers and pasta dishes.  An increasingly common addition to many of the cafe style eateries about the city.  It was also noted that Mughals does breakfast from 8am - we'll defo be back for that I'm sure.  Sadly the decor had yet to be treated to a revamp, but it didn't really matter as everything was serviceable, and the center of attention sweet counter was to die for with it's vast array of colourful, sweet and sticky treats.  Obviously we stuck to the curry options... but could we resist the sweets?

Lamb Karahi for me and Chicken Karahi for Big Tone.  Izzy wanted chips!  Ggrrrr!  She'll learn one day I'm sure?  But we did get her some fish pakora too.  The Karahis were very meaty with a nice tingle of heat, and the perfect kind of 'middle of the road' blend of spices that make it a sort of all curry to all men.  Healthy portion too!  It was on the incredibly rich side of things and, between the Karahi and my accompanying garlic naan, there was an over whelming sour buttery ghee flavour.  Not in a bad way - just the kind of thing that stands out saying things are being done properly - but just prepare yourselves!

Jalebi

Could we resist the the sweets?  Er... no!  Although stuffed, a couple of Jalebi were savored.  These were very fresh and syrupy sweet.  when I've tried these in the past at other places, there has been a stale fatty taste associated with them - not at Mughals.  Super fresh.  Excellent - I could have eaten a full bag!

So all in all a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and just goes to show the depth of expertise all over the city of Bradford.

Zouk

Manchester Velodrome

Having just spent 2hrs at Manchester Velodrome, slowly having my legs ripped off by Ilkley Cycling Club,  a substantial recovery meal was deemed crucial to aid the repair of my muscles.  As many an athlete will tell you I'm sure, it's a big slap up curry and beer which is the most effective fodder for recovery!*

Now, I like Manchester, and there are many a good curry house lurking, but one of the best aspects of Manchester is that, to get to my house at least, you have to drive through Bradford - So, Bradford it was.  The Mrs decided she'd quite like to go to Zouk, and we hadn't been for a while, so I was happy to oblige.

Mrs Bradford Curry Blogger

When we arrived at Zouk at about 9pm, the place was mobbed.  Very popular is Zouk it has to be said.  We were asked to relax in the bar area whilst a table was prepared.  No problem - I was gagging, so an ice cold Cobra was perfect.

Once sat, we perused the menus - both starving, we decided on full mashings of poppadoms, a starter each and mains!  The specials board caught my eye - a nice touch at Zouk - and my main of Kali Mirch Ka Myth was selected from here, and promised chicken in thick punjabi pepper sauce - sounded good.  I decided on something a little different for my started also, and went for the scallops.   Lynda went for a mixed grill and Lamb Sultani which, it turned out, was very similar to a Nihari.

Scallops in foreground with Mixed Grill to rear

Poppadoms dispensed with, our starters, fresh from the grill, arrived.  My scallops looked and smelled lovely, and were served with a sour tamarind like dip.  First scallop skewered onto my fork, into the dip and into my mouth resulted in a whack of lip smacking tamarind - but no scallop flavor??  Lesson learned there -   clearly the dip was too powerful for the delicate scallop and was over powering it!  Use in moderation.  Second scallop was merely wafted by the dip before popping into my mouth.  Much better - the beautifully grilled (tandored?) scallop was melt in the mouth and subtly spiced.  Gently with the sour dip certainly added to the sweet scallop without drowning it.  A beautiful and slightly different for Bradford, dish.  Very moreish.

Kali Mirch Ka Myth

The Kali Mirch Ka Myth main I ordered sounded totally alien in title, but offered a familiar description with 'Punjabi', 'thick' and 'pepper' jumping from the synopsis, and getting me all a little excited.  However, I have to  honest and say the dish didn't really deliver on it's promise!  Although I hate to say it, I found the dish very bland and a bit soupy!  It was more like pie filling in taste than curry.  On occasion a fragrant pepper corn was happened upon, which added some interest to the proceeding, but other than that it was a pretty uninspiring trudge from the first mouthful to the last.  It is not often I am negative about a Bradford Curry, but I am finding any positives difficult to find.

Lamb Sultani

Lynda's Sultani was a far superior main and, although I didn't get to eat much of it, there was bags more firey  flavor in evidence, and I must admit to being a touch jealous.

So all in all, exquisite sea food starter, followed but indifferent main course.  As in the past, Zouk is an excellent  dining experience, and is still something different to a lot of Bradford Curry establishment, but its strengths seem to remain firmly in the grill department - which is no bad thing I suppose.

*I'm not a Doctor - and the use of beer and curry as recovery fluid and food after extreme exercise is at the individuals own risk :-)

Akbar’s The Café Quickie – Excellent Service.

AAAarrrrggghhhhh!!!!

After the recent very successful Bradford Curry eating outing to Akbar’s Café, we didn’t need much persuasion to revisit on the spur of the moment when the opportunity arose the other week.

Again, even at noon, the restaurant was already buzzing.  I ordered the Lamb and Spiniach Handi again, and a naan… again, and fish masala for Izzy… hhmm… again!!  And why not – it was lovely last time.   Big Tone ordered a biryani.

Little tear away still treated to an ice cream

Although it was busy, we were rather alarmed to be told by the waiter that there would be 20 to 30 minute wait for our food!!  Probably the biryani we thought, and set too trying to entertain a short on patience and getting hungry 2 year old toddler.  To Akbar’s credit, they must have seen we were struggling somewhat with Izzy, as her patience wore thing, and the food must have been pushed through the kitchen in double time.  Our meals arrived in a fraction of the stated time.

What joy – a settled 2yr old, happy with her fish, and happy Dad with his beautiful Lamb and Spinach Handi, that was  wonderfully rich, meaty, and irony from the spinach.  Oh and a more than happy Grandpa with his biryani.  Quality food, with no evidence of corner cutting to get everything out to us quickly, is deserving of merit. 

Yet another top draw Akbar’s experience.

Akbar’s The Café

Akbar's The Cafe from the side

Akbar’s is a Bradford institution, and was originally/still is considered by this merry band of Bradford Curry eaters to be THE Bradford Curry by which ALL others should be judged…  A bold statement, but one which reflects the high regard we, as individuals, all held for the restaurant prior to the birth of the Club.

However, the last, and only documented, time, we have visited Akbar’s proper (not the Cafe) as the Bradford Curry Club, was on an incredibly busy night and, although we couldn’t fault the service or food, the atmosphere was slightly lacking.  The blog of the evening can be viewed here.

An Akbar's napkin

Now, to be honest, we have visited Akbar’s The Café too before, but it was not documented.  If I remember rightly - Bradford Curry offered that day was 'Ten Men' - but we were not too keen on the café concept, and didn’t think the likes of lasagne, burgers, etc. had a place on a hard core Bradford Curry House menu.  However, we now admit that those views were a little snobby and narrow-minded, and these days we embrace such forward thinking ideas.

So how about Akbar’s The Café – how does it fair?

It fairs very well thank you very much. 

Although one of the first people through the door on the dot at noon, the Café soon filled, and the ultra modern glass, stainless steel and brown leatherette was all very cool and made for an comfy and relaxed location to spend an hour or so.

Lamb Handi and Tandori Roti

Our order was taken and the food soon arrived.  Not perhaps as lightening quick as some other restaurants visited recently, but it’s not a race at the end of the day – and still a darn site faster than McDonalds if you order a Big Mac without the gherkin!!  Fish Masala, Lamb Handi and two Tandori Roti’s provided plenty of food for the Curry Monster Izzy and me.  Izzy tucked into the Fish Masala with gusto and, when I was reluctantly allowed to sample the fish, I can report it was beautifully seasoned, soft, moist and well cooked.  The Lamb Handi was also top draw and was thick and dry.  It was on the spicy side it must be said – a little too much for Izzy – but was bob on for me.  It was also noted to be - in a very good way – garlicy, and it is definitely worth sampling.  MMmmmm.  Post meal I was informed by a helpful member of staff that the curries can be made milder, and just to simply ask when ordering.  Very accommodating, but sorry Izzy, you'll just have to suck in the pain and 'Man Up' if you want some of your Daddy's curry.  I had my handi plain but it can be ordered with spiniach, dall, chickpeas, etc, so is quite customisable.

Izzy with Fish Masala

There were no downsides at all to note.  The Café was clean and staff excellent and I considered it great value for money.  Speaking off the top of my head though, perhaps for some hardened Bradford Curry eaters the super trendy interior might grate slightly… who knows?  That’s just personal taste and I do know some people like that.  There is also the fact that Akbar’s is essentially a chain restaurant these days and that might not necessarily appeal to those looking for, well, somewhere that is not a chain?

All in all on this visit I am sold, I reckon the quality is excellent and I will definitely be visiting Akbar’s The Café again soon.

AGM - Zouk

Another year and another AGM has now passed.  The masses spoke and aired their views, through the medium of a Facebook poll, and Zouk was chosen as the venue to eat Bradford Curry in, in the yearly celebration of the Bradford Curry Club.

I for one was pleased with the choice – Zouk was last visited by the group as a whole in the summer of 2009, and was very well received, but how would it stack up now?  Many restaurants have been visited and many curries eaten in the intervening time – can it still cut the mustard?

Not only have many restaurants been visited, and many curries eaten, but some big changes have taken place within the ranks of the Bradford Curry Club – namely babies.  Last time we dined at Zouk, as a group at least, we were all young, free and single – not really – but so to speak.

Baby herding

In a nutshell, our visit to Zouk in 2009 was a Cobra fuelled curry eating frenzy of the highest order.  It was a Rock ’n’ Roll night out of the magnitude never then or since witnessed in a curry house.  By contrast our recent AGM at Zouk was a far more sedate, but equally enjoyable, basic baby herding exercise.  To their credit, the staff at Zouk were very accommodating, and seemed suitably un-phased by four toddlers/small children running amok around their rear restaurant area.

Lamb Rogan Josh and Garlic Naan

The food was excellent.  My Seekh kebab was wonderfully moist, with the flavour of the grill permeating every mouthful.  Zouk’s open kitchen is a wonderful place to spend a few moments observing the chef’s taming the mighty tandoor and open grills.  My main of Lamb Rogan Josh was spotted on the specials board.  It comprised a much reduced sauce that was strong in flavour, but a little oily.  The meat quota was high, melt in the mouth, and with the addition of the slight disintegration of the meat aiding in the thick and rich nature of the dish.  This dish was, however, £9.95, and I bet must be one of the most expensive ‘standard curries’ available in Bradford.  It was good – I’ll give you that – but perhaps not quite £10 good. 

Elsewhere on the table, the highlight - perhaps a little unexpectedly for me - was the Paya (trotters).  I say ‘unexpectedly’, not for any other reason other than my rather squeamish narrow minded view of rough cuts and offal in general.  However, although the meat did seem nothing more than bones, gristle and fat – and definitely not for me – the dish was presented in the very authentic style with thin but dark gravy, strong with the flavour of ginger.

 

I am pleased to say that Zouk is still very good as far as I am concerned, and the overall dining experience makes it one of the top Bradford Venues.

Mughal's 31/11/2010

Attendees: Jo, Steve, Pete, Lilly, Dan, Jenny, Izzy, Lynda, Gill, Rob, Chris, Jenna and John

First thing first – it’s great to be back on the road again, it has to be said.

Picking up where we left off - Mughals, we were supposed to visit Mughals way back in March remember, so it was nice to finally walk through the door and take a seat. Mughals, although not overly famous, does have a pretty good reputation, and is somewhere that has always looked appealing when driving past.

However, the décor is now looking a little tired, and could do with a spruce up, but it was clean enough and the full to bursting sweet counter did a roaring trade all night. The restaurant is pretty small and I would say our table of 13 took up approximately half the covers. The sweet counter must have taken up a large proportion of the floor space with a small open kitchen to the rear corner.

I not sure Mughals is that used to having large parties, and I think they were a little taken aback with a party of 10 adults and 3 babies turning up – although we didn’t book, we called the day before to say a large party was on it’s way.

Only one chef meant rather lengthy waits for food, but popadoms, with associated limited pickle tray, were brought straight to the table, and the BYO policy meant that boredom didn’t take hold. Another strange thing to be told by the waiter was that the onion bhaji was off? Plenty of onions but no bhaji mix apparently??? Quite odd to say the least and I had to settle on mushroom bhaji instead. They were OK but nothing special, and it has to be assumed that the starters were pre made and simply heated/microwaved to order. Another starter mix up was a meat samosa being served to a vegetarian!! Oopppsss!!!

So, not a great start. The mains, for me at least, were another story. My Chicken Tikka Kahari was great – perhaps a little salty – but really rich and tasty, and the chicken had crispy bits on the outside suggesting it’d come straight from the tandor. It was served in a sizzling hot balti dish and was the kind of curry I could eat all day long. Perhaps the salt content took its toll, however, and I spent the entire night gagging with thirst and unable to sleep!! The wine and Stella Artois probably didn’t help there though. I paired my curry with a garlic nann and was pretty standard.

Following the meal, although by this time pretty full, sweets could not be resisted and a selection was picked and sampled. Phew, sugar over load!! Although I’ve had Indian sweets before, I am still always taken by surprise by the sweetness. Pick of the bunch for me was a condensed milky one with walnuts in. All the sweets were nice and fresh and seem to have a fast turn over.

I think with the babies in tow, it was a demanding night for the staff and I was happy with the service all in all and the experience in general. They were happy to package orders up, squeezed in a quick korma for Lilly and Dan because they were hungry, didn’t seem to worry about the mess my beautiful little daughter Izzy was making, etc.

I think I would return for the Chicken Tikka Kahari and sweets alone.

Akbar's 29/01/2010

Attendees: Gill, Rob, Tony, Pauline, Lynda and John

So is Akbar’s still the best? Perhaps – on some levels at least.

The food is excellent it has to be said. My kebab starter and balti type curry were very nice – up to the usual top class standard you might say. The staff were also very good too – friendly, attentive and certainly hard working. We all know about the quality of Akbar’s so I won’t repeat myself here.

The problem was the restaurants business – it was a Friday night and it was absolutely heaving. In all fairness we were seated more or less on time, in accordance with our booking, and the service was fast and efficient, so top marks there.

The noise, however, was unbelievable, and we struggled to chat comfortably. It is quite tiresome shouting and straining to hear. Also, throughout our meal, we had a mass of waiting (queuing?) people slowly creeping towards us, as they were forced to spread from the bar area, so more, and more, people could pile into the restaurant. By the time we finished our meal there were groups of people standing at the side of our table with the kink of glaring faces saying “eat faster, eat faster.....” Not the most relaxing experience.

So there you go – It might be a Friday night thing?? But it was just too much for me, and I wouldn’t necessarily want to visit Akbar’s at that time of day and week again. Early, or very late, on a Monday might be the only option? It goes to show that Akbar’s are clearly doing something right though, and its popularity is second to none. Just too unpleasantly busy for me I’m afraid

John

Zouk 25/07/2009

Attendees: Sam, Martin, Gill, Rob, Claire, Fran, Lynda, John

Very good I'd say – another contender for ‘best so far’???
A surprisingly large restaurant actually. I have driven past it on many occasions and thought it was tiny.


On arrival the front section of the restaurant was pretty busy (even at 21:00 – and we were asked to wait, and get a drink whilst we waited for our table to be prepared – quite surprising considering I used their new fangled on line booking service – actually, nobody seem to know ho we were or that we’d booked? Oh well.


We were initially all crammed on to a too smaller table, but were eventually allowed to spread out once the adjacent table became available. Zouk was quite a warm restaurant, with the sun beating thro the large glass frontage, and the open flame grills and tandoor going full pelt in the corner.

One grumble at this point of the evening was that the waiter failed to ask the table if any drinks would be liked.

Poppadoms were quickly dispensed with and it was nice to have different, and very nice, pickles for a change.

For starters I had Gola Kebab (Sheekh with paneer). It was about the best kebab I’ve ever had. It was cooked almost right in front of us on an open flame grill. Lovely.


My main comprised the Zouk Karahi and I was quite pleased with it. I think Zouk specialise in the Grill and Tandoor and the actual curry options were a little limited compared to other curry houses we’ve visited. Basically there was either Karahi or Handi – with choices of meat/veg/fish.

General ambiance was good the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable.


Would defo go again and it will always be high on my list of places to visit – and this is high praise again for a curry house adjacent to the mighty Akbars. I will go for a char grilled fish option next I think, and exploit the excellent open flames.

John

Saffron Desi 29/05/2009

So Saffron Desi has been and gone, and I have to be honest, and say, that I was a little indifferent to it.

Yes yes yes it ticked all the boxes for it to be an uber cool and trendy modern Bradford curry restaurant. It had the grand entrance, big glass windows, stainless steel, wood, tiled floor, etc, but it just didn’t seem to have the character of other places we have visited. It was curry restaurant by numbers.

The food was very nice, and was exactly the same as our local Saffron in Guiseley or Rohan in Ilkley, to the point where I tended to think there may be some association??? No mention on the web sites though??
Following poppadoms and pickles, a number of the group shared the mixed grill, which was very tasty, and large – a little too large - and included fish – a nice addition – but was difficult to enthuse about simply because it seemed so familiar.


For my main I picked the ‘chef’s special’ Saffron Delight – which was delightful in name only. It was a kind of rich, creamy, smingy sauce with chicken, and had cashew nuts and fried onions sprinkled on top. I think this was an award winning dish, and had earned its own special highlighted box on the menu!!! Not for me – very disappointed. That is not to say all the mains were poor though. The Achari lamb was really good – with a large bit of lamb on the bone in an excellent sauce.


To conclude - nice enough but there was nothing to make me want to go back – especially with Akbars just down the road, and Saffron in Guiseley just down the road from my home.

John