Best curry house in Sheffield?

[craigpugh 10]

Another vote for Mangla for me, I think the food is great.

[Tansley1991 10]

We always order from Taj in S6. Best indian takeaway I've ever had. Always spot on, never had a bad meal.

[vauxhallshef 10]

Bump

[DerbyTup 10]

Haven't been to Mangla in years.  It used to be a favourite of my Indian/Pakistani clients years ago when I used to do a lot of business entertaining.  The last time I went was probably about 5 years ago now.  We went with friends.  The place, as you'll know, is fairly basic.  The area is very dodgy.  But the food was enjoyable at the time.  It is a lot closer to traditional Indian/Pakistani food than the majority of Bangladeshi type places elsewhere.

 

Having said that, some of the Bangladeshi type places are good.  I'd also give a thumbs up to Rajput at Crookes, which I thought was very "middle of the road" i.e. nothing amazing but providing a good standard of food that will please most people.  The Mohul at Totley is of Bangladeshi origin and consistently serves up good food.  

 

I knew Aagrah from West Yorkshire and was pleased when they eventually opened in Sheffield. But it's fallen off our radar in recent years because we've had so many poor experiences there over the last few visits that we've just stopped going.  It's not so much about the food, some of which was really good, but it's the noisy atmosphere of the place, the surly service from the waiters and the fact that they don't respect bookings.  I think last time we booked a table for 4 at 9pm on a saturday night.  We waited till about 10.15 to be seated, because they'd just taken walk-ins off the street and not saved us a table.  That was the final straw.

 

Akbar's is a personal favourite.  We're not so keen on the one at West One though - we tend to go down to Meadow Bank Road Akbar's (between Meadowhall and Rotherham).  I think this place splits opinion because the food is a bit more sharply spiced than the blander stuff offered in most places.  We like that.  We also really like the tandoori starter dishes, such as masala fish, fish pakora, lamb chops.   A few more Indian places have started to offer fish now, but nowhere does it anywhere near as good as Akbar's in our experience.  Order fish masala or pakora there and you get fresh spicy fish in crispy batter.  Not some soggy, sloppy effort with a bit of spice powder sprinkled on it.  And we like the curries too.  Again, they tend to be more highly spiced and drier than in most places.  Oh yes, and the naan bread, made fresh there and then on the premises, and served piping hot, hanging from a spike like a huge ship's sail.  Nowhere else in this city does Indian/Pakistani food like this.  We can argue about "which is best?"  but this is "different" and that's indisputable.  Whether you like that difference is another matter?

[PeteM01 10]

Neither are really 'curry houses' but I believe that the best South Asian food in Sheffield can be found at the Front Room in Hillsborough (North India/Pakistan) and Maveli (South India). I travel to India and Nepal 3 or 4 times a year and have not eaten anything better than the food in either of these places.

[Itismemichael 0]

Just been to Sheffield balti king they are offering up to 50% off on meals. Me and my family really enjoyed our meals.  Service was amazing the staff were very friendly and helpful. And just to make things better they were serving alcohol.  You can't beat alcohol and a good curry.  Really pleased.  Highly recommend .

[Brooker11 10]

They obviously didn't see the hygiene rating before they went.

 

Well done with the shameless self publicising though.

[Brooker11 10]

13 hours ago, DerbyTup said:

Haven't been to Mangla in years.  It used to be a favourite of my Indian/Pakistani clients years ago when I used to do a lot of business entertaining.  The last time I went was probably about 5 years ago now.  We went with friends.  The place, as you'll know, is fairly basic.  The area is very dodgy.  But the food was enjoyable at the time.  It is a lot closer to traditional Indian/Pakistani food than the majority of Bangladeshi type places elsewhere.

 

Having said that, some of the Bangladeshi type places are good.  I'd also give a thumbs up to Rajput at Crookes, which I thought was very "middle of the road" i.e. nothing amazing but providing a good standard of food that will please most people.  The Mohul at Totley is of Bangladeshi origin and consistently serves up good food.  

 

I knew Aagrah from West Yorkshire and was pleased when they eventually opened in Sheffield. But it's fallen off our radar in recent years because we've had so many poor experiences there over the last few visits that we've just stopped going.  It's not so much about the food, some of which was really good, but it's the noisy atmosphere of the place, the surly service from the waiters and the fact that they don't respect bookings.  I think last time we booked a table for 4 at 9pm on a saturday night.  We waited till about 10.15 to be seated, because they'd just taken walk-ins off the street and not saved us a table.  That was the final straw.

 

Akbar's is a personal favourite.  We're not so keen on the one at West One though - we tend to go down to Meadow Bank Road Akbar's (between Meadowhall and Rotherham).  I think this place splits opinion because the food is a bit more sharply spiced than the blander stuff offered in most places.  We like that.  We also really like the tandoori starter dishes, such as masala fish, fish pakora, lamb chops.   A few more Indian places have started to offer fish now, but nowhere does it anywhere near as good as Akbar's in our experience.  Order fish masala or pakora there and you get fresh spicy fish in crispy batter.  Not some soggy, sloppy effort with a bit of spice powder sprinkled on it.  And we like the curries too.  Again, they tend to be more highly spiced and drier than in most places.  Oh yes, and the naan bread, made fresh there and then on the premises, and served piping hot, hanging from a spike like a huge ship's sail.  Nowhere else in this city does Indian/Pakistani food like this.  We can argue about "which is best?"  but this is "different" and that's indisputable.  Whether you like that difference is another matter?

Akbars is awful, average food and a terrible dining experience, grotty premises as well. I like my curries sharply spiced.

[Bash Street 10]

18 minutes ago, Brooker11 said:

They obviously didn't see the hygiene rating before they went.

 

Well done with the shameless self publicising though.

Hahahahahaha, you reckon that's what their up to?

[bungleboy69 98]

19 hours ago, Itismemichael said:

Just been to Sheffield balti king they are offering up to 50% off on meals. Me and my family really enjoyed our meals.  Service was amazing the staff were very friendly and helpful. And just to make things better they were serving alcohol.  You can't beat alcohol and a good curry.  Really pleased.  Highly recommend .

IMO, Balti King is one of the worst places to go for a curry in Sheffield. The food, the ambiance, the staff and the toilet facilities are just terrible. Only my opinion, I know some people who think it's great...

 

Looking forward to trying out Mowgli, Ecclesall Road on Monday. 

[Fudbeer 12]

On 19/04/2019 at 08:32, DerbyTup said:

Haven't been to Mangla in years.  It used to be a favourite of my Indian/Pakistani clients years ago when I used to do a lot of business entertaining.  The last time I went was probably about 5 years ago now.  We went with friends.  The place, as you'll know, is fairly basic.  The area is very dodgy.  But the food was enjoyable at the time.  It is a lot closer to traditional Indian/Pakistani food than the majority of Bangladeshi type places elsewhere.

 

Having said that, some of the Bangladeshi type places are good.  I'd also give a thumbs up to Rajput at Crookes, which I thought was very "middle of the road" i.e. nothing amazing but providing a good standard of food that will please most people.  The Mohul at Totley is of Bangladeshi origin and consistently serves up good food.  

 

I knew Aagrah from West Yorkshire and was pleased when they eventually opened in Sheffield. But it's fallen off our radar in recent years because we've had so many poor experiences there over the last few visits that we've just stopped going.  It's not so much about the food, some of which was really good, but it's the noisy atmosphere of the place, the surly service from the waiters and the fact that they don't respect bookings.  I think last time we booked a table for 4 at 9pm on a saturday night.  We waited till about 10.15 to be seated, because they'd just taken walk-ins off the street and not saved us a table.  That was the final straw.

 

Akbar's is a personal favourite.  We're not so keen on the one at West One though - we tend to go down to Meadow Bank Road Akbar's (between Meadowhall and Rotherham).  I think this place splits opinion because the food is a bit more sharply spiced than the blander stuff offered in most places.  We like that.  We also really like the tandoori starter dishes, such as masala fish, fish pakora, lamb chops.   A few more Indian places have started to offer fish now, but nowhere does it anywhere near as good as Akbar's in our experience.  Order fish masala or pakora there and you get fresh spicy fish in crispy batter.  Not some soggy, sloppy effort with a bit of spice powder sprinkled on it.  And we like the curries too.  Again, they tend to be more highly spiced and drier than in most places.  Oh yes, and the naan bread, made fresh there and then on the premises, and served piping hot, hanging from a spike like a huge ship's sail.  Nowhere else in this city does Indian/Pakistani food like this.  We can argue about "which is best?"  but this is "different" and that's indisputable.  Whether you like that difference is another matter?

Am also a big fan of Akbars.The food is just how I like it the place is spotlessly clean and the service is good.The one in West one is just as good as the Meadow Bank one imo.You can actually see into the Kitchen which I like and its spacious with a good atmosphere.Have been to some highly recommended Curry houses where the food is good but let down by small dining areas where you feel claustrophobic and can hear everyone else's conversation.To me its about the whole experience not just the food.

[DerbyTup 10]

On 19/04/2019 at 22:04, Brooker11 said:

Akbars is awful, average food and a terrible dining experience, grotty premises as well. I like my curries sharply spiced.

Have you ever been?  Seriously?  I wonder if you are getting confused with a copycat "Akbar's" that opened (and closed again pretty quickly) on West Street a few years ago.

 

I appreciate "individual taste" is well...a very individual thing.  However, I've taken large groups to various restaurants over the years.  We just about booked out all the tables at Akbar's in Manchester a couple of years ago when we had a conference there - and between Christmas and New Year we usually celebrate a family birthday at Akbar's Rotherham.  Without exception, everyone thought the food was really good and wants to go back again every time.  And that's quite a wide range of folks I'm talking about, from professional clients to Uncle Herbert and Aunty Gertie.  

 

I spend quite a bit of time in London and enjoy visiting some of the Indian places down there.  From the cheap eateries of Brick Lane to places like Zaika on Kensington High Street, or The Painted Heron in Chelsea.  It's an ever-changing scene down there with new places popping up all the time and the range of different places and different types of Indian food is amazing.  There are some of these that I'd put firmly ahead of Akbar's, quite a few actually.  But, down there you're paying £70 a head maybe, it's not a fair comparison.  Even comparing Akbar's with those establishments I'd still say it's very good and excellent value for money.  But...each to their own.  I'd love to know which places you prefer instead, in this area and what your range of reference points are?

Edited April 21, 2019 by DerbyTup