Lahore Karahi

Cheetham Hill Rd.

Pictured dishes: small seekh on naan £2.50, Fish Masala £4.50 and Chicken Shawarma £3.70

May 2010 - we go here regularly, it's good - seekhs particularly so. Chicken Shawarma isn't always available so we gave it a go too - a little blander than some but still decent.

23/02/10 Revisit just to check, chicken, seekh, lamb all excellent, bread excpetional.

This is last of the Cheetham Hill bunch – and definitely not least.  Yes it does curries too (not rice & 3 style) but this place is much more in the standard Pakistani style kebab house than any of the others round here.  It’s clean and bright, there were a variety of kebab skewers marinading away under the clear glass front – along side the usual starter favourites and cold containers of various curries ready for reheating. So far so familiar. We ordered seekh and lamb kebabs – and were asked to take a seat in the usual fashion.  The guy behind the counter was very accommodating – serving separate sauces with the lamb kebab and even asking for a preference as to how it should be cooked – ‘well done or juicy’ which is a welcome first.  The meat for both kebabs was excellent, and the naan was some of the best I’ve ever had in a Pakistani place – fresh form the tandoor, crisp on the back, soft inside and a great flavour. The salad and sauces were fine too – a nice sweetness was present in the chilli sauce and the salad was varied and fresh. Interestingly the menu also offers middle eastern cuisine – and it was noticeable that the kebabs were sprinkled with a dry spice mix and lemon juice, in the Middle Eastern style. The seekh mixture and the lamb marinade were both very nice, with no hint of the dreaded 'bright red salt' about either of them.  There was a spicy warmth indicating the use of garam masala or similar spices either present at the start or added from the mystery shaker just before serving.  This is as a good a kebab as I’ve had lately – and £2.50 for a double seekh was excellent value. £4.50 for the lamb was possibly touch over the top when compared with £3.30 in Rusholme, but it was also very good. This is a really good venue for kebabs – there’s possibly nowhere better on this side of town.
Scores out of 10
Meat 9.0
Bread 9.5
Salad/Sauces 9.0
Service/Setting 8.5
Average 9.0

Chappati Corner

Cheetham Hill Rd
Chappati Corner is another Cheetham Hill  curry Café. The place is exactly what you want: low key but pretty efficient, jugs of water on the tables, limited daily changing menu etc.  The staff were polite and helpful if not chatty – again, perfect.  Our one problem is that we were on a kebab trip and this is really a Curry Café – the more kebab orientated places were not open.  We will return for curries – which looked good but can not really comment just yet, other than they’re pretty pricey – rice and 3 £5.80.

Kebabs
As is often the case in curry cafes there was a very limited range – just seekhs and chicken.  The chicken was well marinaded and the bread was good.  The salad was pretty bland and pointless and the sauces similar, although they were served separately so as not to soak the kebab. The meat samosas were nice too. They were decent if not amazing kebabs – however the point of this place is the curry.

…Minor issue: One kebab had two hairs in it and one of the chunks of chicken wasn’t cooked in the middle.  There’s no reason to suspect that it happens often – just a side note.

Scores out of 10
Meat 8.5
Bread 7.5
Salad/Sauces 6.0
Service/Setting 7.5
Average 7.4

Curry
As stated this place has all the right vibes however I left slightly dissatisfied, which was basically due to the price. It's interesting how expectations change when handing over more cash than you want to. Lamb on the bone, chicken masalla and daal were all pretty good if not exceptional. The lamb had too many chilli flakes and was a wee bit too hot for a 'standard' dish.  The other two dishes were a little bland but fine - again if paying very little you're happy to receive anything tasty and hot. That's the brilliance of curry cafes and where Chapatti Corner falls down.  A meal for 2 with bread, some pakora/samosa and one can of pop was £18. There was nothing wrong with the food here - slightly non-descript (hence the lack of detailed description!) however that's often the case - but you don't mind when it's around £5, it is a great alternative to £3.95 panini or whatever. Top Quality is very near Chappati Corner and costs £5 for Rice & 3. In all honestly I don't see any reason to pay more to come here.

Key Ingredients 16 (out of 20)
Other Food 8.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 7.5 (out of 10)
Value for Money 2.0 (out of 5)
Range 3.5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 7.4 (out of 10)

Top Quality

Derby Road, off Cheetham Hill Road

14 & 18/06/10
....We go pretty regularly - it's good! - though Fridays have to be the standout day - for 2 reasons.
1. There's no rice, but the Chicken Biryiani is excellent.
2. The Friday guy only charges £4.50 for biryani + 3 curries, where as the normal guy charges £5 for plain old rice & 3. A better thing for less money - ??? We just won't question it. 

09/03/10
Great food today - (pictured) chicken on the bone with green peppers, urid daal and lamb. £5.

02/03/10
During the few months since our first visit we’ve been back half a dozen times or so. The standard of food has remained high – some days better than others but never bad and always worth the trip. The pricing has wavered between £4.50 and £5 for ‘Rice & 3’ and we’ve had different reasons as to why this from different members of staff – it's a bit frustrating but that’s the nature of it in curry cafes. The other slight issue is that the 'lamb' has become rather beefy in flavour and texture - if we didn't know better.... Anyway, we still recommend this place very highly. £2 for 2 seekh kebabs, chapatti, salad and sauces seems a bit of a bargain.

Dec '09
About as inauspicious a place as you could imagine and with one of those names that makes you assume the opposite Top Quality is not the most alluring of propositions. But, as we know, a shiny front and high street location doesn't guarantee good food either.  Top Quality has been open about 10 years and is at the really paired down, no frills end of the Curry Café market and we loved it.  The food was excellent and well priced – chicken, lamb, Kabbli channa and rice for £4.50 – chapatti an extra 40p.  All three dishes were superb and distinct, the lamb and chicken were excellently cooked and tender – the chickpeas were fresh, not tinned.  One minor negative was the lack of coriander, chillies etc to add – however they weren’t really necessary as the food was so flavoursome - and rather spicy, possibly the hottest around, but not uncomfortably.  The range was small but well judged, 6 curries, rice, chicken tikka, seekh kebabs and samosas – that was about it. Just what you want.  The curries are made fresh and change daily and when they are gone the place closes. So a great venue, although quiet – but no complaints at all, one of the best.  A quick pint down the Derby Brewery Arms afterward rounded off an excellent hour or so. Top Quality is a bit out of the way but well worth the trip.
...Quick note - future trips have been really good, one inparticular in which an excellent chicken biryani was served as the rice contingent of the meal, at no extra cost. Best £4.50 spent in England that day.

Key Ingredients 18 (out of 20)
Other Food 8.5 (out of 10)
Service Setting 8.5 (out of 10)
Value for Money 4.5 (out of 5)
Range 3.5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 8.6 (out of 10)