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Imli by Lal Qila (Manchester)

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Address: 310 Deansgate, City Centre

Phone number: 0161 839 6730

Rating: 2.5/5

Visited by the Curry Night on: Thursday 5th April 2018 ♦ Thursday 24th July 2014 ♦ Thursday 2nd September 2010 (3)

Website: None

General comments: Replacing Negrescu, a fairly short-lived Italian on Deansgate (which used to be the downbeat pub the Pig & Porcupine), Lal Qila matches its Rusholme venue with one in the centre of Manchester, forming part of what is becoming a mini curry quarter.  At some point in its existence, it changed from simply Lal Qila to being called Imli by Lal Qila (or perhaps 'twas ever thus).  It seems to have gone a bit downhill over the years, though.

"Good company as always, but I thought the curry at Lal Qila was mediocre at best [crikey - and at worst?].  My starter (chicken shashlik) was nice, especially compared to the chicken nuggets pakoras that others had ordered, but the ageing cucumber in the salad meant I only ate the bits that had seen heat. My main was chicken palak, but the spinach sauce was so dark it looked like it had been prepared some weeks ago and left to oxidise to the colour of something normally seen in a field of cows (I tried not to think of that as I ate, but couldn't really unthink it once I'd noticed the resemblance).  It tasted ok, but I had no desire to finish it.  The restaurant itself is quite tired, e.g. the weird bit of wall where the paper is missing for some reason.  One not to be repeated!  [Amusingly, it was CurryCaz who chose the restaurant (and also the pub), noting later that "the Ox was a better suggestion than Lal Qila"]"

"Most enjoyable part of the evening was the pre-drinks at the Ox, which included impressive jenga playing and an education in 'boomerang'. I would have to say that my food experience was a little disappointing. The dips with poppadoms lacked flavour, my king prawn puri wasn't bad, although probably too much puri for king prawn, and my lamp chop karahi was a bit bland and certainly lacking heat - a bit annoying given I had asked the waiter how hot 'hot' was and he told me I should have medium - I obviously looked like I couldn't handle the heat! An enjoyable evening as a more intimate curry night than normal, although I won't be rushing back to Lal Qila. [That seems to be the consensus.]"

"Upon arrival at the restaurant, I had high hopes given the attentive (if slightly over the top) nature of the waiter, who, for example, wished us a pleasant meal (although I don't know anyone who would want [or indeed wish] an unpleasant meal). There was a reasonable choice of drinks, although that didn't stop most of our group ordering Kingfisher (with myself being an exception, ordering Becks) - I guess you can't blame the restaurant for our love of the status quo [not sure you were pushing the boat out with Becks]. The drinks came, we ordered food (after perusing some amusing menu descriptions), and spaceman started sharing tales of his university days which were...enlightening to say the least [note to self: know when to shut up].

Then the food arrived and it all went downhill. A starter of chicken pakora, with the usual 4-day old salad garnish, looked and tasted more like chicken nuggets in a McDonalds Happy Meal - safe to say, I was not so happy. But in classic British style, I moaned to our group yet smiled politely to the waiter when he collected the plates. For the main course, I took a risk with the chicken laveeza (a chicken and minced lamb curry - an odd (to me) yet intriguing combination of meats). An improvement on the starter albeit a little oily, it was pleasant enough - a good level of spice and moderate flavour, although a slightly bizarre texture with the mince. Is it bad that the part I enjoyed the most was the garlic and coriander naan?! An experience, but a curry I probably won't be sampling again, although that's probably due to my own preferences rather than the dish itself.  Overall, I'd say 5/10 - it would have been a 4/10 given the starter, but the hilarity of spaceman's oversharing [and not a mixed starter this time] is worth at least an extra mark [ha, thanks.  Spacenan did realise on the Friday with some mild regret that he was a little too ... honest... at the dinner table! to which the response was: "Well, what happens at Curry Night stays at Curry Night..until the next social anyway..."]

"I started the evening confused as I thought Imli was a different place to Lal Qila, but it turns out it isn't!  They need to make their mind up about what it's called.  [Yes, the rotters.]  Starter (Chicken Puri) was interesting, although a little sweet for my taste. The main (Mixed Grill) was exceptionally big, and I'm disappointed to admit I didn't finish it. What I did eat was very nicely prepared and I'd order it again (I just wouldn't order poppadoms and a starter beforehand).  Service was neither good nor bad, but a little slow.  Enjoyable evening!"