Lal Haweli

As far as I am concerned Lal Haweli is pretty damned good. Tasty, filling curry delivered reasonably quickly and in a restaurant that has plenty of space to sit and has good views of all the drunk students on curry mile. If that’s what you consider a good view.
I went hear recently and had a cicken bhuna curry, which was spicy and tasty. The rice was good and two portions was easily enough for the three of us eating. The peshwari naan was my favourite. Ridiculously sweet but soft too — exactly the way peshwari naans should be in my book.
The service was friendly and I would have to say one of the only real downsides was that unlike the curry house next door, it doesn’t have a fish tank in the floor.

Lal Haweli should probably win an award for the most down-​the-​line, middle-​of-​the-​road curry house in the curry mile. It’s not the worst, in fact it’s a long way from the worst, but neither does it push itself to outperform its rivals, instead holding up a perfunctory establishment as evidence of its deeds.
The service is alright, the food is alright, the prices are alright. I can’t help but think it’s not really a proper restaurant but was set up as a baseline to judge all other curry house on. It’s like someone set the standards with a metaphysical spirit level.

No bones about it curry house. You walk in; they’ve got new shiny floors and special furniture. You order, you wait (sometimes you wait even longer) the food arrives. You pay the bill (£10-£15), you leave. Lal Haweli does some nice Nepalese and Himalayan variations on your average curry if you’re feeling more glamorous, the food served up is of a good standard but I’ve had occasional niggles (nothing major). As sister to al nawaz, lal haweli fights hard not to fall into the average to poor category. By no means the best but neither is it the worst.

Lal Haweli certainly doesn’t offer the best Indian food on Rusholme’s Curry Mile, but it’s almost certainly the cheapest. You can take along your own booze (no corkage!) to enjoy with a tasty eat-​in curry at takeout prices. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the place to take a first date. But it’s perfect if you’re broke and still want to go out for a nice meal with your friends!
Lal Haweli is a pretty big place and I’ve always got a table straight away, so there’s probably no need for you to book ahead. All the staff are really lovely too even if you don’t go very often, they seem to remember you!

I’m genuinely confused as to whether I should be reviewing this place or not. I heard via the Facebook Grapevine that this Curry Mile restaurant, beloved of many, appeared on one of those dreaded Grimebusters/​Food Inspectors/Don’t Watch While You’re Eating/You’ll Never Set Foot in a Restaurant Again type programmes. Say it ain’t so, because Lal Haweli is one of my favourite Rusholme memories from my student years.
It’s one of the biggest and brightest on Manchester’s stretch of Indian eateries, and this might have something to do with its large and varied clientele. Although equally this could put some people off, because let’s face it, it looks like something you’d find in Blackpool. To be fair though (and this is taking a benefit-​of-​the-​doubt attitude towards the rumour), once you’re inside you’ll find that comforting archaic décor many of the Curry Mile restaurants have and some truly excellent food — great portions, authentic cooking, inspiring combinations and naan breads the size of a small child.
The name comes from Haweli, which roughly translates as a lavish summer house in a palace complex for a member of royalty. It was an area where expert chefs would create huge varieties of traditional Indian dishes… and riding off this, Lal Haweli has some great little fusion options. The starters are pretty lovely with gargantuan bhajis and juicy samosas packed with veg. I always say you could make a meal out of the starters alone. The chutneys and relishes that came with the vast amount of complementary poppadoms were delicious, and a personal favourite of mine is the fact that they leave them on the table so you can use them with your mains.
I’m a prawn or vegetable rogan josh girl myself (not a creamy curry person, nor a blow-​your-​head-​off-​impress-​your-​mates type) and I found this to be exemplary, as well as other things I’ve tried including bjunas and dhansaks. Rices are big enough to share between two or three which saves plenty of dough. With group and student discounts, live entertainment and function rooms available as well as a bring your own booze policy, say it ain’t so. I’ve Googled the hell out of the internet to try and find out if Lal Haweli was victim to the health inspector and I can’t find anything, so if you do and it’s in the clear, let me know and I’ll hotfoot it straight back for some ruby murray.

One of many Indian restaurants around here, but definitely one of the good uns. Although your surroundings whilst you eat will be basic and dated, the food is worth forgiving Lau Haweli’s interior.
Everyone I know who has eaten here has loved their curries and last time I went their Aloo Saag was incredible. Their meat tastes really good and fresh; everything is really outstanding.
The prices are fine; around a tenner. The service is as good as it can be in a really popular place like this one; you can tell their are a lot of return customers who know just how they like it so you aren’t rushed out of your table too quickly or anything. The atmosphere is friendly, with music playing making an enjoyable night here.

Why do people complain about the restaurant because I’ve been there so many times that I’ve lost count. I went there last night & service was brilliant & the food excellent. what more can you ask for, i loved it their & so did my family & friends. its very modernised from inside & good atmosphere, i give (¹⁰⁄₁₀). some restaurants its not comfortable for elderly people, but i took my gran-​ma & i never saw her this happy in a restaurant because she was comfortable & what she asked for that’s what the waters gave & believe me she can be a handful at times but they were so polite for starters we had chicken tikka with chutneys the chicken tikkas were just perfect, nice, tender. then we had biryani which was nice for me, but for my gran-​ma it was bit too spicy, she told the waiter to bring her another, so he did he was so helpful, because we forgot to tell him that one the biryani’s should be bit light on the
my amaze he didn’t mind to bring her another biryani. dessert we had rasmalai it nice after the biryani, nice & refreshing. most important thing is the price isn’t too high, so you can come in with your
advise is next time you visit wilmslow road go to LAL HAWELI

Can’t believe the other reviews on here — this place is ace — by far the best on the curry mile. It is a no frills curry house, let’s make no bones about it, but the food and the service have always been great and I’ve been going at least once a month (sometimes once a week) for the past three years. They’ve just had a bit of a refurb, I say ‘a bit’ because it still doesn’t look great but it seems that someone has taken the decision that the run down 70s/​80s had to go. So they now have some shiny floor tiles and new seating and lighting. the toilets are still bad though. It’s trying to go the way of the new breed of curry houses when really there is no need, we loved it anyway. I was last there at the weekend and it was rammed. Service can be slow and chaotic when they are so busy but what more do you expect. We paid £12 a head — at that price who can complain? I took my parents here once. They live in the south east and had heard about the curry mile. They were amazed at the food and they are a tough audience!

I had a meal last night at this restaurant for the first time, and I was very disappointed. The food was poor and the service was worse. The starter I had (onion bhargi) was a very meagre portion, and was overcooked to the point of being burnt. The main course (lamb rogan josh) was adequate, but the dessert (Stawberry Eton Mess Cheesecake) was the biggest disappointment. It took them 45 minutes to eventually serve a party of seven (two had their desert after 20 minutes, and the rest of us had another 25 minute wait until ours was served!) we had to badger various members of staff until finally getting served, and when it came, mine was frozen solid — obviously it had just been taken out of the freezer!!! I and my colleagues were totally dissatisfied with the experience and will definitely not be repeating it!

As the sister restaurant of Al Nawaz, we were sent here once when Al Nawaz was being refurbished. The meal was not up to the standard of other restaurants but was still very, very edible and the waiters were alright; a bit standoffish and lazy but they did what they needed to do with no faffing around or frills.
The food was okay and tasted suitably spicy, but it is by no means the best Indian restaurant in Manchester. It is, however, reasonably priced; this restaurant unsurprisingly employs the same marketing tactic as Al Nawaz by offering you discounts until you come in and eat. This, coupled with student discount, is not a bad way to spend the evening.

very popular resturant. Have live music playing once a week which can give you a headache as you might be sitting next to speakers. Waiters are bit not with it. food is ok but nothing special. Alcohol is served.