Rajdoot Restaurant

I have heard great things, but it looks like they had a fire and aren’t currently open. I hope to try them out when I am back in town, assuming they are open, as they got great reviews from friends.

I’ve been here 3 times and everytime I’m really disappointed. I keep going back because I really want to like it! It’s like the Indian version of El Rincon… an old school institution that hasn’t changed in years. It’s this which disappoints me most. Usually places like this pride themselves on their service but I’ve been badly treated here everytime. In fact it’s the ONLY place I’ve written a complaint to… I’m far too English to normally complain and in general I’m very easy going.
The food last time I went came out out of synch with my partners… which meant one was finished before the others food came! When it did arrive it was burnt!
In a city where we are now spoilt with great curry house in and out of the city centre, this place has to really up its game. I know others who’ve had similar probs.
Oh and I didn’t get a reply to my complaint!

Not been here for a good three years or so. I’m not sure if it’s changed hands since then as it really didn’t deliver this time. Let me explain why…
To start with, we had to wait quite a long time in the bar area before being acknowledged. When finally we were greeted, we were then informed that we couldn’t be seated, but must take a seat in the ‘waiting area’. Oddly, the restaurant wasn’t even busy, so it’s not as if we were waiting for a table to become free!
Next, was an even longer wait before being given menus (very limited range of curries on offer by the way) and our drinks order being taken. This all just seemed to be too much process driven for a social affair! I should also add here that, whilst the restaurant has nice décor and comfortable ambience, the owners really need to do something about the roof in the dining area — a brief glance upwards from our table revealed a scruffy blue wooden slated ceiling with gaps showing the inner plumbing and wiring etc!
Fast forward onto finally being seated and the experience just got worse. I don’t mean to be a fussy git, but our poppadoms were already sat there waiting. Now, I don’t know about you, but for me, part of the dining experience (wherever you are), is actually being served at the table.
Speaking of the poppadoms, these were really bad. On par with having a large Pringle crisp to be honest. Worse than that though, the chutney selection was poor — just three sauces and all of them were pretty insipid in terms of taste.
Unfortuantely, this was the mark for the rest of our meal. Both curry dishes were swimming in oil, lacked a depth of flavour and were also of a small portion. The meat (we both had chicken) had a texture of mashed potato. The naan bread was also poor — it was almost like undercooked batter that you find on deep fried fish. In essence, the best part of the meal was the rice… not hard to get wrong really!
As for the service, nobody appeared to be interested in checking whether we required more drinks throughout the meal. Equally, the token ‘is everything OK?’ never happened.
I’m sorry if this is sounding very negative, but the place just didn’t hit the mark. I think in future, we will stay true to our habits and continue with East Z East and Akbars — both excellent for a five star curry. But like I said at the beginning of this review, when I went three years ago I don’t recall it being bad at all.

Need/​want a quality Indian restaurant, look no further. Situated centrally off Albert Square, descend the stairs into a place of attentive service, Raj ambience, leather seats, quality food and unhurried luxury.
The meal was ordered (to a delightful long-​haired girl in Indian dress) in the welcoming and comfortable entrance area, on being tucked in at my table I immediately tucked into the awaiting poppadum with dips. Beer is Cobra, wine list available. Starter was an excellent ‘green’ chilli chicken followed by a lamb chilli Bhuna main of tasty spicy-​ness. Not cheap, and 10% service charge added, but on this occasion it was well worth it. A place to impress a friend or spoil yourself in, well worth a visit.

I discovered Rajdoot about 6 months ago, its on my doorstep before this I always went to Zouk, Akbars or East Z East for Indian food, Zouk been my favourite of the 3.
Rajdoot is a relaxing dining experience, the vibe is chilled and the background music fantastic. There are beautiful Indian carvings on the wall and you start dinner by sitting in the bar area where cold pint of Cobra is always welcome. Staff are always friendly, I’ve been back 5 times in the last 6 months. I used to walk past but because you can’t see inside and the signs from Egon Ronay are a few years old I was intrigued but didn’t go in, as Zouk had just opened and I loved it there (still do but not on a busy night).
The food at Rajdoot is very tasty, paneer tikka is fresh off the tandoor, Dal Makhani my favourite. Garlic Naan and rice are outstanding.
As much as I like the noisy newer Bollywood type Indian restaurants like the 3 I named above, I leave these places and don’t feel too relaxed, too noisy, too many plasma screens everything rushed. Rajdoot is like stepping back in time in a good way, not to some shabby dump in 1985, more of a classic, timeless place that transcends fashion. It reminds me of a posh hotel restaurant in Mumbai. When I leave Rajdoot me and my guests feel like we had a lovely experience, and they 6 other people I have introduced to Rajdoot love it and have been back independently. Its like walking onto a calm oasis, you leave feeling really relaxed.
Low points for me are that I have to ask for extra spicy as the food is not hot enough for me, the naans could be a bit bigger, but these are minor gripes. Their lunch at less than £10 is a good deal too. You can have a couple of pints, a starter and a main and desert for around £55 for 2 people here which I think is really reasonable.
Anyone interested in the music, most of it comes from Sona Rupa in Leicester the album Destiny by Rakesh Chaurasia is a beautiful album I bought after hearing it here.
Rusholme for me is finished — bland Bangladeshi food in restaurants desperate for a refurb, Zouk and Akbars have raised the game in Manchester centre and they are certainly fun to go to and the food at Zouk is good, but very noisy and not always conducive to a relaxing dinner with friends. Rajdoot is like a timeless experience that I urge you to try at least once, I wouldn’t have wasted 45 minutes writing this if I wasn’t sure that your experience will be a wholesome one. Manchester is crammed full of mediocre chains its totally refreshing to find somewhere that sticks to what it knows and does it well. Finally whenever I go in there are always regulars there — its a bit like a hidden secret. TRY IT :)

This place has been here for ages, I tried it last night having spent the last 18 months seduced by Zouk. I really regret not coming here sooner. The ambiance is really peaceful, it reminds me of a posh colonial restaurant you’d find in a Bombay hotel. It makes a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Zouk or Akbars, the menu here is not really new but the service and food was excellent, they sit you in the bar first then to your table, pints of Draught Cobra were £3.40. Excellent starter of Paneer tikka at £4.50. Dal Makhani and garlic nan were really tasty finished off with an indian tea. This is a nice place for dinner on a Saturday night, it feels like an occasion, there are beautiful carvings and Indian paintings on the wall, it’s clean and really chilled. The music was amazing, I found out it was a CD by Rakesh Chaurasia called ‘Destiny’. I wanted to stay longer here that’s a good sign. It’s a bit pricier than an out of town curry place but I’m happy to pay more as the vibe contributed hugely to my relaxing evening.
On Trip Advisor this place gets a hard time, I found the portion sizes to be fine, and I’m definitely going back, it’s old school posh Indian, if you accept this I think you’d have a great evening. I bothered to write this review because I did. I really like Zouk, East z East and Akbars but whenever I go there I don’t always have the most relaxing of evenings due to the hussle and bussle, sometimes it’s nice to have a change. Good company too with an old mate who also really enjoyed food and vibe. Try it.

Thinking about this restaurant is making my mouth water. Radjoot is a reliable Indian with a great menu. It isn’t a very long menu and the dishes are pretty standard but what is on the menu is given attention to detail.
The waiter was very quick to take our order and were consistently helpful throughout the meal, checking in on us. The food came on heated candle trays and although the portions weren’t huge, the extras of poppadoms and the sides were enough. I tried the house speciality, Makhan Chicken (‘Tikka culled from chicken supreme simmered with butter, yoghurt, onion and pureed tomatoes, flavoured with cinnamon, cloves and a touch of fresh cream’) which I heartily recommend.
Not sure about the dark blue/​red décor but it doesn’t really affect me when I pop in here for lunch from Albert Square.

It’s all class. The usuals are all covered: helpful waiters, great food (and plenty of it), generous drinks. The small things are even nicer — candles that keep your dishes warm; that little kick in the milder dishes; a lounge area to relax before your table is ready.
For what it’s worth, the Chicken Tikka starters dish was tender and tasty (don’t forget to squeeze the lemon over the chicken), and the Lamb Jalfrazi was delicious — to the point where my stomach’s being forced to expand to accommodate it all.