The Original Third Eye

After my first try — a takeaway — I can say that I’m not massively impressed. I ordered from the ‘house specials’ list as I usually find that’s a good place to start.
The service when I ordered: great, asked to take a seat, offered a drink. Completely happy here.
The food: popadoms were a bit different — and nice. The naan seemed a bit ‘re-​heated’. The curry was ok, not really special at all and the sauce seemed rather bland.
Would I go back: probably not for a takeaway. I might give the restaurant a go sometime to see if that’s a different experience.
Overall, great service but food average in my opinion.

I got very excited by the fact that I finally found a Nepalese restaurant in Manchester and hence made my friend drive down to Didsbury with me. I was extremely excited till I saw the menu and realized that there were absolutely no authentic Nepalese dishes in the menu (I am not surprised because most Indian restaurants tend to disappoint in UK).
I never understand the need to anglosize a dish in UK, because when I make authentic Indian food at home everyone says its much better or different from what they have tasted in restaurants here!
My verdict:
Good
Generous Portions
The kulfi (dessert) is near about authentic
Great Chicken Tandoori
Doesn’t pinch your pocket
Bad
Not any authentic Nepalese dish specially thukpa and momo (do try if you find it anywhere and let me know)
The curries were disappointing

This is definitely one of my favourite places to go for a curry in Manchester, so much nicer than any of the food you would find in rusholme in my opinion. The style is nepalese so you will find some different dishes on the menu compared to the standard curry house selling kormas to vindaloos. All the food appears to be cooked fairly freshly, with peppers found within the sauces still having crunch to them, and onions still looking fresh.
I fully recommend the Lamb Karahi dish, and the Muttar Paneer is an awesome vegetarian dish, oh and the poppadoms are fantastic with spices cooked through them with lovely dips to go with them.
Beer prices are reasonable, although higher in cost than a pub, but thats usually to be expected in restaurants.
All in all i fully recommend trying out the third eye, and you can always go out in didsbury for a few drinks afterwards.

A recent discovery for me is this beautiful Indian restaurant, which I rank up there with the best in Manchester, situated in the heart of Didsbury Village. Curries are without doubt my favourite food, so I’ve had a good few and since working for Unilocal I have set myself the task of really locating the finest curry houses in Manchester. The Original Third Eye fully deserves to enter in at the top, alongside my other favourites, Punjab in Rusholme, Moon in Withington, and The Original Lal Qila on Deansgate. See my list for the run down.
The name Original Third Eye comes from one of the finest restaurants in Kathmandu, though it is also a reference to the concept of the all Seeing Eye, a central emblem of Buddhist thought that is depicted on many temples and shrines throughout Nepal. The restaurant itself is large, and spacious, with authentic decoration and a smart, but still nicely informal, table arrangement.
The food is literally unbelievable. Needless to say they sell all the usual traditional curry dishes, including an extensive fish list, but the main specialties are something new and unusual, a curry with a little something extra, taking it to that next level of joy and producing happiness and glee in their very consumption. The kidney kebab starter for example, combines classic kebab spices with beautiful marinated lamb kidney. Also beautiful is the Third Eye Tangri, which mixes chicken with minced lamb and nuts, a surprising and beautiful combination. In terms of mains, go directly to either the seafood menu or the Third Eye Specials section, on which everything is gorgeous. The piece de resistance, is the Murghi Masala, a whole chicken marinated in wonderful spices. This dish is so precisely crafted, that you in fact need to give 24 hours notice, and at least two people need to share it. I think that epitomizes this restaurant’s absolute class. So I end on that note.

It’s very easy to walk straight past Original Third Eye without noticing it, its simple signage completely dominated by the garish blue livery of the O’Neills pub next door.
Inside, it’s quite a compact restaurant with several tables packed into a small area — as such I wouldn’t recommend it for big parties (try the Sangam 2 down the road) but for groups of four or less, it’s a nice place for a quiet meal.
When my girlfriend and I visited, we had the standard poppadoms and dips followed by chicken tikka for starter, then followed by a rogan josh for me and a zhalfrezi for her. The food was full of flavour although curry connoisseurs may have found the dishes a little lacking in heat — one of the staff explained that Nepalese cuisine concentrates more on bringing out the flavour of the food rather than adding spices. As I’m not a big curry eater, this worked out well for me and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
The staff were very attentive but not overbearing, and the service was pretty quick although we never felt rushed. £25 for two courses plus a drink each is fairly reasonable.
Recommended for couples and curry novices!

Forget the curry mile, this is the best indian in Manchester. It’s been open for a few years, and has served excellent food every time I’ve been in. It’s nicely and simply decorated, with a good wine list. Yes, you can get a typical ‘english’ curry, but there’s some dishes you won’t have on a usual indian menu. Tandoori fish as a starter is just the right size, flaky and flavoursome. The minced chicken and lamb dishes are interesting and moreish. I’d highly recommend this place, and it won’t set you back too much.