Last checked: 15 October 2026

The best curry houses in Manchester are spread across four areas: the Curry Mile on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, the city centre, the Northern Quarter’s “rice and three” cafés, and South Manchester. For charcoal-grilled meat, go to Mughli (open since 1991). For a cheap lunch, go to This & That (since 1984). For a special night out, try Dishoom or Tyga. This guide covers the main places in each area, with addresses, dishes, opening hours and practical tips.

The short answer: where to go for what

You want…	Go to	Area
Charcoal-grilled lamb chops and tandoori	Mughli Charcoal Pit	Curry Mile
A modern Indian dining room	Ziya Asian Grill	Curry Mile
All-day Bombay café food	Dishoom	City centre
Fine dining and cocktails	Tyga	Peter Street
An old-school tandoori restaurant	Rajdoot Tandoori	Albert Square
Grills, brunch or a Sunday roast	Zouk Tea Bar & Grill	Oxford Road
Tiffin boxes and chaat	Mowgli Street Food	Corn Exchange
Vegetarian street food with craft beer	Bundobust	Piccadilly
The cheapest curry lunch	This & That or Yadgar	Northern Quarter
Nepalese curry	The Great Kathmandu	West Didsbury

Manchester’s curry scene at a glance

How long each place has been trading (approximate years, 2026)

Opening years from the sources listed in this guide. Rajdoot’s 1966 date is the restaurant’s own.

Where the 11 main places in this guide are

The Curry Mile today

The Curry Mile is the nickname for the stretch of Wilmslow Road through Rusholme, about two miles south of the city centre. It is not a full mile long. Local writers put it at roughly half a mile. It earned its name from the South Asian restaurants that opened there from the 1960s onwards.

It has changed. Many of the old curry houses closed, and today you will also find shawarma shops, Turkish bakeries, shisha lounges and dessert cafés. A few classic family restaurants are still going strong. If you want to try something different afterwards, the city’s wider mix of ethnic restaurants in Manchester is worth a look.

Sources: The Mancunion, Visit Manchester, Hyphen.

1. Mughli Charcoal Pit

Mughli opened in 1991 and is still family-run. The charcoal pit is the reason to go. Order the lamb chops, tandoori chicken thighs or scorpion prawns, then add butter chicken or another curry. It has also opened a city-centre kitchen at House of Social on First Street.

• Address: 30 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, M14 5TQ
• Hours: Mon to Thu 5pm to midnight, Fri 5pm to 12.30am, Sat 4pm to midnight, Sun 2pm to 10.30pm
• Good to know: it opens in the evening on weekdays and the kitchen runs late on Fridays and Saturdays, so it suits a late dinner.
• Website: mughli.com

2. Ziya Asian Grill

Ziya is a step up from the typical curry house. The dining room is modern, the tandoori grills are the focus, and the curry list is long, with dishes such as Goan fish and Chicken Chettinad. It also serves street food such as dosas and chaat.

• Address: 65 to 67 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, M14 5TB
• Hours: Mon to Thu 12pm to 11pm, Fri and Sat 12pm to midnight, Sun 12pm to 10pm
• Good to know: the first-floor room seats up to 60, which helps for group bookings.
• Website: ziyamanchester.co.uk

Other Curry Mile names that come up often are MyLahore (a modern take with grills and desserts), Chit ‘n’ Chaat (Indian street food) and Shere Khan, the first fully licensed Indian restaurant on the Mile.

Best curry houses in the city centre

3. Dishoom Manchester

Dishoom serves Bombay café food in the former Freemasons’ Hall, which opened as a restaurant in November 2018. It is open from breakfast until late. Try the house black daal, a chicken makhani curry with roomali roti, or a kathi roll.

• Address: 32 Bridge Street, M3 3BT
• Hours: from 8am on weekdays and 9am at weekends
• Good to know: walk-ins are welcome, and you can book online up to four months ahead. Vegetarian, vegan and halal options are available.
• Website: dishoom.com/manchester

Read Also: Top 5 Farm to Table Restaurants in Manchester for Fresh, Sustainable Dining

4. Tyga (formerly Asha’s)

If you are looking for Asha’s on Peter Street, it has closed. Tyga opened in the same building on 5 December 2025, inside Hotel Forty Seven. It is a fine-dining Indian restaurant with about 90 covers, a cocktail lounge downstairs and a private dining room. The signature dish is the Imperial Lamb Flamed Chops. The menu also has lobster majestic, butter chicken and chicken korma.

• Address: 47 Peter Street, M2 3NG
• Good to know: it is aimed at special occasions. For more of that kind of dining, see the Michelin-starred restaurants in Manchester.

5. Rajdoot Tandoori

Rajdoot is a basement restaurant in Carlton House on Albert Square. It serves North Indian food with a Nepalese touch and has traded since 1966. The restaurant says it was the first tandoori restaurant in Europe, which is its own claim. People go for the tandoori dishes and classic curries.

• Address: 18 Albert Square, Carlton House, M2 5PE
• Hours: closed Mondays. Lunch Tue to Fri 12pm to 2.15pm. Dinner Tue to Fri 6pm to 10.30pm, Sat 6pm to 10.30pm, Sun 6pm to 9.30pm.

6. Zouk Tea Bar & Grill

Zouk has served Pakistani and Indian food just off Oxford Road since 2009. It is a good group choice. The menu covers small plates, charcoal grills, karahi, handi and biryani dishes, plus a Sunday roast and bottomless brunch packages. Pair a visit with one of the city’s cocktail lounges if you want a longer night out.

• Address: Unit 5, The Quadrangle, Chester Street, M1 5QS
• Hours: Mon 12pm to midnight, Tue to Fri 8am to midnight, Sat and Sun 9am to midnight

Read Also: 5 Best Brunch Restaurants in Manchester

7. Mowgli Street Food

Mowgli, founded by former barrister Nisha Katona, serves Indian street food in small plates and tiffin boxes. Look for the yoghurt chaat bombs, gunpowder chicken and the house keema. There are separate vegan and gluten-free menus. The Manchester branch is in the Corn Exchange. The University Green branch on Oxford Road closed in 2022. Families can find more choice in our guide to family-friendly restaurants in Manchester.

• Address: Corn Exchange, Exchange Square, M4 3TR
• Website: mowglistreetfood.com

8. Bundobust

Bundobust is a basement beer hall under Piccadilly with an all-vegetarian menu and plenty of vegan options. Order okra fries, vada pav and Bundo chaat, and pair them with the group’s own beer. It has a 4.8 rating from 448 OpenTable diners. For more meat-free choice across the city, see our list of vegan and plant-based eateries in Manchester.

• Address: 61 Piccadilly, M1 2AG
• Good to know: open daily from midday. Closing times vary by source, so check before you go.

Rice and three: cheap curry in the Northern Quarter

“Rice and three” is a Manchester habit: a plate of rice topped with three curries of your choice, usually served from steel trays at lunchtime. It grew up around the Northern Quarter’s textile workers, and This & That is widely credited as the original.

Place	Address	Worth knowing
This & That	3 Soap Street, M4 1EW	Open since 1984. About £6 for rice and veg, £8 with three meat curries. Hours 11.30am to 8pm (9pm Fri and Sat).
Yadgar Café	71 Thomas Street, M4 1LQ	No-frills and cash only, according to the Good Food Guide.
Kabana	52 Back Turner Street	Open for more than 25 years. Busy at lunchtime, so be ready to share a table.
Café Marhaba	36 Back Piccadilly, M1 1HP	Known for its on-site tandoor oven.

Prices come from the guides cited at the end and may have gone up, so treat them as a guide.

South Manchester: The Great Kathmandu

9. The Great Kathmandu

If you want a Nepalese take on curry, head to West Didsbury. The Great Kathmandu opened in 1986 and won Best Nepalese Restaurant at the Nation’s Curry Awards in 2023. It was also listed among Manchester’s winners in the 2025 awards, as reported by the Yorkshire Post. Try the tandoori chicken, shashlik or paneer chilli, and look for the seafood dishes.

• Address: 140 Burton Road, West Didsbury, M20 1JQ
• Hours: daily 4.30pm to 11pm

Which curry house should you pick?

Budget	Examples	What the sources say
Under £10	This & That, Yadgar	£6 to £8 for rice and three at This & That
Mid-range sharing plates	Dishoom, Bundobust, Mowgli	OpenTable lists Dishoom and Bundobust at £25 and under. Mowgli advertises a £25 set menu.
Special occasion	Tyga	Listed as £££ by That’s Up Manchester. No per-head price confirmed.

Getting to the Curry Mile and city-centre spots

The Curry Mile is on Wilmslow Road (A6010) in Rusholme, M14 5TQ. Buses run along Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road from the city centre, including the 142. Some parking is available nearby. Dishoom, Tyga, Rajdoot, Mowgli, Bundobust and Zouk are all in the centre or on the Oxford Road corridor, and the Northern Quarter cafés are a short walk from Piccadilly. If you are staying in town for the day, you could pair a meal with the city’s contemporary art galleries.

Food hygiene ratings, allergies and spice

Every food business in England gets a hygiene rating from 0 to 5 after an inspection. You can search any restaurant on the Food Standards Agency ratings site. A rating is a snapshot of the day of the inspection, not a review of the food.

Rating	Meaning
5	Very good
4	Good
3	Generally satisfactory
2	Some improvement necessary
1	Major improvement necessary
0	Urgent improvement required

UK restaurants must tell you if a dish contains any of the 14 regulated allergens, which include celery, milk, mustard, nuts, peanuts and sesame. Tell staff about any allergy before you order, and ask about spice levels, as heat varies a lot between kitchens. Confirm halal, vegan or gluten-free needs directly with the restaurant. You can also check our list of gluten-free restaurants.

FAQs about curry houses in Manchester

Which is the best curry house in Manchester?

There is no single best. Mughli is a popular pick for charcoal grills, Dishoom for an all-day café, Tyga for a special occasion and This & That for a cheap lunch.

Where is the Curry Mile?

It is the part of Wilmslow Road that runs through Rusholme, about two miles south of Manchester city centre.

Is the Curry Mile really a mile long?

No. Local writers describe it as roughly half a mile.

What is rice and three?

It is a plate of rice with three curries of your choice. It started in the Northern Quarter, and This & That is widely credited as the original.

Where can I get the cheapest curry in Manchester?

The Northern Quarter rice and three cafés, such as This & That and Yadgar, are the cheapest. Expect to pay around £6 to £8.

Do I need to book?

Dishoom welcomes walk-ins and also takes bookings up to four months ahead. Rajdoot is closed on Mondays. For a busy weekend, it is safest to ask the restaurant directly.

Are there good vegetarian and vegan curry options?

Yes. Bundobust is entirely vegetarian with vegan options, Dishoom offers vegetarian and vegan dishes, and Mowgli has separate vegan and gluten-free menus.

Which curry houses stay open late?

Mughli serves until 12.30am on Fridays, and Ziya and Zouk close at midnight on their busiest days. Many places on the Curry Mile stay open late.

Conclusion

Manchester’s curry houses range from £6 rice and three plates to fine dining. Start on the Curry Mile with Mughli or Ziya, head to the city centre for Dishoom, Tyga or Rajdoot, and use the Northern Quarter for a cheap lunch. Hours and prices change, so check with the restaurant before you travel.

Sources: Visit Manchester, Manchester’s Finest, The Good Food Guide, CAMRA, Taste of Manchester, Dishoom, OpenTable.