Akbar's Reviews

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Nigel Davey - 22nd April 2012

Rating:

Been going here for ages. We (the wife and I) promised ourselves that we would come once a month. That lasted about a minute. We go every Sunday, as the food is simply to die for, all the staff are friendly and willing to answer any question you may have. The ambient lighting is simply perfect and the prices are more than reasonable.

Overall a 10 out of 10 all round.

Chris Hanson - 8th February 2010

Rating: (Not rated - review added before star ratings introduced.)

Just been to Akbar's on the road between Meadowhall and Rotherham this last weekend for a friend's birthday.

We got there at about 8PM on Saturday night and the large bar area was absolutely packed with people waiting to get a table. The restaurant doesn't take bookings for parties of fewer than 8 (there were 6 of us), so it is a gamble as to how long you will be waiting for a table. After waiting at the bar for what seemed like a lifetime, I finally got served. We then stood for about 45 minutes until a table became free and were shown upstairs to the large dinning room.

We started by ordering the obligatory poppadoms and pickle tray. This came quickly with the usual selection of mango chutney, yoghurt and mint sauce, a really spicy green chilli sauce, and some diced onion in what tasted like spiced up tomato ketchup. It was all so much better than the last Indian I ate at (Dosanj).

After we finished the poppadoms the table was quickly cleared, and then we had two different waiters both bring completely the wrong order to our table, rather than the tables to either side of us. Eventually we got our meals. I had ordered lamb palak, this was a really tasty curry with fresh spinach and a whole host of spices that gave the dish real depth of flavour. The lamb was really tender, falling apart in the sauce. My friend had the tikka masala, which was very sweet and without the chicken could have been served as a dessert; this was the only other dish I tried.

The pilau rice was really well spiced and as good as any you'll get, as was the large family garlic naan bread which comes hanging on the large antlers.

After we had finished the meal, the waiters cleared the table and brought us the bill straight away. We weren't too impressed at this, as even though we didn't want desserts, it would have been nice to have been asked. It would also have been good to have been offered a coffee.

All in all, the food is brilliant and well worth the wait. The low point is the service that doesn't really live up to the standard of the food, although I have experienced a lot worse.

We'll definitely go again, but it's probably best to avoid a Saturday (and probably Friday) if there are fewer than 8 of you.