I first went to Zouk Teabar & Grill back when I was at uni and it quickly became a firm favourite. I left Manchester around 6 years ago but I’ve always remembered how good it was. Every time a friend moved to Manchester I’d tell them they must visit Zouk. They now have a branch in Bradford too, I’m delighted to see how well the business has grown.
I now spend part of my time in Sheffield which isn’t too far from Manchester. So, the other week P and I had a day out in Manchester because we were invited to experience Zouk’s latest menu.
Zouk is situated on Chester Street. It’s just a 10/15 minute walk form Piccadilly train station and a 5 minute walk from Oxford road station. It’s nice to be able to escape the busy streets and restaurants in the city centre at the weekend. Zouk has a relaxing atmosphere and although it gets busy (this place is popular) it never feels too crowded. They’ve got the seating layout just right.
One of my favourite things about Zouk (aside from the food) is the open kitchen. You can see your food being made which I personally find fascinating and it makes a great talking point. I love seeing the cooking process and of course, the wonderful aroma of the food floats across the restaurant.
I particularly enjoyed watching the bread being made.
So, how can I get one of these tandoor ovens in my house? I’m serious.
Doesn’t that look fantastic? I can assure you that it tasted really good too.
We started our meal with a fresh cold bottle of white wine while we browsed through the menu. There’s a good selection of meaty and vegetarian dishes available which are clearly separated in the menu. It took us a while to make our decisions but you can find their menu online so you can have a nosey before you visit.
We both happened to go for vegetarian starters and mains and we were very happy with our choices.
We picked 2 starters to share. The first was the Masala Mirch. This dish was made of big juicy jalapeno chillis which were stuffed with herbs & spices. It was full of flavour and had a good spicy kick. We both really enjoyed the hot and spicy sauce with the spicy yet sweet chillis. The best way to eat this is by cutting up the chillies and then dunking chunks of bread into the sauce and scooping it up.
Phil pick out the Samosa Chaat. Hidden in the bottom of a deep bowl there’s a delicious, fresh samosa covered with a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce and raita. I was pleased to find little pomegranate jewels which worked delightfully well with the sweet tamarind sauce.
It really is fun to see your food being made.
Phil picked out this beautiful Vegetable Tikka. This dish was made up of lots of fresh vegetables such as courgettes, onions, aubergines and tomatoes. There was a pot of tikka on the plate which can be poured onto the veg or straight onto the rice.
The bread is fresh, soft and simply delicious.
We also picked a mushroom rice which was possibly one of the best we’ve ever had. It was packed full of fresh mushrooms which worked very well with both of the main dishes we picked.
I went for the Palak Alloo, a personal favourite. It’s basically spinach, fenugreek, potatoes and lots of fresh coriander. This was utterly devine and I’ll be ordering it next time I’m back at Zouk.
They even have a fantastic cocktail menu that I plan on trying out next time I go back.
Have you be to Zouk Teabar & Grill? I highly recommend visiting next time you’re in Manchester.