Address: 89 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme

Phone number: 257 0006

Rating: 3.5/5 (down-rated from 4/5 due to lack of a visit in a while)

Visited by the Curry Night on: Wednesday 11th June 2008 ♦ Thursday 17th November 2005 ♦ Thursday 2nd October 2003 ♦ Thursday 4th July 2002 ♦ Thursday 11th May 2000 (5)

Website: www.albilal.com

General comments: A popular place in the heart of Rusholme, which is worth visiting, if only for the sight of the sizzlers, as confirmed by some of the comments below.

Wednesday 11th June 2008

"What can I say.  Perhaps the most memorable curry experience I have ever had.  In my 25 years or so of going to curry houses I have always previously considered ordering my food to be a necessary but purely functional part of the evening.  This is the first time it has ever been a highlight.  Theatrical, comical, slightly scary and just a little bit too camp to be comfortable.  I don't know where they have been hiding that waiter but he will undoubtedly become part of curry night folklore.  In 10 years' time people will say "do you remember the waiter in Al Bilal" and those of us who were there will give a nod and a knowing smile.  In response to the question "which one is Al Bilal" no longer will people reply "it's the one with sizzlers and pints cider on draft" but instead they will say "it's the one with the camp waiter".  Wonderful."

"The waiter was scary - it was probably okay if you were further down the table but I was a bit close for my liking.  Puri was good - lots of prawns although it was quite large and almost a meal in itself.  The sizzler was also good. I actually felt I'd had a vaguely healthy meal afterwards and wasn't really stuffed.  However, they got the sauce I had ordered wrong - although this didn't really both me as I wasn't planning to have it anyway!  A good night out but not somewhere I would make the trek [er, your boyfriend was  your chauffeur...] down to Rusholme for regularly."

"The decor and welcome were fairly standard Rusholme (other than a photocopied sign proclaiming the restaurant to be the favourite of the doctor off GMTV, and a framed t-shirt with a joke about farts on it), which lulled us into a false sense of security before the arrival of the Wacky Waiter - imagine if Graham Norton and John Inman (before he was dead [worth clarifying, one feels]) had a son, who was somehow Indian.  He was good entertainment, but there was no end in sight to his zany antics.  He also said something weird at some point, trying to excuse the fact that the food was canny late, which didn't help [he referred to the food being freshly cooked from scratch, but perhaps it was just that they were understaffed in the kitchen].  He did refer to spaceman as the Mentor of the Naans, though, which is a name that will surely stick [you'd think - not heard it since, though].

The chicken tikka starter did a job - maybe slightly dry.  More generous servings of lemon would have helped [odd].  My main - a lamb Karahi - was extremely nice. I fancied a change from recent spinach overdoses, and was rewarded with a dish I would definitely recommend.  Served at the right temperature (let the spice do the work), and without the presence of iceberg like meat giants resting below the surface.  The sauce was excellent, although when it first got the back of my throat I thought it was going to do me an injury, but initial shock aside it tasted good, and never overwhelmed.  Even the inevitable taste lingering the next morning was actually good - I'd have considered a return for elevensies [a kindergarten version of elevenses, perhaps].  At first the naans were ropey in their paucity of garlic, but it turned out they were just a bit subtle - good marks there too.  Slow, but quality, like Henrik Larsson.  Except mad.  Giving it a score out of 5, I would say it was well weapon."

Thursday 17th November 2005

"My tandoori mixed grill was very tasty - and ever more importantly I could identify the pieces of meat [always a bonus] and it came in a large portion.  Only gripe was that I asked for a medium sauce but it was very mild."

Thursday 2nd October 2003