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Wah Ji Wah

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Address: 37 King Street West, City Centre

Phone number: 0161 819 5460

Rating: 4/5

Visited by the Curry Night on: Wednesday 29th October 2025 ♦ Thursday 9th March 2023 ♦ Thursday 19th September 2019 (3)

Website: www.wahjiwah,co,uk

General comments: A newcomer in 2019, spaceman was tipped off about this place from someone at work. It has an unassuming frontage and is easy to miss.  Our table booking of 20 somewhat took over the restaurant, but we had prime position in the centre so that service was generally not a problem.  The feedback was generally positive, although the unisex toilet without a lock was noted by the two female reviewers.  Subsequent visits in 2025 was a little more intimate and it has become one of the best places in town.  Wah Ji Wah apparently means "wow", by the way.

"The evening started at the Oast House, a personal favourite and home of many memories, although I am disappointed they've removed their tank-fresh Budvar... We then glided over the road to Wah Ji Wah, which I was excited to tick off having missed the most recent two visits there [and indeed the only two]. I recall it was quiet - indeed we may have been the only table in, sat right at the front to attract other punters in no doubt. I started with a Chicken Wah Ji Wah which was much enjoyed - effectively sweet and sour fried chicken, you can't go wrong with that... Cobra washed it down perfectly (I remember chuckling it was £5.95 for a half and £6.95 for a pint...)  Main was Murg Methi Palak, an intriguing dish with fenugreek and lots of spinach - really enjoyed and would seek out again. The naans in particular were excellent (naan out of ten? [yes ok, we can let this one go])....overall I think 9 out of 10 is a fair rating for Wah Ji Wah, it was right up there in terms of quality.  Hopefully a bit more atmosphere there next time we visit... The usual hardy bunch of us then ventured the 100 metres or so to Mulligans to end the evening with a very expensive Guinness...but it always delivers.  [Impressive recall given this was sent the February after.  There was a band on at Mulligans too and it was rammed, despite it being late-ish on a Wednesday evening.]"

"Thank you for organising another excellent evening! My thoughts are: An excellently spooky pre-Halloween get-together starting at the Oast House. I was WOWED by the fresh lime in my vodka, lime and soda and I shall be returning at my earliest convenience for another. 10/10 from me for the bartender who said I could have as much fresh lime juice as I wanted. I don't really have any other comments on the Oast House because not much more needs to be said. Wah Ji Wah also impressed. I liked the snug corner in the window! Starter was a crispy chilli chicken which was suitably spicy without blowing your socks off. Matt tried some and didn't break out into an immediate sweat which I think shows good levels of spice. Main was butter paneer which was delicious, I would return again just for that. Much to the distain of some of the crowd, I ordered a lemon rice and sadly that was not particularly lemony. Would also add here that there was an outrageous decision by some attendees to order egg fried rice, so judgment for my rice choice was very unfair. Have to mention that the value at WJW [is this was the kids are calling it now?] was incredible - £9 for a main!!! What a bargain. Overall, I was very impressed with all venues and would say the night was almost perfect in terms of citrus levels, which is a key component to any good night out."

"They say things happen in threes, so I guess my Curry Night "goodbye" before moving to London should be no different. The third instalment started with drinks at an old favourite, The Oast House - always a good atmosphere with plenty of seating, even if the price of a pint feels a bit steep (but I guess I just haven't adjusted to post-inflation prices! [wait until you get to London]). Both the food and ambience at Wah Ji Wah were a delight. The restaurant is relatively small, so the noise from other guests is not overbearing. We also had the same round table as last time (well, now it was an oval) which is always conducive to having full table conversations and being more sociable. I opted for the "Chicken Wah Ji Wah" for starter - not only did it smell amazing on arrival, it tasted great too (and it was a good size for a starter!). I followed up with the "Murg Lababdar" - confusingly referred by the waiter as "Butter Chicken" on arrival at the table, I was pleased to find it was not (I like butter chicken, but that wasn't what I had ordered!) with more spice and a stronger tomato flavour. This was accompanied by the usual range of rice and naans - the lemon rice lacked any lemon flavour in my opinion, but that didn't detract from the excellent quality of the food overall. For me, Wah Ji Wah was up there with Sangam for my favourite curry house in Manchester [high praise indeed]. If this is indeed my last Curry Night for a while (although I reserve the right for a fourth instalment of the long goodbye...), then it was great to finish on a high! Ali G out *mic drop*"

"Just for the lolz, I again asked ChatGPT to re-write the review in the style of Ali G: Aight, check dis out, innit. They say tings come in threes, yeah? So me curry night farewell before I bounce to London, gotta follow de rules, know what I'm sayin'? First up, we kicked off at dis classic spot, the Oast House. Proper vibes there, man—loads of seats, sick atmosphere, but blud, the pint prices had me feelin’ like, "Yo, is dis post-inflation madness or what?" But yeah, still all gravy. Den we rolled to Wah Ji Wah, bruv. Small joint, but safe vibes, not too noisy—so you can chat all up in it. We even got de same spot as last time, but now it was oval-shaped, making it proper easy to link up with the crew and natter. I went for de “Chicken Wah Ji Wah” starter, and fam, when it came out, the smell was dope, and the taste? Rated it, and big enough to keep me buzzin’. For main, I had “Murg Lababdar”—waiter called it butter chicken, but nah, dat ting was spice-heavy and juicy with tomatoes, proper flavoursome, ya get me? Came with rice and nan, but the lemon rice was a bit meh—no lemon pop, ya know? Still, didn’t mess up the whole vibe. Real talk, Wah Ji Wah up there with Sangam for best curry in Manchester. If dis be me last curry sesh before I jet, then big respect for goin’ out on a high note, blud. Still might do a fourth farewell, ‘cos you never know… peace!"

"After a quick drink at our beloved Oast House, this was my second visit to Wah Ji Wah - this time a more intimate affair (just 7 of us) and we were rewarded with a nicer table as a result. I must admit, I had forgotten I had even been to Wah Ji Wah before, let alone what the food then was like! Nevertheless, clearly I subconsciously learned from my menu choice mistakes of 2019 - this time I opted for the chicken shaslick to start and the murg tikka butter masala for main. Safe choices I hear you say - correct, but delicious nonetheless (although consistent with 2019, the poppadoms and dips remain average). Overall, a great Curry Night and much improved versus my memory of 4 years ago!"

"Really enjoyable evening. Many thanks for organising.  [Always a pleasure.]"

"Wah Ji Wah held much promise - a smaller restaurant than our usual jaunts, a relatively "fancy" menu and no requirement to use a set menu for our large group.  All going well!  [Indeed - three solid pluses.]  The usual poppadoms and dips were OK (although the dips did arrive about 5 minutes after the poppadoms such that half of the latter had been eaten [hoovered up] by the time the dips arrived).  The scallops starter was very tasty, although two scallops for £8.95 is a bit steep... I chose the prawn biryani for my main course - similar issue with a distinct lack of prawns for the size of the dish (the dish was about 95% rice!); however, the flavours were OK.  Overall, not bad and a good atmosphere for a small venue, however Swadesh/Sangam remains the top Curry Night experience for me.  [Ah, the yardstick by which all curry houses will now be judged.]"

"Sounds like a morning from hell to me [running to work and then getting a train to London], but variety is the spice of life! Wah-ji-wah was a great choice for Curry Night, as the menu was a bit different. My scallops (which did not, as feared, cause food poisoning) were certainly small but perfectly formed, would order them again.  I've never had a biryani in a restaurant before, so thought I'd give it a try - in contrast to the scallops it was massive, with lots of decent chunks of chicken [interesting contrast to the 5% prawn content noted by AliG].  Nice naan breads, too, and the poppadoms were good.  Service was pretty good, although I seem to remember a struggle to order more beers at one point!  [The positioning of the table generally lent itself to quick ordering - see Chuck's review but it seems that there were some exceptions.]  Only downsides:

- unisex toilet with no lock - awkward!

- selling Magners in tiny bottles (although probably for the best, I don't think the price reflected the size).

Thanks for organising it.  [No problem!]"

"So:

- bar was Beermoth - dead and soulless by the time we got there [like our gazes]. 4/10 (mainly for beer quality)

- Oasthouse - consistent as ever. 7/10.

- Wah Ji Wah - impressive timing on service (esp drinks), the joy of DIY pani puri and a fine paneer cheese curry, which was subtle but built to a nice heat by the end of the meal. 7.5/10, with half a mark lost for not bringing the poppadum dips out quickly enough.

I certainly didn't leave early (enough!) so I think I paid in full.  [Notes in ledger.]"

"First off, Curry Night is not quite the same without Slither crying into his overly spicy dish. I'll get that out there early doors. So the entertainment score is slightly lower than usual as a result. I must have walked past Wah Ji Wah quite a few times but haven't really paid it much attention; it's a little unassuming from the outside so very grateful to spaceman for bringing it to our attention!  [I have my sources.]  First course was a paneer and pomegranate number with meticulous presentation (in fact it was so pretty that spaceman took a photo).  Big fan of this, very sweet and tangy!  At risk of being criticised for most boring choice again [of main at least: starter choice is exotic-sounding enough], I went for the tikka butter masala for my main (haters gonna hate) and was very pleased with myself.  Really tasty, went very well with the cheese naan that I forced HardyBoy to share.  Also, special mention to the super friendly and efficient staff, especially the chef who came out afterwards to ask us how it was!  Super nice.  Less of a shoutout for the single toilet with no lock though, you have never been to the toilet faster than when you fear your colleagues might burst in on you at any point... [amen to that]"