Cafe Begum Manchester

I recently visited this establishment with high expectations, but unfortunately, the experience was underwhelming. The food was surprisingly tasteless despite the unbelievably high prices. While it attempts to offer a mix of Indian and Pakistani cuisine, it fails to capture the authentic flavors of either. As someone familiar with genuine Pakistani dishes, it was clear the kitchen lacks the expertise needed to deliver true authenticity. The service was actually good — staff were polite and attentive — and the ambience is pleasant. However, the place feels more like a trendy café than a proper restaurant. This identity confusion makes it worse; if they committed to being either a café or a restaurant, the experience might feel more cohesive. The crowd seemed largely made up of Asian diners drawn by the upscale presentation, but unfortunately, the food doesn’t match the image. It's style over substance, and anyone seeking real South Asian flavors will likely leave disappointed.

First visit to Café Begum and it certainly won’t be the last! From the moment we walked in, the service was warm, attentive, and welcoming. The food was just as impressive — the Malai Chicken was perfectly tender and full of flavour, and the Lamb Chops were packed with a delicious, smoky taste. The naan was incredibly soft and practically melted in the mouth. A fantastic dining experience all around — can’t wait to come back!

The ambience and atmosphere are good, but waiters attend nicely, but they are insisting so much, which has made a mood off. I ordered Kebabs, Palri Chat, Malai Boti Roll, Biryani, Nehari, etc, and requested to bring all together, but the waiter refused and insisted to an extend to bring starters items before, which made my mood off, even I requested to speak to the manager, she said, I know manager will have same answer. I said, "Bring how even you want. In regards to food, we requested not to put onion in malai boti roll as my kids don't like onion, but when the order came, it was there. Nehari was nowhere near to an authentic nehari, biryani and kebabs were OK. They have good ambience and prayer facilities, etc, but Management definitely do not have an experience of running a Pakistani restaurant, they are running it like sitting at tourist spot where they do not care about repeat customers.