Kabana

There are few places in Manchester that inspire the kind of loyal, near-religious devotion Kabana does. Quietly serving the city since 1982, this no-frills canteen has long been one of the beating hearts of the Northern Quarter.

It started as a dependable lunch spot for local textile workers, but Kabana has grown with the city. These days, its regulars span students, builders, creatives, families and chefs on break. All come for the same thing: bold, flavour-packed curries that don’t mess about. Kabana is a rice and three classic, and quite possibly its finest example — a genre invented and perfected in Manchester.

The format is simple: pick your three curries from a rotating selection of seven or so, each ladled onto a bed of rice with brisk efficiency. There’s always a solid showing of meat and veg — chicken masala, lamb karahi, daal, cauliflower and potato, and chana (chickpeas). Every dish is cooked fresh that day, their recipes the product of decades of refinement by the Ashraf family, now led by son Rizwan.

And then there’s the Sunday-only special: lamb nihari, slow-cooked overnight in a heady, gelatin-rich gravy. It’s fiery, comforting and unforgettable. If you know, you know — and if you don’t, your Sunday lunch plans need updating.

While the curries grab the headlines, don’t miss the tandoor. Flatbreads are rolled to order and slapped against the clay oven walls until blistered and golden. The garlic naan, in particular, is a serious piece of work — pillowy, crisp-edged, and primed for mopping up gravy.

Despite its stripped-back space and barely-there social media presence, Kabana thrives on word of mouth and good taste. There’s no music, no Instagrammable murals, just warm service, knockout food and the kind of dining that cuts through the noise.