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Sangam

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MichaelJM
MichaelJM
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
4
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Sangam Restaurant

  • April 9, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Sangam Restaurant

Another Monday night in Manchester and this lone consultant once again decided to take a stroll from St Peter’s Square to the curry mile. It had been a strange time recently with some real mild weather late last week (I’d actually wandered around Nottingham in shirt sleeves and lightweight trousers) to the icy winds and near blizzards that had hit the UK over the weekend. It was still bitterly cold (I can’t remember it being this cold in April since 1975) but wrapped up in my jacket and sporting a hat “inherited” from my son I started on my 20-minute walk to find an Indian restaurant to entice me. I was clutching a money-off voucher for the Tabak Restaurant, which offered an evening buffet for around £8, but was sufficiently flexible about my final destination.

On route I couldn’t resist a short detour through Whitworth Park on the Oxford Road. The park was funded by a bequest from the estate of Sir Joseph Whitworth a local inventor and industrialist, laid out by the Whitworth Institute and opened to the public in 1890. It was signed over to Manchester City Council in 1904 before being passed to its current caretakers, the University of Manchester. Its not the most stunning of parks but in April, despite the harsh wintery winds it was awash with the crisp yellows of the Spring Daffodil with the odd splash of red from early flowering tulips. There were some fascinatingly shaped trees, devoid of leaves, and I’m looking forward to see the transformation of the park when summer arrives.

Having completed my detour I was curiously drawn to the bright lights of the Sangam Restaurant, which was just inside the Curry Mile. Or was it that I felt I walked far enough in the wind for one evening?

The Sangam is a large Indian Restaurant which seemed to be extremely popular. Indeed I overheard a woman saying to her friends, as they entered the place, how much she enjoyed a previous visit the the Sangam. That sounded like a recommendation to me so I happily followed them into the restaurant. I was given a choice of tables and the head waiter acknowledged that, as a single diner, I might feel “more comfortable in the second option. It’s the first time that my status as a single diner has been acknowledged and it was handled in an extremely sensitive way by the waiter.

As I’d entered the restaurant I noticed that they sold Kingfisher beer on draught so I was more than happy to order a pint of this fine Indian beer without checking out the alternatives. A couple of papadoms with four different chutneys were brought to the table and whilst I checked out the menu I “grazed” on these. You would presume that they were complimentary as they’d arrived without prompting but there was a charge. However at 60p for two papadoms and loads of chutney there was no way that you could complain. I find them almost addictive and munched away happily before ordering Vegetable Samosa for my starter and at £1.90 for two large ones and a healthy potion of a side salad they proved to be substantial and extremely tasty.

I’d struggled to decide what main course to select from this huge menu and finally opted for a dish that I’ve never tried before. The Vegetable Chashni (I could have had chicken or lamb) sounded very tasty being described as having a tomato and mango base cooked with herbs and coriander giving it an almost “sweet and sour flavour”. The waiter suggested that it would be best with a chapatti and felt that I would not need any rice. I was unsure but wisely went with his recommendation. After all waiters normally tend to encourage you to order more rather than less! The portion proved to be extremely filling – there was plenty of it and they sauce was incredibly rich - and I was relieved that I hadn’t ordered the rice. This was not a meal to rush and indeed there was no attempt to “move diners on”. I ate and then rested a while before returning to my meal, but despite this strategy I was unable to eat it all. Most unusual for me!

The Sangam is a very popular Indian restaurant (and rightly so) and the waiters are extremely attentive without seeming to be too “predatory”. They were quick to respond but didn’t hover above you,

I enjoyed my meal, alongside a couple of pints of Kingfisher beer, and actually ate far too much. Indeed on leaving the restaurant decided to hop on a bus. The number 143 took me to St Peter’s Square and at just over a pound I reckon this was good value to get me out of the wind and safely returned to my hotel.

From journal Manchester - A Taste of India

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