Manchester’s Safire first Pakistani restaurant rated perfect 5/5

Safire was one of the first brands we were looking to visit and highlight on our restaurant food tour of Manchester this year.

Safire serving Pakistani on Upper Brook Street

For one, this Pakistani restaurant has enjoyed consistently good reviews across the board for its fully Halal menu.

Secondly, the place itself on Upper Brook Street is situated in an historical site that creates quite the first impression.

Before its launch, Safire’s owners had used this building since the mid-1990s to run Micro Direct, one of the city’s first computer hardware and software companies, which closed in 2014.

In 2017, they opened this modern eatery with a total seating capacity of 135, which includes a dazzling function room that caters for over 60 guests.

Safire is a modern venue that’s fully Halal and going places…

Currently they are in the final stages of opening a dining hall on the first floor for an additional 80 diners.

Scheduled to launch in the next three months, Safire will add facilities that includes a convenient, purpose-built prayer room.

Passion Tropic, Strawberry Daiquiri – £5.95 each

With a full dry bar, Safire have a huge selection of hot and cold beverages, ranging from teas and coffees, to freshly-made shakes and mocktails.

The Strawberry Daiquiri and the Passion Tropic mocktails were very well made, with the former thick, luscious, icy and full of fresh strawberries; and the latter delivering a taste of the tropical.

Cheesy Chicken grilled over charcoal, £6.95

The first thing that leapt out at us, was the texture and the smoky hit of these freshly made, charcoal grilled kebabs.

Utterly tender, with a mellow spicy heat to them, this was an incredible start, with the subtle piquancy of the cheese working really well against that smoky aroma.

Chinese Chilli Chicken with egg fried rice, mash, fries or chips, 14.95

Again, the cooking of the poultry was down to a tee, with the Chinese chilli marination that coated these succulent nuggets offering that sweet and spicy undertone.

Even the full-grained, egg-fried rice surprised, turning out steamy and fluffy, with no hint of them having been reheated.

Cod Fish Masala Fillet with onions, peppers & fries or chips, £13.95

While other Pakistani restaurants over-power their fish with a strong coriander-based batter, Safire absolutely nailed it with this Cod Fish Masala Fillet.

This has to be, hands down, the best masala fish we’ve ever had, with the strength of the masala adjudged such that it succeeded in accentuating the familiar taste of the cod.

As for the fish itself, then it was ridicuously moist and flaky, with the thick and crispy chips enhancing the overall experience. This wasn’t one of the highlights of this review, but also the entire tour!

Mixed Sizzling Platter – Lamb seekh kebabs, lamb chops, malai tikka, chicken wings, fish pakoras £19.95

Need we bother with this Mixed Sizzling Platter? This one dish alone puts almost all the Pakistani restaurants we’ve ever reviewed to shame.

This is the end result of not only having chefs with serious knowledge of their cuisine, but cooking any grill from scratch, rather than from the lazy half-way point.

The lamb seekh kebabs, while not quite as plump as their chicken cousins above, were no less addictive; the smoky lamb chops showed off that punchy Pakistani yoghurt-based marination; the malai tikka were seriously melt-in-your-mouth; the airy fish pakoras an effective contrast; and the chicken wings were good too.

Lamb Shinwari Karahi on Bone (½kg) £19.95

There’s always something exciting about a curry that’s served in a karahi all sizzling and hot.

Peshwari Naan £3.50, Garlic Naan £2.95

With Shinwari Karahis differing from their more spiciously complex counterparts, this was gently spiced, allowing for the more natural flavour of the lamb to carry through.

And carry through it did, with the smoky, onion-based gravy playing its part in helping to complement things.

Add to that the two naans we ordered, with the crispy Peshwari being fragrant courtesy of the sesame seeds sprinkled over the top, and the more fluffy Garlic version being nicely tandoored, and we devoured this all the way down to scraping the bottom of that karahi.