Camel One Review | Tawa on Manchester’s Curry Mile

Recently, I was invited to Camel One Restaurant Grill & Tawa in Manchester, to try their famous tawa.

Camel One is a long-standing tawa and grill restaurant in the heart of Manchester’s Curry Mile, and they’ve recently moved into a different building that has been freshly renovated.

With a bold yellow and black colour scheme, crushed velvet chairs, bright lighting and camel artwork all over the walls, Camel One is certainly bold – it isn’t necessarily to my taste, but they’ve nailed the look they’re going for.

Diners can eat downstairs, which feels more like a takeaway/cafe, or upstairs, which definitely feels more like a restaurant. We asked to sit upstairs but were told it wasn’t possible, which was rather strange as it was empty. For Muslim diners, there’s also a prayer room on the third floor.

To drink, I ordered a mango lassi, which was very thick and flavourful. Sweet and salty lassis are also available, as well as chai, and a large variety of soft drinks (Camel One does not serve alcohol).

As we were there to try the tawa we didn’t bother with starters, although there’s a wide range of reasonably-priced options to choose from, from paneer pakora (£6.90) to lamb tikka (£7.90) and masala fish (£7.90).

The tawa for two (£41.90) includes:

• 2 lamb chops
• 2 seekh kebabs
• 2 meat samosas
• 2 chicken wings
• 2 fried fish pieces
• Chicken OR lamb karahi
• Tarka Daal OR Lahori Channa
• 1 roti
• 1 naan
• Rice OR chips
• Salad

When the sizzling tawa was placed on the table, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

The presentation was stunning. The whole thing was arranged neatly and topped with dozens of sliced green chillies, fresh coriander, and julienned fresh ginger, with the grilled meat resting on a bed of sliced onions.

The side salad had seen better days, and I was a little surprised that there were no poppadoms included, but the meat all looked beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

The fried fish was excellent, with real Lahori flavours, and the chicken wings were so moist, with the meat literally falling off the bone.

The flavour of the samosas was lovely and delicate, with a simple filling of minced meat and peas. I’m not usually a huge fan of samosas, but these were delish, although they were cold, despite the hot tawa, which was a shame.

The lamb chops were a great size, and had been marinaded in some gorgeous spices. The seekh kebabs were also super juicy and had a real kick to them.

Surprisingly, my favourite curry was the Lahori Channa, which is a vegetarian dish made with chickpeas and a fragrant tomato-based sauce. The lamb karahi was also good – decently spicy, with succulent lamb pieces (off the bone).

For £41.90, I do think that the portion could have been bigger. We certainly left with full bellies, but I’ve definitely had larger tawa plates (at lower price points) elsewhere.

Overall, I’d score Camel One Restaurant an 8/10.

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Disclaimer: My meal at Camel One was complementary. All opinions are my own, and there was no obligation for me to write a blog post review. There are affiliate links on this website.