Abdul Hadi

The best chicken kebab on the planet. Need say no more.

Reviewing a place like Abdul’s is no easy task. I mean, essentially, I could write «this place sells junk food. You know what you’re getting as soon as you walk in» and that would suffice.
However, I wouldn’t want to deny you a reasonable amount of words, dear curious reader.
Whilst the premise of going to Abdul’s is par for the course, the experience is something that every Mancunian should at least have once.
Should you be drinking anywhere around the BBC building or in the Deaf Institute, Abdul’s is sat there waiting to sate your drunken stomach grumblings with an array of comforting favourites that could clog your arteries up before you’ve even had the chance to think about digesting your food.
The staff are mega efficient and friendly enough. They do have a slightly dead look behind their eyes but in their defence, they’ve had to put up with students in fake fur coats and lads with ironic haircuts all night who have stumbled in from the nearest indie hellhole.
That said, even the students who wobble around Abdul’s seem alright. There’s never been any bother in there as far as I’ve seen (and I’ve sporadically been tottering in there for the best part of a decade).
The naan’s are great and the chips won’t make you hurl… unless you’ve had a skinful, in which case, the drawing of a meal could probably make you puke.
You’ve only got yourself to blame, not Abdul’s.

I once saw the lead singer of Friendly Fires enjoying a late night kebab here with a lady friend!
Ok, anecdote out the way I shall continue. Abdul’s is a much more upmarket version of Gemini’s with a classier façade and slightly more Asian influenced menu. The onion bhajis are second to none and come drenched in mango chutney for a mere two pounds. There is less seating than in Gemini’s and this is made up of a long ‘breakfast bar’ style counter with stools. The veggie burger, however, is definitely less flavoursome than the one available at Gemini’s and it feels very processed — as though it had just been whipped out of a Birdseye box and flung in the microwave. The staff also seem reticent and unwilling to oblige with the extra sauce and salad that make these sort of indulgences so juicy.

Naan-​wise, sauce-​wise, salad-​wise and meat-​wise you cannot beat the kebabs at Abduls; that is the received wisdom anyway. Personally I wouldn’t argue with that. The chicken kebabs at Abduls are some of the tastiest examples I have ever had the pleasure to sample. The meat is tender; the bread soft, but a little course, and the salad is crisp and juicy. Perfect. And all with a free can to wash it down with if you’re a student (go for a mango Rubicon, it does something fuzzy and magic in the pit of your stomach when it mixes with the chilli sauce).
This particular branch of Abdul’s is my favourite, largely because the guys there are so friendly (a necessity with the near constant stream of punters rolling in from Big Hands next door) and because I like the little bench bar thing that you can eat your kebab on, it feels somehow vaguely futuristic — like in thirty years time I’ll be sitting on a bench like this, throwing back bowls of strange fusion cuisine, not looking at anyone else, just thinking about how I let a robot make off with my job and my wife. Damn robots.

Abduls is a Manchester institution. If I’m honest, I doubt I’ve ever eaten anything sober in here, but, from what I remember, everything has been pretty good. The selection of food on offer is nothing special, just standard takeaway kebabs, burgers, pizzas and chips. But it’s quick and cheap, which is just what you need after a long night out!
The best thing about this particular branch is that it’s huge and has loads of chairs and tables, so you can eat in. Not only does this prolong your night out, but it also means that you inevitably end up meeting loads of other drunk people who have been out on the razz, too. Believe me, I’ve met some very interesting people this way. And a few scary ones.

For me, Abdul’s wins the contest with its neighbour Gemini (nicknamed ‘Dirty Gemini’ by much of the Whitworth Park population) hands down. I will eat here voluntarily and when sober, which is more than can be said for the majority of Oxford Road’s takeaways.
My favourite thing to eat at Abdul’s is the veggie burger. After a busy day of lectures when I had nothing in, I would sometimes pop in for a veggie burger which I would eat on the high stools in the takeaway whilst gazing out onto Oxford Road. Due to a rather sparse timetable this wasn’t particularly often, but every time I went in the staff would remember me and often gave me a free can with my burger.
They stuff the burgers and kebabs full — although be warned, the salad does consist mainly of cabbage, so if you don’t like it, ask for it without.
Friendly staff — 1 star, cheap food — 1 star, tasty food — 1 star, freebies — 1 star. Well done Abdul.

I’ve noticed that there’s no real correlation between one Abduls and another. The quality depends more on who’s there preparing and cooking your kebab than anything else, and this Abduls has got a lovely man cooking away seemingly 24/​7, who’s absolutely brilliant. Literally every time I’ve been, and this is quite a lot due to its proximity to the university, the same man is happily preparing and cooking my seek kebab to perfection.
The best thing about this Abduls seems a pretty elementary requirement, but is so often absent in kebab restaurants. They actually take the time to get the ingredients in your kebab to match the order you have placed. They make sure that if you want your sauces separately, that’s how they come. If you want lots of chilli sauce and no mango, that’s how it’ll come. If you want all the salad, you’ll get all the salad. And it all comes in a generous pile with a smile.
Plus they’ve got the daily papers if you want to eat in.

Since my last review an age ago where I reviewed the Abdul’s in Fallowfield, my taste and general threshold for what I consider to be decent has increased to the point where Abdul’s no longer seems so brilliant. I have since traversed Manchester in search of intriguing takeaways, and found many that easily out do it. in case you are wondering how I never came across these before it’s probably because I never used to have a reason to go into these places whilst I was still sober, and therefore my memories were ever so slightly skewed.
Anyway, Abdul’s does a decent kebab for a reasonable amount, and that’s about it. I’ve found better places, and I’ve certainly found worse. Abdul’s sits somewhere just above the average at the moment.

Ok, so I’m well aware of how wrong it is of me to leave a review for a rather tacky take away outlet, but hear me out. Mainly because Abdul’s has a secret weapon so good that I used to pine for it when I lived in London.
Chip Naans. Think about it — fried pieces of potato wrapped in a delicious, floury handmade naan bread doused in ketchup and/​or Mayo. What’s not to like?
Yes, it is a carb explosion that will send you to an early grave if you eat more than two of them in the space of a 72 hour period, but after a few sherbets, these taste like culinary nirvana. And they’re obviously aware that they’re onto a good thing targeting the drunken wastrels market — think about it, why else would they have decided to position themselves next to some of the finest bars in Manchester?
Here’s a tip for you though — just don’t take them on the night bus with you when you’re vainly attempting to find your way home through a haze of cheap vodka. It’ll stink the bus out and only end up getting chucked out a window whilst you’re going down Wilbraham Road. And that’s just a waste of good junk food quite frankly.

Abduls dominates the oxford road kebab scene, I can’t really see why to be honest apart from the convenience of their locations. The kebabs are very very standard. Where’s the enthusiasm the flare? None existent apparently with this mega monster of eastern fast food joints.
The kebabs are alright and that’s about it, I had a very alright kebab though the salad was a little funky to my recollection, I could of sworn they put uncooked cabbage bits in it. Any who the only thing to watch out for in this infamous dictatorship is the burger meal deals, £2.50 for a can, chips and the burger isn’t bad going. Sadly in my opinion these places seem to be creating a monotonous onslaught of kebab houses down oxford road. The producers seem to have forgotten the magic from their youth of being rat arsed in a kebab place at 3 in the morning, after many ranting conversations with the people around you, you hear your order, take your order, sit down in a quiet spot with it and enjoy. These new breed of kebabs are very tedious and slightly depressing. Am I looking into this too much?

Surrounded by student accomadation and university buildings, this Abduls is mainly populated by students tucking into cheap kebabs, chips and curries.
In the daytime it’s relatively quiet with half a dozen stools and plastic seats for customers to perch on. At night however, it can become a bit lively with large groups of drunk and sober customers popping in for some quick chow. As for the food itself, we’re talking about edible and filling (rather than tantalising) kebabs, biryanis, dansaks and madras.
The close proximity to Manchester Academy, Contact Theatre and Big Hands make Abduls an ideal destination for grabbing a take-​away after a gig, show or club night. Just be prepared to be surrounded by some colourful characters trying to pinch your chips or worse still, chat you up!

Near the academy, near Jabez Clegg, next door to big hands, everything you want from a kebab shop. Good range of kebab, doner, shish, lamb and chicken as well as somosas and other things. I haven’t been here for a while but had my favourite chicken kebab. Marinaded chicken chargrilled on the best naan bread ever. Lots of salad, yoghurt, mango and chilli sauce. Brilliant. Late night treat includes cheese and chip naan. Good and busy, food cooked in front of you always good.

Awful. This is a chain of awful fast-​food kebab cafes staffed by awful teenagers. When you’re this close, why not go somewhere good? There are several places a bit further down the road on the curry mile…

I’ve been going to abdul’s for about 3 years now and I must say that they are absolutely fantastic. They have never let me down in that entire period of time. I don’t tend to like fast food places mainly because of bad hygiene and not good value for money. At abduls every thing is well prepared and well presented and not to mention cheap. The only down side is that the place is so popular with locals, it will take you some time to order as the ques get massive especially at lunch time.
The other thing I like about this place is that its open for absolute ages till about four in the morning so it’s easy to go in an pick up something at almost anytime of day and night. Very highly recommended.