We have more than the average quota of kids, five to be exact, all boys. So: yes this is a review of the Nawaab, but one which looks at it from the point of view of a man taking his family.

Now the Nawaab is one of those places we’ve passed many times, liked the look of, but never entered. Now having enjoyed it, we will almost certainly be going back with the tribe. They loved the experience.

It began well. We were made to feel so welcome from the minute we drove into the secure car park off the main road. This continued as we walked through the shiny marble reception and into the cavernous depths of this former cinema. That might sound like a self-evident fact. We have money. They are a restaurant. They are a service industry. But you will be surprised how many times our scruffy rabble are barely tolerated by impatient shop keepers and restaurant owners.

You can’t book at the Nawaab and we had to wait at the bar for about 20 minutes when we arrived at 6.30. They told us it would be half an hour, which is quite a clever trick. The kids all had a drink at the bar, one of them didn’t explain what he wanted and got the wrong thing but that’s not the barman’s fault and we didn’t ask to change it.

You can’t get a beer as it’s very proudly an alcohol free zone. At first I cursed this, but in a noisy, bustling and ever so slightly chaotic atmosphere I was grateful later.

We were seated on a table for six and they brought an extra chair for us. It all added to the adventure. They charge £12 per head, with adults starting at 11 years of age and then the youngsters from 4 upwards are charged half price. This was clearly and patiently explained.

The food is a buffet. You just pile in. Our lot headed straight for the starters, and this being Asian food we were keen to let them experiment, but not to put them off for life by scorching the insides of their mouths. We also ordered two bottles of water – they don’t offer jugs of tap water which is rubbish. I won’t have bottled mineral water in the house, I think it’s an abomination and a scam. But that’s what we had here and I couldn’t really be arsed to argue.

As parents we were the testers, in order to make sure the kids were all right, which is a great place to be. I love a spicy tomato sauce on a naan bread. I love shish kebabs, chicken tikka, spicy wings, but they were very hot. Fine for me, but we steered the kids to the ones that didn’t look and taste too fiery. This we got slightly wrong and then had to order more and more water.

I’ve been to a few of these buffet places for lunch in Manchester city centre and it’s all mass produced vats of bland stuff next to unidentifiable deep fried rubber. This was in a different class.

All straight out of the kitchen, lamb chops right off the grill, fresh meat and fresh fish. I could list every dish they have, but they don’t and I can’t. I’ll highlight the lamb though. Proper melt in your mouth slow cooked lamb, juicy and tasty whether it was coated in a dry kirali sauce, or the speciality niralli, a creamy sauce.

There were chillis to add on, bits of coconut, cashews. The choice was absolutely bewildering. For the kids it didn’t matter, they were at liberty to try and discover a little bit of everything. And as a bit of an old fashioned Victorian Dad when it comes to waste, I’d scoop up what they couldn’t eat.

In a previous review someone took umbrage that I’d been to a country pub and had a fresh market chicken salad. Like having an omelette in a curry house, they said. Yes, quite. Well Nawaab also had chips, pizza and a pasta in cheese sauce. Guess what one of our kids liked best when given the choice?

But, to be fair, I noticed plenty of the traditionally dressed Asian customers piling their plates with chips as well. There’s obviously a market for it across the ethnic groupings despite what the purists think.

The crowning glory was the dessert selection: piles of ice cream of all their favourite flavours and a delicious gateau. Not very Asian – I should have chosen the sweets, but I was stuffed. We were ever so slightly nudged along by our enthusiastic waiting staff, but this isn’t the place to hang around for long anyway. (They also got a bit touchy about us taking photos and stopped me just as I was getting started.)

By the time we left the Nawaab was heaving with people, guests were arriving in the dusk, stepping out of stretch limousines and being dropped off by proud fathers in large saloon cars. The happy and celebratory air of the wedding party filled the reception area. The kids loved the sounds and energy of it all. And it’s not hard to understand why. It was an adventure and an experience.

One big criticism is that the toilets were a mess. Apart from that, I couldn’t fault the Nawaab for somewhere to take our lads and expand their culinary horizons.

Rating:	15.5/20
Breakdown:	8/10 food 3.5/5 service 4.5/5 ambience
Address:	Nawaab 1008 Stockport Road Manchester M19 3WN 0161 224 6969

Venues are rated against the best examples of their kind: fine dining against the best fine dining, cafes against the best cafes. Following on from this the scores represent: 1-5 saw your leg off and eat it, 6-9 get a DVD, 10-11 if you must, 12-13 if you’re passing,14-15 worth a trip,16-17 very good, 17-18 exceptional, 19 pure quality, 20 perfect. More than 20: Gordo gets carried away