Shezan, Manchester

We have been regular customers of Shezan in Rusholme for the last 5 years, however, having not been in for over 6 months until last weekend it is amazing how far downhill the place has gone. On a busy Saturday night we went for a meal after pub closing time, having been to a show earlier in the evening, and were pleased when our favourite restaurant was the only one without a queue. We soon found out why.

Initially we were sat at a table for 6 which was surrounded by filthy, greasy napkins all over the floor. Just as we had settled, a waiter came over and asked us to move to a smaller table, as there were only 2 of us, which we did. The table to which we were moved was FILTHY. Rather than cleaning it properly, however, the waiter wiped it quickly with a napkin and plopped plates and silverware down as we were brought a plate of poppadoms and chutneys. As we hadn't been asked if we wanted them, we assumed that they were free, since they usually are in Rusholme. When we went to order I chose an item off the chef's specials which was slightly more expensive than the standard curries (by about £1.50 - meaning it still cost well under £10 for the dish) only to be asked by the waiter "Are you sure, I mean that costs £7.50, can you afford it?" EXCUSE ME?!?! I have never, not even as a scrubby-looking (and very broke) student, been asked if I had been capable of reading the menu properly and knew how much I was meant to be paying for my meal. I don't know why he assumed we would 1) be stupid enough to not be able to read the prices on the menu and 2) would not be able to pay for what we ordered. Or maybe he just thought we were on a date and felt I was being rude by ordering something more expensive than my other half. Either way it was an unacceptable remark.

As we were brought our starters, however, and while we were still eating the poppadoms - which was obvious as I had my hand on the plate - they were rudely swiped away by a waiter. Then, a large group came in and were brought to the table next to us. One of the party proceed to bump into me twice before deciding to lie down on the floor with his head under our table. The waiter laughed and picked him up as his friends explained that he was "just a little drunk". He managed to fall out of his chair twice more - into us - at which point we asked to be moved a second time to a quieter table.

Right after sitting down at our third table, we got our main courses, which were fine, but were brought within seconds of the starters being taken away without the usual 15 minutes or so for digestion. We actually managed to get a full meal down us in just over 30 minutes, in fact, only to have to wait another 30 minutes for the bill. When we were finally brought the bill, we noticed we had been charged for the poppadoms we had not ordered but had been brought and which we had not been allowed to finish. Needless to say they didn't receive a gratuity as that little amount went towards paying for the poppadoms instead.

On the whole the food at Shezan is lovely and there's a good mix of the usual curry dishes and some items that are unique to the restaurant on the menu. The meat is consistently tender and tasty and the sauces are packed with flavour rather than being merely hot. But having to sit at a filthy table is an incredible turn-off as is having to endure drunken louts being seated practically on top of you when there were plenty of other tables. And being made to feel rushed is unpleasant. When you couple that with the fact that the waitstaff made it clear that they thought we looked like we might run off without paying (I guess jeans and t-shirts is unacceptable while passing out in your food is ok) the poor service made the whole atmosphere rather unpleasant and pretty much ruined what had been a rather nice evening out. We shall not be returning.