Karahi Palace – Glasgow – Scotland

Definitely Glasgow’s Most Understated Curry Venue 

Karahi Palace (51 – 53 Nelson Street,  Glasgow, G5 8DZ) is located in Tradeston, an unfashionable part of the Inner City, but in reality is only a five minute walk across the Jamaica Bridge, or two minutes from Bridge St. Subway Station.

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2022 was a difficult year at Karahi Palace. Following the struggles of Lockdown there were two long periods of closure, Chef Rashid became indisposed.  However, by the end of the year all appeared well. In the spring of of 2023, Ayaz departed, Mr. Ali became the new owner. 

Serving Hector – The Wrong Curry – i.e. cooked to the wrong recipe, was approaching the catastrophic.  Karahi Palace New-co was consequently declared in Curry-Heute.

The replacement Chef could faithfully reproduce the signature Curry – Karahi Lamb. More visits would reveal if all was well.  If Chef Rashid could return then this was a given.

At the start of June, 2023, all change, again. Moiz, son of Ahmed (Darbar Grill), has been established as the new manager/co?-owner. He hopes to renovate and  change the name to Mehfil, but there are other alternatives. As for the fayre, time will tell. The return of Chef Rashid has not been ruled out. 

Walk-On-By, to Your Sorrow

Hector spent years walking past this venue in days when The Village satisfied all his needs. One day I popped in just to check what was on offer and check the ambience. The chap behind the counter let me peruse the menu, most was written above the counter and on the adjacent wall.

There is a definite air of this venue being a Takeaway, however, there is an upstairs restaurant to supplement the small seating area on the ground floor. The colour scheme was decidedly garish for many years, but has calmed down in recent times.  Karahi Palace is the second Curry House in Glasgow to be reviewed one hundred times on Curry-Heute, yes, it is that good.

It’s the food that matters

A full Menu is on offer with a detailed description of the dishes. This is significant because many of the dishes served here are simply not available anywhere else. It was here that Hector first encountered the – Bitter Gourd – Karela. This has proved to be significant. Karahi dishes are available either by the portion, Half-Kilo, or even the Kilo. Go on, order a Half-Kilo for oneself, have a party!

 

The more obscure dishes on offer include Paye (Trotters) and Shahi Haleem which I can only describe as a Lentil and Lamb based version of Stovies.

Lamb is now only available on-the-bone, a much better eating experience, which is why in 2016 they dropped – Boneless. The Karahi Gosht, Hector-style, (extra methi and seasoning) is an absolute winner.

The Staff

Ayaz, formerly Mein Host, Rashid, the Main Chef,  both  can cook.

The nearby Village, more upmarket by far,  will always put Karahi Palace in the shade. I know one will get a much better feed here, and the prices are certainly more modest.