[@]Zouk Tea Bar and Grill Manchester

Zouk, a new generation Indian and Pakistani restaurant, opened a Manchester branch in February 2009. The 250-cover restaurant has an outside dining area which has heated parasols should it become a little chillier when the sun sets.

The outdoor seating also doubles as an authentic sheesha lounge, offering the ubiquitous Egyptian tobaccos in four flavours.

Zouk’s most popular dish is the sea bass special, in which the fish is marinated in herbs and spices and gently grilled over a pani sigri (that’s a water grill, for those of you who aren’t down on your Indian culinary lingo) and is priced at £10.95.

With regularly changing specials, several lobster dishes for a cool £34.95 each and a range of exotic healthy options, bog standard chicken korma and pilau rice this is most definitely not.