Cachumba

Enjoyable curries here although the portions are a little small. The smaller prices reflect this though. I would get a sharing platter in future. I had penang chicken with potato which had a good level of spice without being overbearing. I also enjoyed the khoubza bread but sharing it was unnecessary as it’s not naan size as I expected. My fault for assuming though! My friend and brother also enjoyed their food, a kashmir paneer and a south Indian prawn curry.
The service could have been a bit more friendly and knowledgeable on the evening I was there, although it was okay.

Nice little place with a good value £15 sharing selection for dinner, which is great because the choices are all very appealing and less would have felt like we were missing out. Wine (NZ Sauvignon Blanc… surprise) was also good value. The range of flavours from peanut to spicy lamb was excellent. Normally I’m not keen on this sort of random dish from everywhere place, but they blended together very well.
I don’t know whether it was because we arrived quite hungry and desperate so were startlingly quick off the mark to order, but the servers seemed overwhelmed and were generally charmless, the only thing that marred the experience.

Reading the six previous reviews, it seems that the South Asian culinary firepower of Cachumba has never been in doubt, maintaining a 4.5 star average even before their recent extensive refurbishment. Be aware that the storefront you are looking for is now muted earth tones and black (see my photo, ignore the previous red and orange fascia photos by others).
Personally, I never knew Cachumba pre-​refurbishment, so I can only say that it now looks to be ticking all the boxes aesthetically. The décor is white walls and matt black painted wood, with a nice selection of South Asian artefacts, paintings and spice jars. The square stools covered with white kilim-​type fabric are surprisingly comfortable!
Basically, this place is all about Seema, who has been owner-​managing-​cooking-​dishwashing this place for over twenty years! Seema is in there from noon on the five days Cachumba opens, working away on various aspects of the business whilst dealing with the trickle of daytime customers, before things step up a gear in the evening.
I’ve eaten here just the once, at lunchtime, and fans of curry cafés will recognise the ‘Rice & 3 curries’ deal for £5.50 — if not the elegant setting and presentation! For vegetarian choice, Cachumba is up there with the most vegetarian-​friendly curry places I’ve tried in Manchester — Anand’s or Dosa Xpress. What all three of these places have in common is that they are out of India rather than Pakistan and so the vegetarian culinary tradition is stronger. Cachumba’s unique feature is that Seema is cooking for you, body and soul, with a huge breadth of culinary know-​how and flexibility, to come up with just the right thing for you! Apart from the nicely spiced rice, I had dhal, blackeyed beans and mixed veg curries — a very interesting and accomplished thali combination (see photo). I added a khoubz bread for £1.25, which came nicely warmed with a little oil or ghee on top to keep it soft.
The menu looks to be divided into lunchtime daily specials, evening ‘Rice Table’ which is several dishes from the Cachumba favourites menu served thali-​style with rice, and a dessert menu featuring an eclectic mix of Indian and English puddings (see photos)!
Read other reviewers for advice on non-​vegetarian options — they sound like a bunch of happy customers also!
There are places in Manchester doing better flatbreads (tandoor chapati) and maybe even better Indian regional specialities (see my review and photos of Dosa Xpress). However, for an Indian vegetarian date venue in Manchester, I would say Cachumba is my safe #1 choice right now, based on the combination of good food, décor, service, and relaxed ambience.
Note: Rusholme curry restaurants are mainly Pakistani, and therefore — AFAIK — less vegetarian-​friendly. But I recently enjoyed a set meal at Mughli on the Curry Mile with good vegetarian choices, so there are definitely exceptions to the rule which I look forward to discovering as I gain more experience in the curry restaurant category.

We enjoyed our meal here at Cachumba — the food was very good — its vegetarian and a mix of Indian and maybe malaysian or indonesian, tasty and lots of choices on the menu.
We hadn’t booked and were lucky to get seated — it was a Thursday evening and a big party had most of the room, this is a small restaurant. Bit noisy because of the party but apart from that a very enjoyable dinner, I would probably book next time.

A great little place in West Didsbury. Portions a little on the small size for the price, and but all the food is home cooked, fresh, and tasty. The gujarati vegetables were especially good. They do take out too, which is a great alternative to traditional curries. We cleaned every bowl :)

Cachumba is so friendly and has a delicious menu inspired by, to quote, dishes from India, Sri lanka, Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Africa. There are so many flavours and so much choice I actually had to go on their website to see where it all comes from! It’s a real treat inside as you feel like you’ve been transported to another little world where you can relax and tuck into a good meal the way it should be done, no fuss and food-​focused.
My flat mate used to work here too and I know that the boss Seema is a one woman inspiration who ended up being her good firend as well as pay issuer! She really is in the business for the love of food and that’s why she is such a fab cook. If all this isn’t enough to tempt you to go here, then how about it’s cheap too, £6.30 for a Red Chicken Curry is ridiculously cheap when you consider the quality and freshness of the ingredient’s.
My tip would be to go with a group and share everything, so you can have a taste of it all!

Well aren’t you just darling! This pretty, quirky, brightly-​coloured Moroccan-​looking gem is perfect for the West Didsbury boho vibe. With a vastly varied menu featuring dishes from Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Africa, there’s plenty of choice but no compromise on quality.
Compared with a lot of pricier and more ostentatious restaurants on Burton Road, Cachumba holds its own. The atmosphere is informal and friendly, creating a homely vibe as opposed to the usual dining out experience. The ambient and calming music alongside stressless service mean that this is somewhere to unwind, particularly as it makes you forget you’re in a city suburb. There may not be many dishes but as I’ve said they hail from all over the place, and it’s as veggie friendly as you could imagine.
As well as a selection of wines the soft drinks here are pretty special too. Overall it’s great value, a cute little place that bears repeating.

Some restaurants on Burton Road can be a little pricey and pretentious. But, thankfully, this little gem is neither! It has a friendly, informal atmosphere that’s makes you feel like you’re in someone’s home than a restaurant. It’s relaxing too, with soothing music, unrushed service and colour blinds that shield you from the sound of Burton Road’s relentless traffic.
Although Cachumba only has a short menu, it’s cheap, tasty and veggie friendly! In fact, a whole section of the menu is dedicated to vegetarian dishes, so my boyfriend and I felt spoilt for choice. Eventually, we decided to go for the Daal and a Saag Paneer, both of which were gorgeous. The drinks that accompanied our feast were pretty special too. There are some weird and wonderful soft drinks, such as Elderflower bubbly, as well as some tasty world beers, well-​priced wines and beautiful organic cider!
This place is one in a million! With prices you can afford to pay regularly and food that’s special enough to impress a friend, it’s a great place to go for any occasion.

Quirky, tasty and reasonably priced. This strange little café is only open 6−10pm Tuesday to Saturday and doesn’t look very open from the outside. It’s worth venturing in though. There are Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, South Indian and Vietnemese dishes all of which sound delicious and were the cause of some indecision. The options are broken down into fish dishes, vegetarian dishes, chicken/​lamb dishes and sides — the main dishes are priced from £3.50 to £9.95. The vegetarian dishes are great for sharing (the gujurati veg and spiced okra & onions were delicious) and all taste fresh and well prepared. The wine list is a bit disappointing — it sticks to mainly Italian and Spanish options, where I was hoping the eastern adventures of the menu would be reflected in the drinks options. Still, some nice cheap house red did the trick when I was penny-​watching before pay day.
When I last went, there was only us and one other table. The service was attentive but not overly so and on a busier occasion we still didn’t have to wait long to order or for the food to arrive.
It’s not fine dining for those who like a polished surrounding, informed wine list or extensive menu — but if you are drawn to slightly quirky cafes and places to eat you’ll get delicious food for a reasonable price. And very pink walls indeed.

As I have mentioned in my Unilocaling history I am very indecisive when it comes to choosing what I’m going to order in a restaurant. I usually check the menu online first and have in my mind the tasty dish I’m going to order, I then check the menu when I get there and go for something more exotic than my original choice (after all if I’m going for something Nepalese I have to have the most Nepalese thing on the menu) and when the waiter comes over I end up plumping for something familiar that I have no doubt I’ll be able to demolish (king prawn bhuna). At the end of the meal I’m often left wishing I’d chosen something else, or worst of all tried a different cuisine altogether.
This is why Cachumba is great. You can try lots of different dishes from lots of different countries including loads of veggie and fishy dishes (great for us pescetarians). It’s a bit like tapas I suppose, but the portions are a bit more substantial. On the helpful advice of the waitress we chose 4 dishes to share and some rice and bread. The dishes we tried ranged from the deliciously sweet Sri Lankan coconut lentils to a favourite Indian dish of mine, saag paneer. They were all equally as delicious as each other and didn’t leave me wishing I’d ordered something else.
It cost us about £25 for all of our veggie food and some soft drinks, which was really good value. I would recommend this place for a date as it is quite small and intimate, you can share your food, you can wear jeans and it’s not somewhere you would feel embarrassed about using the wrong cutlery for the wrong dishes. Contrary to Alison B’s review, I believe that they also sell wine and beer, so I would check the BYOB policy before rocking up with a bottle.

This friendly, quirky, little café-​restaurant provides a fine selection of North African and Asian cuisine with great meat and fish dishes and a good vegetarian section. Friendly vibes, ethnic artwork and world music complete the truly pan-​global atmosphere. There are always various daily blackboard specials on offer along with regular favourites such as chargrilled swordfish steak with garlic and Greek salads. You can bring your own alcohol if you wish, but soft drinks, teas and fresh coffee are all available on the premises.

There are few restaurants that give you a variety of cuisines to choose from in Manchester, something I love about Cachumba Café. They have something for every mood, offering dishes from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and even Africa.
The interior is wonderfully decorated, a warm and rich colour palette nods to both Moroccan and Asian traditional style yet it still feels bohemian and casual enough to pop in for an informal gathering. Try the Javanese Fish Curry or the Ugandan Mtoki (Green Bananas), both are delicious and very reasonably priced.
The staff here are extremely friendly and charming, and try their best to accommodate you. Sometimes they’re very busy because this is a popular takeaway place too, so service can be a little slow, but for me this doesn’t affect the overall experience.

A nice change from your average curry-​house, Cachumba sources recipes from numerous countries and has a menu full of tasty, tapas-​sized dishes. For a full belly, pick ¾ dishes per person, also great to share with friends. The gujerati vegetables were DELICIOUS. Slightly on the expensive side, but a nice, quiet, little eatery none-​the-​less.