Bradford Halal food tour 2022 with Leeds Rd & Great Horton Rd

Following our successful Halal food tours of Birmingham and Manchester earlier in the year, we wanted to end 2022 with a tour of Bradford in West Yorkshire.

Sponsored by Halal-friendly, 4-star boutique Hotel 55 in Ealing, west London, this historic city is the UK’s 3rd largest Muslim population (2011 census: 129,041) and boasts a vibrant Halal food scene.

With a number of Halal restaurants located in the architectural heart of Bradford, it’s in the surrounding suburbs where you’ll find most of the culinary diversity.

While Birmingham’s Ladypool Road and Manchester’s Wilmslow Road are famous for their long stretches of Halal restaurants, Bradford’s equivalence would undoubtedly be Leeds Road and to a lesser extent Great Horton Road.

The irrepressible Leeds Road offers plenty of Halal choices

While we could have spent a week alone covering the restaurants on Leeds Road, the two we just had to visit was luxury dessert restaurant brand Heavenly Desserts and the ‘King of Curry’ itself Akbar’s.

Pakistani curry house Akbar’s is as much about the history of the UK’s curry industry as Bradford is of being the ‘Curry Capital of Britain’.

Having first won this coveted award back in 2004, the city isn’t just the current title holder, but has the distinction of winning the crown a record six years in succession from 2011 till 2016.

And of course Akbar’s, which was established by owner Shabir Hussain in 1995, has been an integral part of this success by flying the flag for Pakistani curry ever since.

Having visited the famous restaurant for their newly introduced Charsi Karahi dishes, we came away with a new found sense of appreciation for Pakistani curries by rating Akbar’s 4.5/5.

The only place to hit that’s sufficient in satisfying any sweet tooth is Heavenly Desserts a few doors down with its magnificent design and aesthetics helping it to easily stand out from the crowd.

With a dazzling array of options that include some astoundingly innovative inventions, it’s also all about the journey when visiting this national brand.

Once we had primed our taste buds with their new range of dainty ‘Shots’, we had to go with their Signature ‘Grow Up’ dish which literally has a plant pot filled to the brim with chocolate goodies.

It was then on to the mind-blowing cross between a waffle and a croissant called a Croffle, before opting for another Signature, the Blueberry French Toast Pudding.

In the end, with such an extensive menu and so many more unique options to explore, Heavenly Desserts will definitely be satisfying those sweet cravings.

What makes Great Horton Road so great?

Great Horton Road was our next destination where we three very different cuisines in Chaiiwala, Friesday, and Manjaros.

When it comes to the fixation of karak chai, how can anyone look past the UK’s leading Indian street food brand Chaiiwala.

This award-winning brand has taken the country’s chai scene on an unprecedented journey; and this time was no different as we got to try some of the latest additions to their menu.

Being in Bradford, the Chilli Chip Butty with freshly fried chips served in a toasted bun was a no-brainer, after which we opted for one of their best-sellers, the classic Pani Puri dish.

But it was the traditional Halwa Puri breakfast along with plenty of beverages that keeps having us returning time and time again to Chaiiwala.

If you’re looking for something completely different, but incredibly delicious, then you have to visit Friesday opposite Bradford University.

While there are a number of fast food concepts based on chips alone, there certainly isn’t one like these lot that offers the triple-cooked version, with Friesday’s idea originating from Belgium.

The first thing you’ll notice when entering the store are specially designed, hanging sauce dispensers offering 10 classic and seven Belgian sauces, as well as seven kinds of mayos.

These are used to spruce up the three different ways in which to enjoy the combinations of Fries In A Cone, Munchbox, and Friesday Burger (bap or batty as it called in Yorkshire). What a concept.

There’s a very good reason why boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr and heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, as well as England footballer Paul Gascoigne, and multi-Michelin chef Gordon Ramsay, have all visited Manjaros.

This innovative Afro-Caribbean restaurant are a favourite hotspot with their colourfully vibrant interior matched only by their robust blend of African and Caribbean flavours.

Whether its the Hot Shot Chicken Parmesan which epitomises Manjaros’ confidence and bravado, or the Creamy Caribbean King Prawns, which captures the sweet flavour of the islands it originates from, these guys put the ‘hearty’ into food.

In the end, they have such a mouthwatering range to choose from – including pizzas and burgers, pasta and rice dishes, and more – that we’re sure to be hitting them up sooner than soon.

Halal food in the architectural heart of Bradford city centre

The Broadway shopping mall in Bradford city centre has a number of Halal brands to consider, starting with HMC-certified Chilli Flames and their Afro-Portuguese-inspired menu.

Their authentic Peri Peri flavour is driven by African Bird’s Eye Chilli procured from the shores of Mozambique, with four marinations to choose from when ordering their outstandingly good flame-grilled chicken.

But what sets this chicken brand apart is the small twists they bring every day fast food items such as their burgers with, for instance, their Prego Porto filled to the rafters with marinated strips of tender and chewy beef, and served in a semi-crusty bun.

And with Butterflied Prawns covered in a sweet-chilli sauce and served on messy fries, as well as a Mezze Platter, there’s a reason why Chilli Flames boast 17 sites across the UK.

Virtually next door is the hugely impressive Haute Dolci who, having started as a luxury dessert parlour, have expanded their menu to include not just a gourmet burger section, but a new Cheetos Collection from which we tried the ridiculously tasty Chicken Burg.

There are then their Signature Collections, which include their recently introdced brunch menu, such as the Avocado Perfect Day, or two types of Scrambled Eggs, a Fried Egg, a variety of delicious toasties, a trio of Open Sandwiches, an assortment of their new Granola Bowls in four types, and their Classic Collection of French Toasts.

If you haven’t already, then there’s no better reason to visit Haute Dolci following not just this update to their menu, but to also try their luxury desserts of waffles, cakes, and pancakes.

Frankster’s, or Frankie’s as they’re known in Bradford, is one of Yorkshire’s leading Halal fast food brands, and after visiting their fantastic venue in Sheffield, the inclusion of their store on Bank Street was inevitable.

They are renowned for a fully Halal menu revolving around gourmet burgers and next-level peri peri chicken, what follows is the reason why this franchise has such a massive online following and a fiercely loyal customer base.

Their success is hardly surprising given their exceptional range of chicken and smashed beef burgers, of which their best-selling are the Big Daddy and its partner the Big Mama.

And apart from high quality wings, which are thoroughly doused in plenty of finger-licking sauce, they also offer healthier options like Frankster’s elaborate ‘Frankster’s Salad with Chicken’.

One final place that we officially visited was the only dark kitchen as part of this tour, and that is Burgerize in Buck Street’s Buck House.

Motivated by the fact that “Bradford, Oldham and Bolton deserve better”, Burgerize have acquired a formidable reputation with a simple menu made-up of just a pair of burgers that have been honed to perfection.

This includes their HMC-certified, free range, Angus beef, smashed burger, as well as the recently introduced The Jailbird chicken breast burger which became an overnight hit.

Is it any wonder then that Burgerize have branches in four cities? The secret to their success is attention to detail.

Legendary steakhouse Cona rated a perfect 5/5

Finally, while Cona wasn’t officially part of this tour, we were always going to visit them given their reputation as one of the best fully Halal steakhouses in the UK.

What makes this place so incredible is that this was, and currently still is, owner Armi Ahmed’s first and only restaurant venture.

Located in an area as austere-looking as Little Germany’s East Parade, Cona turned out to be a cut above the rest (excuse the pun) not just as a fully Halal steakhouse, but as a fully Halal restaurant too.

From their unique starters, to a cheesecake which could just be the UK’s first and only one to combine the two techniques used for making a cheesecake: baked and set, they also served us a sunday roast like no other with Japanese A1 Wagyu at the centre of the experience.

In short, a visit to Bradford without paying homage to Cona would be criminal. This steakhouse deserves the legendary tag we have given it, as well as its 5/5 rating.