You can get an entire roast lamb to share at this Manchester Indian restaurant

Beef, pork, chicken or lamb – which is your favourite roast? I love lamb, but I couldn’t eat a whole one.

Well, it turns out, I actually can. With some help, of course. And you can too, thanks to Zouk’s show-stopping roast.

Good things come to those who wait, and it’s well worth waiting for this epic feast, which requires 48 hours notice and will easily serve 10-15 people. 

We gathered a group together and headed over to the Chester Street restaurant to get stuck in.

It almost feels like a ceremony when the beast is brought in, carried by two servers on a vast platter, and it’s fair to say we were the envy of other diners as the aromas wafted across the restaurant.

The whole lamb, sourced locally, has been marinated for over six hours and then stuffed with spiced rice to soak up all the delicious juices. Then it’s slow-cooked until the meat is so tender that it easily falls off the bone.

And there are mountains of burnished roast potatoes cooked in their skins, too, as well as fresh greens and lashings of thick, hearty gravy.

Not just any gravy, though. Zouk’s gravy, served in a huge bowl to be ladled over as desired, is rich and glutinous, having been built up by slowly simmering the bones in the stock and adding spices of chili, garlic and ginger. It’s so addictive you could eat it like a soup.

Part of the fun of a feast like this is getting hands-on and stuck in. There’s a primeval respect of fire and flesh, seeing the animal served whole like this.

We start rather timidly, gently slicing chunks off the legs, until we build confidence. Sleeves rolled up, in no time we’re turning the whole thing over so we can get as much of the tender roast meat as possible off the bones.

And as great as the meat is – and it is – there’s also a real joy to eating family-style, gathered together around the communal dish, chatting and laughing and passing plates over to each other to make sure everyone gets a heaped plateful of happiness.

Because, really, at a time when we all tend to feel a bit rushed and anxious as the status quo, there’s little more comforting and better-making than leisurely breaking bread together. Or in this case, lamb.

Zouk’s whole roast lamb is available every day, not just Sundays, so you don’t even need to wait until the weekend to try it. Just make sure you book in advance, and give them 48 hours notice to do all the hard work for you.

If that volume of food is too much for you or you’re in a smaller group, there’s always a whole roast chicken or a leg of lamb. 

But for larger groups, it’s definitely worth getting in on the whole roast lamb action for a special occasion like no other.

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