I've been going here for about 20 years with my dad and am pleased to say nothing much has really changed.

We always get excellent service and the food is always good (sometimes it's amazing).

The decor is like being transported back to the 1970s but I quite like that.

The prices haven't increased much over the years and 5 of us ate there last night for £50 including tip (and that was really going for it).

I would recommend this place to anyone who loves curry and especially to those on a budget (a main meal +3 chapatti start at £5).

I used to spend my school dinner money here, when you could get a curry (meat, chicken or keema) and 3 chapatis for 9d. Although I live in Hampshire my family still lives in Bradford and I have been visiting the Karachi for 45 years.

Don't expect any frills, knives and forks are unusual and have to be collected from the serving hatch. The décor, whilst an improvement on the late 60's is still very basic. They do not take credit cards.

The menu has expanded, Rick Stein visited, but the standard of the food, and value for money, is still good. I do not understand the negative reviews, I think they are just as good as they were.

If you go for the first time, and you are not used to Bradford "ethnic" just be prepared for a culture shock, I think it is worth it

Older people in my family used to eat here when they were younger but we have had to stop going as the standard seems to have dropped significantly from what people have said.
The surroundings weren't nice and basic like some reviewers are saying, we just found them to be filthy looking and out of date.The man bringing the food couldn't speak English, threw plates of food on the table and took 3 peoples starters before they had even finished. He had a sports t-shirt on with curry stains all over and dirty hands which didnt fill us with much hope on the hygiene side of things. Then finally, the food turned up and was nothing like my grandad had said it was years ago with few people enjoying the meals. A few hours later my boyfriend was sick from a chicken curry which really upset his stomach. Don't recommend it, it's not authentic and different it's just down right scruffy.

Although we were aware of the ‘no frills’ aspect, I’m not sure anything could prepare us for the experience of dining at Karachi restaurant. As other reviewers have mentioned, this establishment has been endorsed by Rick Stein, and I agree that the food is good considering the low prices. I do wonder, however, whether the experience overall really is ‘good value.’ I’m still thinking about this, but I feel I may reach the conclusion that I would be willing to accept a larger bill if the customer service matched the quality of the food, and that the £10 a head we paid works as a trade off.

For example, although he wasn’t rude in an obvious way, our waiter kept dialogue to the bare minimum. To indicate that he wanted to take our order, he walked up to our table and stated ‘yes.’ The restaurant wasn’t overly busy, so it’s not that he was just too busy to make conversation. I also don’t believe there is a language barrier, as he seemed to understand everything we told him. When we asked where the nearest cash point is, he pointed in the general direction and said ‘near the college,’ then walked away before we could ask any follow up questions.

Other aspects of our visit that I found rather odd include the fact that customers are expected to either eat with their hands or help themselves to cutlery, without any explicit advice such as a sign to inform you to do so. Paying cash is also, in my opinion, quite unusual for a restaurant in the UK. We also had to guess that we were expected to go to the counter to pay, rather than requesting a bill. This restaurant serves good food, but is an odd place.

I first started eating here in 1971 and it remained my first choice, in fact pretty much only choice, until earlier this year. I was fond of the basic surroundings and no-frills meals because the food was always good, tasty and above all consistent. I had a poor meal there but hoped it was a one-off, so tried again with a party of 7. It was embarassing to introduce these people to it....the chicken bhuna, advertised in the menu as a `dry dish` was the same as the chicken dopiaza except that the dopiaza had some fried onions sprinkled on top. When we queried whether or not they`d got the order wrong the waiter explained that bhuna is exactly the same as dopiaza, but dopiaza has onions on top. So, its official ! Never mind, we thought, so long as it tastes nice. But it didnt - it was the blandest curry I`ve ever tasted at the Karachi. Why persist in the hope that it returns to its former standards ? Just go somewhere else . I`m far from fussy - In the earlier days of the Karachi I was eating there alone one lunchtime when there was a tiny `ting` noise from my dish. A mouse dropping had fallen from a hole in the broken plasterwork on the ceiling and was on the flange of my dish. A mouse tail dangled from the hole above before disappearing. I continued with my meal unperturbed - that`s how good the food was in 1973 and remained so until recently !