Initial reports had floated the possibility of upmarket dining in the curry conurbation and first impressions appeared favourable as we climbed the marble stairs to the first-floor eaterie.
The layout mimics an Oriental palace imagined by TV's Ground Force on a tighter-than-usual budget - a drizzling fountain is framed by wooden benches and pot plants, surfaces are carved wood and iron panels, and oxidised lanterns hang from the ceiling.
But looking closer, we found flimsy pink drapes, worn tiles, and saggy upholstery. This is not to say these flaws impacted on the quality of food or service. These proved to be mediocre in their own right.
I mentioned before some distinctive features. Firstly, Pink Garlic does not serve alcohol - generally a reliable gauge of authentic subcontinent cuisine - but instead offers a selection of fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies with names like Popeye's Punch and the Mango Fix.
Among these was the novel Garlic Gargle which, if ever there is a compendium of Manchester-based challenges (climbing the Beetham Tower, door-to-door sales in Moss Side) sinking this would doubtless be on it.
Two foaming tumblers appeared. My banana and date "energiser" tasted like a fruit-tinged lassi and my companion Derek's coriander and pear smoothie was a sour concoction more appetising than it sounded.
And if we hadn't fancied the vitamins, a Slush Puppy machine was chomping away in the corner.
Innovation
The second innovation at the restaurant became apparent as we scanned the menus. Pink Garlic also does Chinese food. Not just in a tokenistic "European options" way.
It actually offers sweet and sour, crispy duck, won ton - more dishes than curries, in fact. Spying on our fellow diners and noting the lack of chopsticks, we decided to stick with the subcontinental menu.
There were no surprises here but the only difference was that the usual bhunas and dopiazas were listed without any explanation of the ingredients.
This brevity is largely to be admired as many of the sauces are simply British constructions, not found in Pakistan, India or Bangladesh - but a bit more explanation would have saved our waiter from a lengthy interrogation by Derek.
My lamb tikka was served lukewarm, although the marinated meat had at one time been hot enough to dry out completely.
But Derek's mixed grill of bitter chops and chicken was better and came served in a proper sizzling pan and adorned with green peppers.
Mughlai
A main course of chicken mughlai had a buttery, coconut and coriander tang - not a million miles away from Thai - and had been cooked long enough for the meat to absorb some of the flavours. The resulting sauce has been reduced to a pleasingly thick consistency, failing to flatten when cut with a knife.
My friend's achari chicken was a piquant tomato stew thick with onions and peppers, which was also decent and a large enough portion.
The garlic nan was as it should be - fluffy, with a slightly doughy chew and not too much butter - but the big bowl of vegetable rice had used mostly frozen vegetables, although fresh carrots had been added. It was OK if slightly too oily.
The final note of discord chimed as the dessert menu arrived. Along with kulfi and ice cream, a baffling array of cakes, buns, shortbreads and other unexpected bakery products are on offer.
Dessert
How many people could manage custard slice (£1.95) and iced fingers (99p) after a substantial curry is questionable, but the option is there.
Despite our disavowal of the Chinese selection (along with everyone else who was eating there), they did bring us a fortune cookie which, rather than the usual pie-in-the-sky adages, told us to invest in Dubai property.
As curry goes there was not a great deal to distinguish Pink Garlic from dozens of other restaurants on Wilmslow Road.
The sauces we tried were distinctive enough, the quality of meat average, and sundries a bit disappointing.
It is a shame that nowhere in this vibrant location appears to be brave enough yet to branch out into modern subcontinent cuisine - as has happened in Birmingham and London.
Pink Garlic, Wilmslow Road, Manchester (0161 224 6669).
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