So, I've finally had the pleasure. After many a moon of folks telling me this off-the-beaten-track gem is worth seeking out, opportunity knocked this Tuesday when a friend chose to have her birthday meal here. I have to admit, as soon as I saw the location I was delighted. It's no more than a 15 minute walk or so from Hyde Park, so easily navigate-able, and stands proudly on the corner.
Once you get inside the warmth of the place (literally) and the staff greet you immediately. We were something like 20 strong, and had to wait for a table to finish before we could sit, so stood a bit awkwardly in the entrance - not that it was CC's fault, but as a group there's not quite room in the waiting area. I've heard that in times gone by they'd send folks over to the pub across the road in that kind of scenario, but that has been turned into a Tesco Metro. Sad times.
We didn't wait long though, and soon enough piled into our seats. The waitresses kept us well watered with water and drinks orders throughout the night, which was a great touch. I wasn't boozing so particularly appreciated fresh water being replenished without having to ask. As we were a big group, the put on a set meal for that, and so first came a selection of dips and poppadoms. I wasn't a huge fan of the yoghurt dips, as they were a bit tart, but that's just me - everyone else adored them. As well as regular poppadoms we also had cumin seed ones.
Next up came starters, which consisted of various battered delicious bites, and some minced lamb kebab type bits of meat, and tikka chicken pieces. All of those were excellent. In particular I liked the battered potato and tikka chicken - it was cooked to perfection and not in the least bit dry.
Lastly came the mains. We had a selection of about 10 different dishes, maybe more, and all dived in. You guys, these were the kiddy. This was the one. So, in the end I only tried a few dishes before feeling utterly stuffed, but I had a lamb and mushroom dish, medium spiced, in a red (tomato?) sauce. A chicken and mushroom, which wasn't quite a korma, but had a delicious flavour and cream based sauce. Those two were the stand out for me, but we had all kinds of veggie, spicy, and other going on. Not a bite was disappointing. All freshly made.
And the naan?! Sugary! I can't tell you how much this made sense once you mixed it with the curry. Just trust me and go with it.
Basically, I've found a new favourite in this family restaurant. Why not five stars? Well, I've only been once, so ought to go again just to be sure. But every bit of this is fantastic. It's not fancy, but it's cosy, the staff are amongst the friendliest I've experienced in Leeds, and the food is exquisite. Oh - and the price? £15/head for that banquet! read more