Tharavadu review: I tried the Leeds city centre Indian restaurant that has wowed celebrity visitors

Snuggly situated on Mill Hill by the train station, the first thing one notices after entering, as well as the tastefully spacious, wood panelled surroundings that capture the essence of the Keralan state its menu is committed to showcasing, is the array of plates dotted along the walls signed by big name visitors ranging from Sir Keir Starmer and Kasabian to Simon Pegg and Christopher Lloyd.

The restaurant recently grabbed headlines after hosting A-list movie star Rebel Wilson and other cast members of the upcoming Christmas film ‘Tinsel Town’, which was filmed around Yorkshire, so now felt as good a time as any to get acquainted.

Our visit came as Tharavadu is preparing to formally open a sister restaurant in Leeds, Uyare, which is has taken over the previous Issho site at Victoria Gate offering an elevated dining experience.

The frames holding the plates could just as easily be filled with the vast number of awards won nationally and internationally, and the throng of customers filling the room, on the brisk Tuesday evening we visited, indicated that many others were either keen to know what all the fuss was about or had already been converted.

After browsing the compact yet detailed menu, which has food critic Jay Rayner’s summary of it being able to “make you profoundly happy” splashed on the front, my dining partner and I settled on some choices - with a little help from one of the many waiters that stopped by - that we felt would give us an ideal Tharavadu experience.

To start with we went with the chilli paneer (£8.75), which was lusciously soft and accompanied with a rich tomato sauce packing a powerful spice to wake up the senses.

For the main we want for the Rayner-recommended seafood curry (£21.25) and Kerala Kozhi Curry (£15.95), both of which were strong on flavour and with no shortage of sauce.

The heft of squid, prawns and tilapia fish were complemented by the ginger and garlic infused sauce, which had a sharp, Thai-like quality to it evoking the powerful aromas of the coastal region.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Kerala Kozhi Curry, which had a deep, earthy quality full of fragrant heat that enveloped the four tender chicken pieces it came with.

To mop up, my first experience of an appam (£2.95) proved eye-opening. Though it may be short on flavour, the ghostly fluffy, rice and coconut-based side was perfectly adept at shovelling in the rest of the aromatic dishes. The lemon rice (£3.75) also added that extra bit of kick with its mix of cashew nuts and mustard seeds.

The total price came to £52.45 for our meal. Overall, it was a delightful meal against a backdrop of extremely high expectations. There’s an abundance of great Indian restaurants now competing in Leeds which means Tharavadu won’t be able to simply rest on their laurels as their star continues to rise across the Leeds food and drink scene.

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Factfile

Address: 7-8 Mill Hill, Leeds LS1 5DQ

Telephone: 0113 244 0500

Opening hours:

• Sunday: 12–8 pm
• Monday: 12–1:30pm, 5–9:30pm
• Tuesday: 12–1:30pm, 5–9:30pm
• Wednesday: 12–1:30pm, 5–9:30pm
• Thursday: 12–1:30pm, 5–9:30pm
• Friday: 12–1:30pm, 5–9:30pm
• Saturday: 12–9:30pm

Website: http://tharavadurestaurants.com

Scores

Food: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Service: 8/10