Thai Aroy Dee, Leeds

Occasion:                      Dining with friends

Party Size:                    4

Overall Rating:              ***** Excellent

Date Visited:                 July 2012
Price Per Person:           £12

Thai Aroy Dee is located on Vicar Lane in Leeds city centre. This unassuming place should not be dismissed as once you have experienced the food I am sure you will make this one of your favourite places to eat in Leeds. The restaurant prides itself on Thai “street food” and this is reflected in the ambience and setting. The venue itself is small and similar to a café with simple furnishings. Booking is recommended as it does get busy with the Thai community. On arrival we received a warm welcome and the staff were very attentive. The food was flavoursome and authentic so expect the food to be spicy where stated. The menu was illustrated in both English and Thai and had a wide selection of dishes you would expect to see in Thailand. Each dish on the menu clearly denoted the level of spice; a 3 chilli dish was hot! and didn’t leave me disappointed.  I had the Prawn Tom Yum soup for starters which was presented in a lovely urn and the flavours took me back to Thailand. I then had a traditional Chicken and Rice dish called Pad Gaprao which was tasty and spicy. The portions were good and the steamed jasmine rice was served in a small lidded pot so kept warm. Friends had Spicy Thai Pork Spare Ribs, Gai Choop Pang and Tod Man Bla for starters. For mains they had Chicken Gaeng Pa, Duck Pad Num Mon Hoy and Gae Yan. Overall we were all very impressed, very full and talking about our return visit.

The meal cost £12 per person based on a starter, main course and a side of rice each. If you dine between 12 and 5pm then 2 courses are only £6.50! This is a BYO so take along your own alcoholic beverages. This is a gem of a place serving excellent Thai food without the pretentiousness of some of the bigger competitors. In my opinion this is the best Thai meal I have had in Leeds since returning from my own travels around Thailand. Thai Aroy Dee does not try and be anything it’s not. They serve excellent food at a very good price. It’s a no frills setting but this does not distract from the experience as the food delivers in quality and price. Highly recommend to those who love Thai food or wanting to try something different without spending over the odds.

http://www.thaiaroydeeleeds.com/

 

Urban Turka, Leeds

Occasion:                     Birthday celebration

Party Size:                    16

Overall Rating:              *** Average

Date Visited:                 July 2012
Price Per Person:          £16 Half Price deal

Urban Turka is an Indian restaurant that has recently opened at Brewery Wharf in an enviable location alongside the river Aire. Urban Turka claim to have re-written the rulebook when it comes to Luxury Indian dining and on first impressions this place ticks all the boxes. It's situated in a great location with bars nearby for pre and post meal drinks. The restaurant itself is contemporary and inviting .Once you enter you are greeted by friendly staff. The fixtures and fittings are classy and tasteful with a dining area to the back that looks over the canal. This restaurant would appeal to those looking to celebrate in style or to simply treat themselves. On our visit we were all impressed by the service and ambience of the restaurant. The staff were certainly attentive. What really matters when dining out is the quality of the food and the price! Urban Turka offer a 241 deal on starters and main courses on Tuesdays and Sundays. We took advantage of this deal for our group booking and the cost per person (at half price) was £16 which covered poppadoms & pickles, x2 courses with sides, x2 drinks and a tip. The poppadoms were fresh but the pickle tray disappointing with only a small offering of pickles for a large group. The starters received mixed reviews as the menu failed to denote which dishes were spicy. As we were a large group we did have a couple of people within the group that didn't like "hot" food so they opted for the spinach and potato cakes which in fact turned out to have a fiery kick. So that was x2 that didn't go down well. The cucumber soup was not enjoyed by another guest and my own bite size fish pieces were rather bland. However, the presentation and portion sizes were impressive. The main courses were also well presented but the general feedback from the group was that it wasn't anything special. We found in our party that the dishes were inconsistent. x2 ordered the Pasanda (mild) each of which looked different in colour (bright red) and certainly had a different flavour in terms of spiciness, one had to have extra cream. Another diner also had the same problem with the Korma. Then there were 3 of us that ordered the Jalfrezi extra hot. In all honesty these dishes were not hot enough and again each dish looked completely different and the depth of flavour varied but we were assured by the waiter they were all the same despite the colour differences. My dish had a very small amount of chicken which was disappointing. General conclusion is that it does not compare to some of the bigger local Indian restaurants in the area, that it was slightly over priced for the standard of the food and the waiting time between courses was too long. I think this restaurant needs a bit longer to establish itself and find its feet with such strong competitors on the doorstep the curries need to be much better to compete.

http://www.urbanturka.co.uk/index.html