Hansa's, Leeds

Occasion: Dining with friends
Party Size: 3
Overall Rating: **** Average/Good
Date Visited: July 2012
Price Per Person: £13.50 including drinks for x1 course

Hansa's is a Vegetarian Indian Restaurant specialising in Gujarati cuisine. Located on North Street in Leeds, this place is just outside of the city centre but walkable. The surrounding area to be honest is not very impressive as there is not much else around and it is sitting right on a main road. However this should not put you off as Hansa's has been highly acclaimed and won many awards over the years, the latest being voted, ’Curry Chef of the Year 2010’, and being recognised for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Leeds Restaurant Industry’ by the Leeds Restaurant Association. Hansa's successful cookery books have been voted the number 1 Vegetarian cookbook by The Independent and these are available to buy from the restaurant.

Upon arrival this place did not look as I expected. The website shows a modern, light restaurant yet in reality this place is small, cosy and quite dark. This definitely has the traditional vibe of a local Indian restaurant. The staff are all women, who wear traditional sari’s and were very welcoming. The restaurant itself has a dining area on the ground floor and then a seating area above. When we visited on a Saturday night it was full so I would recommend booking a table in advance. The atmosphere was to be truthful slightly lacking in ambience, the décor and furniture was quite dark, complete with wobbly chairs but it does feel special to sit and admire the recipe books on display and the press reviews. Straight away it makes you expect big things from this restaurant.

This place has certain pockets of charm, as you go down the stairs you pass the kitchen and there you will see the chef complete in her sari cooking away and it’s quite amazing she was able to cook so many dishes so quickly, which may explain why the dishes were smaller than you’d normally expect. The toilet was beautifully decorated and had all the extra touches you don't often see.

The menus are like small narrow books with a wide selection of dishes and not the usual dishes you would see in a regular curry house which instantly gets you excited to be trying something new. We decided to just have main courses on our visit and whilst we ordered we were given a small dish of battered thin nibbles. These were hot and spicy and certainly geared you up for the meal to come - although I have no idea what they actually were but they resembled a softer version of Bombay mix. I ordered the Bhaji Paneer which was a spinach and paneer curry with a side of rice and a chappati. The dish was nicely spiced and fairly hot for a medium curry but could do with being saucier. The chapatti was very small (size of a saucer) so if you are ordering this side alone then you may want to order several.  The portions overall were small but surprisingly enough - you were not left feeling over full. If you don’t like spicy food then ask the staff what level of spice the dishes are as this is not denoted on the menu. I would go for mild options if you prefer flavour over spice as the level of heat was quite high. My friends enjoyed Bhagat Muthiya (Potato and chickpea curry) and  Ful Cobi (Cauliflower, Carrot and Peas) they both highly recommend the Batura which are deep fried breads as shown below.

What was interesting about this place was the delightful and colourful palate cleanser that was served with the bill. This was small dish of various, herbs and spices that truly lifted the palate. It was very odd but refreshing and you could pick out the levels of flavour from the aniseed to the perfume – quite indescribable but definitely worth sampling to finish off your meal.

Starters were priced from approx £4 and main courses from £6.50 with sides on top (rice alone being £2.25). To be honest these prices are higher than the competitors to say they are meat free and the portions are small so this doesn’t make Hansa's the best value for money. But it is tasty and different and a real gem of a place for those who are vegetarians due to the selection of dishes available. The service wasn’t brilliant we had to ask twice for water and the bill was quite slow but it was a Saturday night and they were busy. Didn’t quite live up to the hype for me but the food was tasty and nice.


http://www.hansasrestaurant.com

Normans Bar, Leeds

Occasion: Dining with friends
Party Size: 5
Overall Rating: **** Good
Date Visited: July 2012
Price Per Person: £5

Normans is situated on Call Lane in Leeds city centre a street that is renowned for its many independent bars. Normans predominantly falls in to the category of a bar but does have a large area set aside for dining throughout the week with many offers on through Monday to Thursday at £5 per person. 5 of us visited Normans on a Wednesday night when the offer is a Thai curry plus a drink (bottle of beer, glass of wine or soft drink) for £5.

On first impressions this place has a nice informal and relaxed ambience; it’s modern with soft lighting and plenty of tables along the edges to cater for couples and groups. The deal is a fantastic offer so it is always pretty full. You can book a table in advance but usually you can get a table if you are prepared to wait a short while.

The staff are young, quirky and most importantly very welcoming. We had no problems with the service. The deal is very well run with the turn around on food being very quick. This £5 menu is all about simplicity with a limited selection of green and red Thai curries with a choice of Chicken, Prawn, Beef or Tofu. However, you can order off their main menu where starters are priced at approx £4 and main courses at approx £8 which a selection varying from Asian inspired dishes to the good old burger.

So going back to our meal the food was very well presented and the portion size adequate. Even though you are paying less it’s not to say you get a smaller portion. However, this is not as big a portion as you would get in a restaurant where the curry and the rice are served separately – but it’s a fiver and if you want more then there is no excuses to not splash out on some prawn crackers, starter or a side!. The quality of the curry is good with a nice selection of vegetables used and lovely authentic flavour and consistency. The dishes are nicely spiced so if you like curries mild then check with the staff if you can have a taster, otherwise a friend highly recommends the Pad Thai for those that prefer no chillies. They take the time to present and garnish their dishes and the staff checked that everything was ok with our meal which is not commonplace in bars when dining. Just goes to show that good, tasty, fresh food doesn’t have to cost the earth.

This is the perfect venue to grab a bite to eat after work, to have a catch up with friends. It’s simple, you pick a curry from the meal deal menu, pick a drink and pay £5! Normans is definitely worth a visit.

http://www.normanbar.co.uk