(ad – pr) Don’t you hate it when you get beaten to the punch? I’ve been flat out for a few months and have been struggling to find time for writing here. Way back in August I was kindly invited to sample Tharavadu Leeds, which has been on my radar for years, so I arranged to meet a friend who lives locally and hopped on a train. It’s hardly a spoiler to say it was utterly superb. I do like to focus on the positives, but it’s even less of a spoiler now that some bloke called Rayner has been by to pull the rug out from under me by telling everyone about Tharavadu. Hey-ho, serves me right for being sloppy and I can hardly begrudge them the publicity.
You can find Tharavadu Leeds just a short stumble down the hill from the train station, adjacent to the similarly esteemed Bundobust. It’s not the most flamboyant frontage but has a welcoming atmosphere as you enter, with the walls embellished by the signatures of esteemed customers such as Kier Starmer! It didn’t take long for our server to furnish us with cold beers and some satisfying crunchy bits to dip in a variety of pickles while we waited for the main event to begin.
The Signature chicken dosa was an obvious place to start and arrived in a show of conical majesty, concealing the spiced filling. These savoury pancake style dishes have deservedly gained traction in the UK over the last ten years or so since I came across one first in Nottingham around 2008 but I can’t think of one that compares to this example. With a delicate crunch to the lightly spiced pancake and a lustrous, rich filling with well judged heat this is an instantly iconic dish that should be mandatory when visiting Tharavadu Leeds.
We’d ordered everything to come as it was ready, so a beef dish came next. Pothu Peralan delivered a generous quantity of the meat which was elevated by pungent curry leaves, onion and coconut with spicing generously advancing forward as you chew. We also picked a Meen Koottan fish curry promising notes of tamarind while proclaiming itself one of the most ordered dishes on the menu, with good reason as it turned out. One rather gets the impression that there isn’t a duff note on the menu but everything we ordered felt like it could have been a highlight. Without exception each dish was best-in-show of its ilk, comforting and generous with huge depths of character making it a challenge to stop mopping up the sauces with the breads we’d ordered. It’s really hard to recommend Tharavadu Leeds enough. I appreciate Mr Rayner’s opinion probably carries more weight than mine, but I also hope you’d put a bit of trust in me too. I’m still thinking about that chicken dosa, and those morsels of beef would be something I’d happily pick over for hours on end. You’ll not regret visiting.
