It’s been a little while since I was tempted enough by anywhere to make the journey to Leeds but when I heard Bobby Geetha had a new opening to take a look at, it didn’t take me long to start looking for a slot in my diary. With appearances on Great British Menu and Masterchef: Professionals to his name as well as the successful stewardship of Fleur, also in Leeds, there’s plenty to recommend Bobby’s food – along with which, he’s a thoroughly nice chap. While I enjoyed eating at Fleur, it leant heavily toward the Instagram market and the flourishes that involves, not that there was anything wrong with the food though. Bobby’s new venture, Kerala Canteen Leeds, feels markedly more personal. Located a short walk out of the very centre of the city, Kerala Canteen Leeds is just by the Northern Ballet, a short distance from the bus station where it’s easily spotted thanks to the foliage covered frontage which frames pictures of some of the dishes one might expect to find inside.
Descending the stairs into the dining area, one finds the space just as inviting as the exterior would suggest and is cosily rather than claustrophobically subterranean, with liberal application of floral decoration and a mixture of seating styles. Coming onto the menu is where things get really appealing as it draws heavily on Bobby’s Keralan heritage to deliver small plates rooted in Indian traditions that are hearty, comforting and quite remarkable value. It’s initially a touch tricky to get a handle on how many of the dishes to order as one might assume the pricing means they’re fancied up, tiny versions of the promised dish. Bobby promised that this wasn’t the case though so we set about the document and picked seven likely suspects to make up an indulgent meal. Dishes arrive as and when they are ready, further underscoring the casual nature of the occasion, so we relaxed into our Kingfisher and Chai to await the first arrival, which turned out to be mini-poppadoms and chutneys that were the perfect morsel to pick at and came in a broader variety than the usual curry-house standards and with richly spiced dips.
The next tranche of dishes to arrive were spiced calamari, fried chicken, beef and bone marrow curry and chicken kothu porotta. This selection was quickly augmented by basmati rice and a broccoli dosa which had the combined impact of making our table look and smell remarkably appetising. The beef and bone marrow curry was deeply rich with a generous spicing (for my puny tolerance anyway) and a healthy pop of ginger all of which made it a happy vessel for the rice to carry. Calamari was tender with a crispy curry-leaf infused batter and samphire garnish for a minor twist, curry mayo adding another hit of flavour while the Trivandrum fried chicken lived up to the lofty expectations Bobby set for it, by turns crispy on initial bite before yielding softly and dropping a whole bunch of flavour off. Comfortably some of the best fried chicken I’ve eaten and pushed even further upwards in my estimations by the accompanying fried garlic yoghurt. The other chicken dish used layers of flaky bread for a textural point of difference and was again well judged and satisfying which just left the dosa which could have taken a more generous helping of broccoli but did its job in good spirits. Had I been able to restrain myself with mains more effectively I would have tucked into jaggery-accented sticky toffee pudding or cardamom dusted chocolate brownie, both of which seem like reason for a return visit.
The cost attracted by all this food was only £42, which makes Kerala Canteen Leeds a pretty eye-catching bargain for a quality meal for two in attractive surrounds. With drinks at a sensible price too it’s easy to see this as a regular fixture in the social calendar of Leeds residents with hugely tempting balance of quality and value to be had. Bobby is a thoroughly nice chap but sadly that’s not enough to guarantee success in a crowded market going through turbulent times. On the evidence of this trip though, he can rely on the food and atmosphere as much as his personality to win through.
