Reviews in Leeds City Centre

We have been going to the Sheesh Mahal for over 10 years and have yet to be disappointed. The food is always of the best quality and the staff and friendly, helpful and very efficient. Whilst we generally go to the Sheesh Mahal on Kirkstall Road we have been to the one at Chapel Allerton which also serves the same quality food and have helpful and friendly staff. Always recommend to anyone asking where the best Indian restaurant is in Leeds.

I'm always impressed by the food at Azucar, especially the stuffed peppers and the tacos. This time I tried a dessert, a rum and raisin brownie which was also delicious. Service was also worth a mention - our waitress was friendly, solicitous and fully deserving of the tip we left. Will continue to come here regularly.

Indian is our fave food and have never tasted a better curry then at akmals! Best Indian ever moved, out of Leeds now though and miss it so much! cheap and the owner is a really nice man! and its BYOB

The best curry house i have tried. Recommended by friends. i used to go to sheesh mahal. Cookys has now become my regular.

New Mexican specialising in burritos and tacos. Stopped in for three chicken soft tacos and was very impressed by both the service and the flavours - will definitely drop in again.

Very very good city centre bar. Lovely decor and great atmosphere, especially when live music is on which is always great. Food is excellent and they have a new menu. There is a fantastic pool area with large flat screen TV and all in all its a great place to go for a pint and a game of pool after work!

Super food. Tucked away in legal and finance district, but it still buzzes, without being over-busy.

We have been visiting our 2nd home as Asram calls it for about 12 years. Whenever family or friends come to stay with us they now also insist that we all visit The Sheesh! I really am starting to worry about my own ability to cook, but never mind. The service and friendly staff are the Best you could ever come across, especially Azlam who always manages the bar with an excellent manner. We are always made so at home by all the staff and feel like we are part of Azrams family. The food is the Best in Yorkshire, probably the best Asian cuisine in England. Nothing is too much trouble. We once called in for a meal and found it closed as it was being re decorated, Azram was in making sure everything was going to plan and spotted us outside, he realised that he had two hungry and disappointed customers, so what did he do? Opened the doors and invited us in to share the evening meal that he had prepared for the decorators, no fee and sorry for the inconvenience. Once again fab food! We are now planning our daughters wedding and the place she has chosen to have her wedding buffet is The Sheesh, what more of a recommendation can anyone wish for. First class food, First class service and the most excellent friendly staff, what more can anybody want ???? See you on Thursday Azram xxx

I love this place. We were seated next to the bridge, served promptly and given spectacular food every time. The duck and mango bento box, ginger and lime cheesecake and plum wine are especially good, although my friend raved about the teriyaki and the coconut ice cream. Always a pleasure.

Went for my wedding anniversary with my husband, the service was fantastic, the meal was excellent, the only downside was the state of the toilets, it was a hot day and there was no air con in them so they were like an oven, and they were not very clean...but that is my only complaint, the food was out of this world and very fairly priced

I first went to Viva about three years ago on a recommendation from a friend, and have barely been anywhere else since! Even when we do Viva is the benchmark to meet. It has a lovely ambiance, great staff and a delicious steak (locally sourced to boot). My only complaint is they took the lobster ravioli off the menu, it was like all their food - scrumptious!

When I fancy an Indian meal in Leeds, the Sheesh Mahal is always my first choice. Having lived (and eaten out) in Leeds for the past 10 years, I've sampled most of the curry houses the city has to offer - and I've notched up considerably more visits to Azram's than anywhere else. The food is delicious and cooked to order. So you can have your curry as fiery or tame as you wish. What sets Azram's apart from a lot of its rivals is its ambience. Friendly staff combined with unpretentious decor mean I always feel extremely relaxed and at home there.  

We went to Hansa's for dinner on Friday. It was the best food I've had in a long time. A varied vegetarian menu with lots of vegan options, and excellent service. I'll definitely be revisiting Hansa's again and again!

I enjoyed a lovely meal at the Sheesh Mahal, experiencing the warm and friendly atmosphere, and the very personal service that the staff provided. I will definitely be returning to this restaurant again.

my favourite place in Leeds good food good ambience and lovely music

Went to Chaophraya at lunch time couple of weeks ago for birthday party, fantastic food and service, so decided to go again for my birthday!!

Viva is simply great. An authentic trattoria serving superbly cooked pasta, proper pizzas all simply yet effectively done. Very good value and a genuine Italian feel to it from the decor to the friendly staff.

My wife HATES driving in Leeds. You may ask “What’s that got to do with a restaurant review?” Read on! On Monday June 7th we booked an ‘early doors’ meal at the Sheesh Mahal in Kirkstall. We did this because the Leeds Coeliac Group had advised us they were planning a social do there, and as Anne is a coeliac, and both Anne and I like curries, we decided to ‘test drive’ the place first. As we approached nearer and nearer to Leeds, Anne (she’s the driver; I’m partially sighted) got more and more agitated. “I HATE Leeds!” became a frequent chant, not helped by slow moving traffic caused by a broken-down lorry at a roundabout on the ring road. As a grumpy coeliac and a grumpy partially sighted diabetic (me) finally arrived at the Sheesh Mahal you could say that the atmosphere was a bit strained, to say the least. Hardly the best start to the evening! And hardly the sort of customers the owners would have cheered to see. Nevertheless we were greeted royally, like old friends. The regulation popadums were provided, and the drinks order taken (a Cobra, and a white wine, even though wine isn’t on the drinks list). At this point, and with a heavy heart because I’ve seen this situation go badly wrong before, I mentioned to the very courteous waiter that my wife is a coeliac, and also has a violent life-threatening reaction to mushrooms. “OK,” he said, “no problem”. “No,” I said, “let me explain, she can’t have anything with wheat flour in the sauces. She can only have the sauces if they’re wheat free – if you use gram flour you’re OK, but not wheat flour”. “OK,” repeated the waiter “just wait a moment please”. Waiting for the inevitable “we can’t cope” reply, we were astounded when The Boss (as we later found him to be) arrived and stated that with the exception of obvious breads, like chapattis, puri and nan bread, the rest of the menu was almost certainly GF (gluten free), but if we’d like to make a choice he’d personally check the ingredients. We were amazed, thankful, and immediately hungry! Now I said earlier that Anne and I like curries: I normally favour the hot ones, but Anne likes the mild and delicately flavoured ones. Enter hurdle number two. Most of the dishes of the menu are described as “medium”, which in the past have proved problematical for Anne. When the waiter arrived, we asked if it was possible to have a mild version of dishes described as ‘medium’. “No problem!” I began to wonder if this was a stock reply, but he went on “we cook everything to order, so you can have what you like in any strength you like”. For starters, Anne ordered a Fish Pakora, and I ordered a Mixed Kebab (seekh and shami). This was to be followed by a Gobi Bhindi (cauliflower with okra) with pillau rice for Anne, and a Chicken Tikka Masala with Aloo nan and Bombay potatoes for me. Perhaps not very adventurous, but I’ve eaten them so many times before I tend to use them as a yardstick by which to measure the flavours of the restaurant. During the short wait, The Boss appeared and asked how sensitive Anne was to wheat flour, as he couldn’t be absolutely certain that the oil in which the pakora was fried had not previously been used with wheat. Now that’s what I call attention to detail! We decided to risk it. We can only describe the flavours and the quality of the cooking as awesome! I have NEVER tasted anything like them (and I’m a Bradfordian by birth, so I’ve had more than my fair share of curries!). Anne assured me that her meal was sumptuous, which was attested to by the speed with which it started to disappear – however, the portions are sizeable, so we both had to slow down a bit towards the end. During the meal we were tenderly cared for by the waiters – unobtrusive, but always ready to help, to check that the food was just right for us, or to respond to a request for more drinks. We couldn’t manage a sweet, just a lot of contented groaning over a coffee (excellent, not like the acidic brown dishwater often served nowadays). We chatted to The Boss afterwards, who even helped Anne to work out which was the best way to head back out of Leeds towards Horsforth. After we paid the modest and reasonable bill, and as we chugged contentedly away from the Sheesh Mahal, to my complete amazement Anne offered the highest of compliments I’ve ever heard – “Maybe Leeds isn’t so bad after all – we could always come back again. Soon!” - and we will!