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Sukhothai
Oliver SUKHOTHAI St Anne's Road, Headingley WHAT is it about Headingley and Thai restaurants? The suburb is fast becoming the Thai centre of Leeds with four major restaurants specialising in the Asian cuisine.
Impressive newcomer Thai Sabai on North Lane recently joined established names Sala Thai and Jino's, now there is yet another new kid on the block.
Although Sukhothai cannot strictly be classed as a newcomer. Owner Ban Kaewkraikhot opened her first restaurant in Chapel Allerton five years ago, naming it Sukhothai after her birthplace which translates as 'the Dawn of Happiness'.
Back then Sukhothai was no bigger than your average greasy spoon but it soon expanded, in the process taking over some of the neighbouring business premises.
It is now building on that success by expanding its operation with this second Leeds restaurant just a few miles down the road.
It occupies the former St Anne's Road home of Chinese restaurant Dynasty, but it is its proximity to direct competitor Jino's that really catches the eye.
Clearly Sukhothai is more than ready to take on the local competition and it already looks to be drawing in the crowds.
The restaurant had been open a mere four days when Oliver paid a visit, yet was doing a roaring trade and was at least three-quarters full for most of the evening.
No one could deny that Sukhothai is an impressive, slickly-run operation and it makes a bold statement before you even walk through the door.
There is a feeling that no expense has been spared here, with an impressive frontage that exudes quality.
Once inside the lavish look continues, with a simple yet striking combination of sturdy mahogany tables and chairs against cream walls.
Clay figurines of boy monks line the window along with gold, swan-like sculptures, ornate wall lights are in the shape of flowers and there are wooden carvings everywhere you look.
Ambient music pleasantly fills the air and there is even a lingering smell of jasmine for goodness sake.
The good thing is that this lavishness does not come at the expense of authenticity or quality with a menu that appeals to the Thai connoisseur as much as it does the newcomer.
There is a dizzying array of choice here with no fewer than ten, reasonably-priced set meals, a whopping 30 starters, countless salads, curries, seafood dishes and an entire vegetarian menu.
It is no exaggeration to say there really is something for everyone here.
All meals can be cooked according to preferred taste, too, from mild to very spicy.In fact, I could have done with a little more flavour in my starter of crispy seaweed rolls (4.50).
These combined chopped and seasoned prawn meat with chicken, wrapped in fried seaweed rolls.
The meat was succulent and combined well with the almost ubiquitous sweet chilli sauce, but it may be worth asking for a little Soy sauce to liven it up a little.
My dining partner opted for the Tom Kha Hed (3.50), a sweet and sour mushroom soup, flavoured with galangal (Thai ginger), lemon grass, lime leaves and coconut milk.
This had a great combination of flavours, making for a wonderful winter warmer.
Feeling hungry, we also plumped for a sharing plate of Gung Chup Pang Tod (3.50).
These were delicious, big, juicy tiger prawns in a light batter. Definitely recommended.
All three starters were beautifully presented, as indeed is all the food at Sukhothai.
Other starter options that caught the eye included Hoy Op – mussels steamed with selected Thai herbs and served with a spicy Thai sauc – and Sai Oua – Thai pork sausage with red curry and lime leaves.
I hated myself as soon as I ordered the Gang Kiew Wan (6.95), otherwise known as Thai green curry.
It is a favourite of mine but I can't pretend it's exactly adventurous. Still, it is as good a barometer of quality as any other when it comes to Thai dining.
Thankfully, it did not disappoint. It boasted generous, succulent pieces of chicken in a deliciously creamy, zingy sauce with the subtle but disinctive flavours of lemon grass and galangal firmly to the fore.
I had not specified a heat, preferring the chef to decide what worked best, and was rewarded with flavours that were beautifully balanced.
My partner went for the Pla Khing (9.50), a choice of deep fried fillet of haddock, or steamed whole sea bass or salmon fillet.
She opted for the sea bass and took delivery of a perfectly cooked fish marinating in a delicious sauce that combined mushroom, onion, spring onion and carrot with a liberal dash of ginger.
Other main courses that look worthy of investigation include the Gata Lon – spicy stir-fried chicken or beef with garlic, black pepper, lime leaves, oyster sauce, lemograss and crispy basil.
The many duck dishes also look tempting for a return visit.
Our dishes were served with egg fried rice (2.50), but you may get away with sharing one as we failed to finish the individual portions we had ordered.
We finished our meal with desserts of Thai custard (2.25) and banana in batter with ice cream (4.50).
Both lived up to the same high standard of what had come before – good food served in a relaxing, stylish, upmarket setting.
This may only be Leeds's second Sukhothai restaurant but at this rate it won't be long before we have a third.
FACTFILE
Sukhothai, St Anne's Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 3NX.
0113 278 1234
www.thaifood4u.co.uk
Opening hours: Monday 5pm-11pm, Tuesday to Saturday 12pm-3pm, 5pm to 11pm, Sunday 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm.
Star rating
FOOD...........................****
VALUE..........................****
ATMOSPHERE.....................****
SERVICE........................****
***** EXCELLENT **** VERY GOOD ***GOOD ** AVERAGE
* POOR
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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