Sponsored by
Restaurant review: Deeva, Farsley
I may have discovered my favourite curry house.
Deeva, on Town Street, Farsley, is the newest addition to Leeds's curry scene, which, let's face it, is a mixed bag.
* Click here for latest YEP news.
Did the area need another curry house? Probably not when the likes of Abid's, East and Polash are just around the corner in Pudsey. Does it add anything to the scene? Most definitely, yes.
* Click here to watch latest YEP news and sport video reports.
Deeva has been lovingly created in what used to be a dance school (Porritt's). Before that, it was a church but for the last decade at least it has been derelict.
It is a grand, imposing building which dominates the immediate area, so it's good it has been brought back into use.
* Click here to view the YEP picture galleries of Leeds Nostalgia.
Okay, so it's a little off the beaten track in terms of location, Leeds central it's not, but great dining experiences are there to be winkled out from the seldom visited backwaters and coves of our city.
Deeva is certainly worth winkling out.
* Click here for latest Leeds United news.
The fact it is outside the city hub and getting there requires some effort (unless, of course you happen to live that side of Leeds) adds to the experience and when the restaurant in question exceeds one's expectations, all the better.
Entry to Deeva is via one of two stone staircases, which sweep up either side of the building and join in front of the main doorway.
Once inside, you are greeted with clean, crisp lines, polished metal and understated maroon-on-white decor. There's more than a hint of the modern about the place with its snazzy fold-away glass divide against one wall, smoked glass staircase leading to a mezzanine bar area and posh chandelier but that said, the owners have been careful not to overdo it.
There seems to be a trend with some 'cutting edge' curry houses to overdo things somewhat in terms of decor, especially mood lighting.
As my dining partner remarked, unlike some other Indian restaurants, at Deeva there were no 'illuminations', no neon and no uplights meandering through the visible light spectrum. Instead, there was just plain, simple, effective lighting, not too bright, not too dark.
Another welcome surprise was the menu, which was contained over two foolscap pages rather than being some equivalent of War and Peace and presented in a tome of Biblical proportions.
That's not to say Deeva doesn't have the variety of other curry houses, it just chooses to present it in concise format. So, each curry option – lamb, keema, bhindi, chicken – can be cooked in the style of your choice, for example: balti, bhuna, hyderabadi and then each of those can be tailored to your palate and be mild, medium, hot or extra hot.
Presumably, therefore, one could try an extra hot korma.
There are also the usual sundries on offer, including a cheese naan, keema naan and rice done boiled, with egg or pillau.
We went to Deeva on a Monday evening, around 9pm and apart from one other couple, we were the only ones in there. While it is nice to have the place to yourself, it's also nice to have a bit of buzz, an undercurrent of conversation.
However, one has also to remember Deeva opened only in February and so its reputation has yet to spread. We were informed by the head barman, a most approachable man with a relaxing manner, that Friday and Saturday nights were proving very busy.
Deeva also stays open until midnight seven days a week, with last orders taken just before 11pm, so it is ideal for those who want a late supper.
Upon entry, we were greeted almost immediately and led to our table, our drinks order taken and the obligatory (not to mention expected) pickles and papadum tray duly wheeled out.
To begin we plumped for the mixed non-vegetarian platter for two, which included seekh kebab, chicken tikka, lamb chops and fish masaala, excellent value at 9.95 and a real treat, as it turned out. The fish, especially, was delicate and coated in a light, crisp batter. Likewise the other morsels whetted our appetite.
For our main courses we ordered chicken karahi (6.95) and lamb hyderabadi (7.95), with four chappattis (2.40) and pillau rice (2.25).
We were informed by our waiter all the sauces are cooked fresh to order and taste, so you can have them as hot or mild as you prefer. In the tasting, the sauces had that kind of grainy texture one sometimes gets from home cooking, together with little subtleties in flavour which
made each dish eminently edible.
The lamb was especially tender and, according to our waiter, had been purposely cooked the day before, then set aside to cool, in order to achieve this effect.
Deserts were refreshing and made to order. I had a rasmalai, dumplings made from dough or cottage or ricotta cheese, soaked in sweetened milk and flavoured with cardamom, served chilled, which made a nice end to the evening and was not too heavy.
My dining companion ordered gulab jaman, deep fried balls of dough, steeped in sugar syrup, which reminded one of treacle sponge but nowhere near as stodgy – they too proved a nice end to the meal, which, together with drinks and after-dinner coffees came to 47.95.
Deeva is definitely one to watch. It is classy without being brash, the food is superb and the staff disarming and informative.
It will be interesting to see if and how it changes over the coming months and years.
We hope it maintains the high standards we found and becomes a worthy outpost of Leeds's elite dining venues but only time will tell.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 19 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
