Phranakhon Leeds review: Here's what I thought of this hidden gem Thai tapas restaurant in York Place

Far from being dingy, this basement level restaurant in York Place enjoys subtle lighting and exposed brickwork that’s lifted by a plethora of pink blossom.

As we are shown to our table, we take a moment to just look around us and sigh contentedly – the hustle and bustle of the city’s business quarter was left at the door; this is just lovely.

The menu is extensive and the concept is essentially Thai tapas, with most dishes coming in at around the £8-9 mark. It’s recommended we order two or three dishes each, plus some rice or noodles to share.

The choice is huge and all our favourites are there plus some very interesting specials and street food dishes. The menu itself is broken down into different sections, all of which speak for themselves – saute, pork addict, curry lover, street food, Phranakhon delights and just greens.

My guest is an avid meat eater and chooses a spicy tom yam haeng – stir-fried king prawns – and a moo grob prik glaur, crispy pork belly with salt, chilli and garlic.

I don’t eat meat or fish so after weighing up various options and combinations, decide on a tofu choop pang tod – fried tofu with crushed peanuts in a sweet chili sauce – and broccoli pad prik gratiem – everyone’s favourite veg with soy, chilli and garlic.

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Although it’s only lunchtime, neither of us fancies going hungry later so we decide to share a portion of steamed jasmine rice and a dish of rice noodles. 

Now, we do eat Thai quite often as we’re lucky to have a very nice little BYO restaurant five minutes from where we live. But it’s very much home cooking. This, if you’ll excuse the pun, is a different gravy.

The flavours are pleasingly complex, with the heat of the chilli combining beautifully with the citrus undertones of lemongrass and aromatic Thai basil, which has a slightly aniseed flavour.

My tofu is crisp and golden, the rice is delicately flavoured.

My guest instantly falls in love with his king prawn dish, seduced by the warmth of the chill and piquancy of the sauce. It’s not thick and full of coconut milk, it’s fresh, fragrant and packs a real punch.

And while he’s not a pork addict per se, he did enjoy the offering from that section of the menu, particularly the crisp consistency of the meat.

But the absolute star of the show – and who would have guessed? – was the broccoli.

The broccoli itself is gloriously crisp but the dressing… oh my. Nutty sesame oil and deep, dark soy sauce combine to elevate this humble vegetable to a different plane altogether.

We were practically fighting over the last piece; next time we’ll just have to order a portion each.

And there will be a next time. It feels as though we barely made a dent in the menu; and while it’s lovely to dine out as a pair, coming here with a big group of friends determined to really do justice to this menu is a temptation I just don’t want to resist.

One tiny gripe is that the food isn't quite as hot as it could have been when it arrived. But that could be down to something as simple as our being seated some way from the kitchen. 

Fact file

Address: York Place, Leeds

Tel: 0113 244 2111

Open: Sun-Thurs noon-9pm; Fri-Sat noon-10pm

Scores

Food 9

Service 9

Atmosphere 9

Value 8