Rosa’s Thai Cafe review, Trinity Leeds - too many quips and not enough care

On a busy Saturday, my companion and I decided it would be the perfect place for a lunchtime break from Christmas shopping.

First impressions?

Despite being slap-bang in the middle of a shopping centre, the restaurant manages to feel pretty cosy. There are more tables outside on the picturesque terrace. It is the kind of place that adopts a quirky sense of humour, declaring ‘I like Pad Thai and I cannot lie’ in large lettering on the back of its toilet door and calling its version of a Long Island Iced Tea the ‘Love You Long Time’.

What’s the menu like?

The choice is decent but not too overwhelming, with noodle dishes, curries, spicy salads, grills and stir-fries. Larger parties are advised to eat Thai-style by ordering a selection of dishes to share.

Now onto the food

For starters we shared some veggie spring rolls, which were crispy and flavoursome. We also added a ‘fifty-fifty’ basket of prawn crackers mixed with pumpkin crackers - a tasty vegan alternative I hadn’t tried before.

For the main course, my companion chose a vegetarian Pad Thai with tofu. This was decent enough but could have done with more of a sour kick.

I went for honey-marinated pork skewers, which, the menu said, came served with rice. I also ordered a side of steamed mixed veggies. The skewers arrived, as did the veg, but no rice. Some time later, the waitress asked how the food was and I mentioned my missing carbs. She said they had assumed I wanted the vegetables as part of my main dish, as an alternative to rice. Seeing as I had nearly finished my meal, I decided to leave it - but was then pretty dismayed to see the same waitress later bring me the bill charging me separately for the side of vegetables. I had to complain again to get the charge removed.

Room for dessert?

Sadly not - as usual we’d overdone it on the starters.

And the drinks?

I ordered a large bottle of still water for a £1 donation to charity - a nice touch, I thought. My companion had a coconut water and was half-way through it when she noticed it had gone a day past its sell-by date. Not great. She told the waitress who, to be fair, notified the manager and didn’t charge us for it.

How much was the bill? Was it value for money?

The bill came to a pretty reasonable £30, plus my £1 charity donation, but a 10 per cent service charge was also added automatically. This was frankly quite cheeky, given the three complaints we’d had to make throughout our meal. I don’t think I’ll be rushing back.

Factfile:

Address: Upper Dining Terrace, Trinity Leeds, Albion Street, Leeds, LS1 5AY

Telephone: 0113 8343173

Opening hours: 11.30am to 10pm daily

Website: www.rosasthaicafe.com

Scores

Food 7/10

Value 8/10

Atmosphere 7/10

Service 2/10