Dastaan Leeds review: What I thought of the Michelin-recommended restaurant that has landed in Adel

Located in Adel, the restaurant, which has a Michelin-recommendation for its sister site in Surrey, has a stunning interior with a minimalist style and free parking behind the restaurant taking out all the think-work while attending the restaurant.

Split over two floors, the ground floor is busy with bright lights while the floor above where we were seated is a more intimate dining experience with fewer tables and lower lighting. The homely decor on the upper floor bought a cosy feeling and an elevated scooter among a floral display bought a smile to our faces.

The menu offers dishes from across India. The a la carte menu has everything from chicken tikka and tiger prawns to tandoori broccoli and a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

For starters, we ordered samosa chaat, dahi puri and samosas, all decently priced ranging from £5.50 to £7 each. The star of the show was definitely the samosas which had a traditional homemade dough as the crust.

The service was quick and polite – shout-out to our server Yash. Within thirty minutes, we were seated with drinks and starters eaten and waiting for the main course, which my family prefer to a prolonged service.

For our mains, we ordered paneer butter masala, baingan bharta, kurkuri bhindi, channa masala and we were disappointed with none. My mother said the baingan bharta – a roasted aubergine mash not commonly found in restaurants here – reminded her of her home in India with its fresh flavours, garlic and chilli.

We ordered the mains with chilli garlic naan, butter naan, and saffron pulao, ranging from £3 to £7. The naans we ordered were the perfect combination of fluffy and crispy and definitely something we have yet to find in other Indian restaurants.

From the desert menu, I tried the kesar rasmalai and my favourite Indian dessert was elevated – for only £5.50. With a service charge of £8.90, the meal came to £97.80 – a reasonable price for a lovely meal.

This is undoubtedly the first of many visits to Dastaan – a restaurant which reminded us of our hometown.

Factfile

Address: 473 Otley Rd, Adel, Leeds LS16 7NR

Telephone: 0113 230 0600

Opening hours: Tuesday to Wednesday, 5pm to 10:30pm; Saturday and Sunday, 12:30pm to 10:30pm, closed Monday

Website: https://www.dastaan.co.uk/leeds

Scores

Food: 10/10

Value: 9/10

Atmosphere: 9/10

Service: 10/10