Nawaab — Restaurant in Leeds

The length of this review should be reason enough not to go. Booked a table for 2 for myself and my wife. We were seated in the lobby when asked if we could sit in the main area, we were advised all the tables were booked. There were empty tables. Asked again. The Same answer. Asked a 3rd time, a very loud rude chap advised us that we we were Muslim we wouldn’t want to sit next to people drinking alcohol and would only ask to be moved as the only table he had free was right in the middle of the main dining area! I was fuming. He should have given us the choice up front. I was so angry I couldn’t recall other alternative restaurants nearby. I wish I had just walked out. We were heading to a concert at the town hall. Time was short and we had been looking forward to eating before hand. So we stayed begrudgingly.

Food was ok. When we ordered the food he said you don’t want the English type of cooked food we will do Asian for you. Good grief I feel sorry for the those who ask for the standard meals, I mean they didn’t even think it worthy of serving Pakistanis . I mean, really shouldn’t be a difference.

As we left we saw many empty table(s) in the main area, hardly anyone left the place while we were eating so they were clearly vacant when we entered and through our meal. They could have easily seated us in the main dining area as opposed to out of the way.

I have walked out of restaurants in the past because of the location staff has chosen to seat 2 diners, away in a corner when the place is quiet , just in case they get more diners.

I can only assume that they did not want an Asian man and woman in hijab, sitting in the main area is my opinion.

It was outrageous. I won’t be going back. I have already told all my friends not to go there. I hope they also tell their friends and so on.

For me the quality of the food is not paramount in a restaurant. It’s the front of house and overall service and the feeling of being valued.

You will be in no danger...

I’ve been living in the area for two years, and I’ve always been tempted to try this place. My partner fancied Indian food, so we decided to have a nice meal together. From the start, we waited a few minutes to be seated. When one of the waiters arrived, he asked my partner about the reservation without even looking at me. Once we were at the table, they brought a starter with different sauces. I’m vegetarian, and I wanted to double check that all the sauces were meatless. When I asked the waiter if any of those contained meat, he laughed. I decided to ignore it. He took the drink order, and here’s the thing: when he came back, he gave me water and said, "Here is your water. It doesn’t have any meat. Don't worry. "(laughing about it). I’m sorry. I felt offended. I work in hospitality and there are jokes that you cannot do with a person that you don’t even know. There's an important thing called respect, and as a waiter, you should respect the likes or tastes of the guest. I decided to ignore this comment and have a nice dinner with my partner.

Regarding the order,he asked for a starter and a main course, and I decided to go for 3 starters so I could try different options. We both also asked for naan bread.

His starter came after 15 minutes, but nothing for me. He had time to finish his plate, and even after that, we had to wait another extra 20 minutes to receive any food. In total, 40 minutes seated with nothing to eat. The food was not bad. It was very spicy, but flavor-wise it was very tasty. When we asked for the bill, the waiter came with a receipt that was very difficult to read. It was all written by hand. They charged 6.50 for the starter, whether you liked it or not.

My 2 stars are for the service given, not the food. We left with a bitter taste. I was very excited about going to this restaurant, but the service was very poor and ruined...

Quick, friendly and efficient service, and great food at a fair price: what I'd call a traditional curry. I'm glad we ate here, and I'll be back.

My son and I were having a drink in The Scarborough and intending to go to another place, which I'm not that keen on. I was racking my brains for curry restaurants and couldn't think of any: Leeds has changed so much and the restaurants which I think of as "traditional" seem to have gone. Then I remembered Nawaab, and the great meals I'd had there in the past. Convenient if you're in the City Square area. We turned up at around half six without a reservation. There were quite a few customers in but we were seated within five minutes, and served quickly. The food was great - just as I'd remembered it. It's what I consider to be traditional English/Asian curry. I don't have a massive appetite, so I never eat starters: I had a chicken dansak with a plain naan. I enjoyed every mouthful. My son had a chicken makhani and said it was better than the other place we were going to go to (nothing wrong with that place, btw: it's rightly popular but I'm just not that keen on it.)

I first came to Leeds as an 18-year old almost 40 years ago and, of course, it's changed so much since then. One thing I've noticed is that, now, people eat in restaurants to be 'seen'. Not that the food's bad - I'm sure it's great - but that's just how it seems to be. Nawaab's not like that: you're there for the food and the service. It's a good few years since I've eaten there, but I'm delighted to say it hasn't really changed. As I said at the top, great food, great service. If you're in that part of town and fancy a curry, go to Nawaab.

Well done, guys, and keep it up....