Dastaan Leeds: The new fine-dining Indian opening this summer
The Guardian has described their restaurant as “food of the subcontinent elevated way beyond its uninspiring location – Mayfair cooking at mundane prices”.
The new Michelin-guide recommended restaurant is opening in North Leeds later this month.
Dastaan has been offering something quite special down south since its beginnings in 2017, but now the award-winning Indian restaurant will be finding a second home right here in Leeds.
Headed up by award-winning chefs that have taken both London and Surrey in their stride throughout their career, Nand Kishor and Sanjay Gour are promising us here in the north a taste of "Mayfair cooking at a fraction of the price" from Wednesday 27 July 2022.
Image: Dastaan
Described by The Guardian as “food of the subcontinent elevated way beyond its uninspiring location – Mayfair cooking at mundane prices”, Dastaan opened in Epsom some five years ago near the capital and has since landed itself a place in the prestigious Michelin Guide, including earning and retaining a Bib Gourmand since its first year of opening.
This comes in addition to recommendations from the likes of Hardens, AA Guide, the Good Food Guide; placing in The Times' top thirty places to have a curry and landing a spot in Squaremeals' top 100 restaurants for 2022 just a few months ago.
Now opening a second Dastaan with a new menu, there will be ample opportunity for diners to experience a whole host of exotic flavours paired with regional specialities- each with a modern twist that is set to show Leeds exactly why the original Dastaan Epsom is worthy of its many accolades.
Acting as a culinary tapestry to showcase the best of fine-dining Indian cuisine, the Dastaan Leeds menu will offer a swoon-worthy list of a la carte dishes, such as Tellicherry Lobster Dosa, whilst also adding a tapas-style bar menu with smaller plates like chicken lollypops, pink prawns and pani puri.
Celebrated chefs Nand Kishor and Sanjay Gour have had a lifetime of cooking up at some of the biggest names in the UK. Both have been former Head Chefs at Gymkhana where Kishor's dishes like Muntjac Biryani, Keema Pao and the Roe Deer Chops went a long way in announcing the Michelin-starred venue as Restaurant of the Year in 2015.
Image: Dastaan
Meanwhile Sanjay Kishor, an accomplished pastry chef, has created bespoke desserts for events like the BAFTAs, GQ Awards and leading restaurants across the world, including with Angela Hartnett at Murano.
The menu will be paired with a collaboration with Cobra lager and well considered alcoholic drinks list with a Gin Library, vegan and organic wine options and even a cocktail menu inspired by the chef's ingredients inside the kitchen.
Establishing relationships with local independents is an integral part of Dastaan's reputation, and so Kishor and Gour look forward to welcoming Leeds' own Kirkstall Brewery and local supplier House of Wine as collaborative partners.
"We were looking to open a new restaurant and Leeds is the obvious choice - the food scene here is really good. But we want to make it even better. We are bringing something new, an upmarket Indian dining experience," says Anurag Singh, who will be responsible for Dastaan Leeds.
Image: Dastaan
He added: "We don't plan to open a chain of Dastaan restaurants all over the country. We don't believe in mass produced food. We want to deliver something personal, that we can manage ourselves".
With this in mind, the new menu intends to expand from the original by elevating the flavours and providing a more "upmarket" backdrop, compared to Epsom's open kitchen.
"The restaurant itself is at a great location and looks beautiful and we can’t wait to start serving up some fantastic new dishes.”
Dastaan Leeds will open on Wednesday 27 July 2022 in Adel, but in order to allow for staff to settle in the new premises, the restaurant will only open Wednesday - Sunday for the first few weeks with limited seating.
For more information, including how to book a seat at the table for yourself, visit the Dastaan website.
Feature Image- Dastaan
Eats
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
The Swine That Dines announces the official opening date of its brand new restaurant
Clementine Hall
Much-loved Leeds Bistro The Swine Bistro, formerly known as The Swine That Dines, has moved to a bigger space in Headingley.
Although it’s gone through a few name changes over the years since launching as The Greedy Pig cafe in 2012, this independent spot has long been a firm favourite for Leeds locals for some time now.
Run by chef couple Jo and Stu Myers, they’ve been operating out of North Street where it’s all about cooking seasonal produce simply and with an added ‘little bit of sunshine’.
But now Swine Bistro has moved up over to Headingley, taking up a unit previously occupied by Jam hairdressers on Otley Road.
Image: Supplied
And the time has finally come for them to open their doors, as they announce their first service will take place on Friday 4 April with bookings open from today, Thursday 20 March.
The Myers will be welcoming head chef Kirsty Cheetham, who won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Sunday Lunch award in 2018 and 2022 when she ran The Queen o’t owd Thatch in South Milford, Leeds.
The expanded space in the restaurant has allowed the team to curate a bigger wine list which will include natural wines from Wayward Wines and Latitude Wines as well as local beers from Ilkley Brewery and Horsforth Brewery.
Image: Supplied
The team remains passionate about locally sourced ingredients and has partnered with a variety of Yorkshire suppliers including R&J Yorkshire for its fresh meat, Tarbetts fishmonger, cheese from George & Joseph cheesemongers and beans from micro roaster, Chipp Coffee Co.
Jo Myers, co-owner of the Swine Bistro said: “It’s taken a huge amount of time and effort to realise our dream to revamp what was previously a hairdresser into a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. It’s been a wild ride but we’re excited, and slightly nervous, to finally open our doors.
“We love the vibe in Headingley and the time out has allowed us to have fun with our menu as well as take part in lots of essential taste testing of ingredients and drinks from our brilliant local suppliers. We can’t wait to welcome guests into our new restaurant!”
Sophie Smith -
15th July 2022 
