Step into the stunningly refurbished independent Thai restaurant Sukhothai, and you’ll be blown away by the ambience, the food and the service.

With my travel writer's hat on and having lived and worked on the other side of the world for many years, I was really excited about my first visit to this Yorkshire-born Thai restaurant that has been part of the dining scene in Leeds for more than 13 years.

Founded in 2002 with the opening of its original Chapel Allerton restaurant, Sukhothai was created by Ban Kaewkraikhot, who has spent more than two decades building it into what can only be described as a local institution.

Ban, Executive Chef and Owner, had a dream when she first opened Sukhothai in Chapel Allerton in 2002.

“My dream was to bring real Thai cooking to Yorkshire – the flavours, the ingredients and the feeling of eating in Thailand. That’s something that has always stayed at the heart of what we do,” she says.

The South Parade restaurant reopened after being refurbished this spring and has a new elegant and opulent interior and also a new menu.

“This incorporates some of my personal favourites, such as grilled river prawns and fresh oysters, along with dishes customers have loved for many years.”

All the dishes are made with authentic ingredients and inspired by the recipes I grew up with," says Ban.

The moment you enter the restaurant, you feel enveloped by a sophisticated and welcoming ethos. The bar area is colourful and has high-top seats that are heaven to perch on for a cheeky aperitif before dining.

It's an ultra-light and airy restaurant with skilfully choreographed tables, booths and seating areas. The wonderful thing about this place is you have space, and there’s an element of privacy wherever you sit, whether at a table or a banquette seating booth with the lighting that has been elegantly created.

The menu is extensive to say the least, and normally it doesn’t take me long to decide on my food – but there were so many choices, so whilst we deliberated, we ordered some Khow Kreb Tod – Thai prawn crackers with a freshly made sweet chilli sauce that came beautifully presented in a very contemporary wooden bowl.

The menu carries a selection of set meals and also sharing platters as well as a vast a la carte choice, and it's divided into various categories, making it easy to choose according to your dietary requirements or taste.

My colleague opted for the vegetarian starter of Tod Mun Khao Phode – traditional homemade sweetcorn cakes topped with diced shallots and served with a freshly made chilli sauce.

There was a very generous portion of the sweetcorn cakes. They were crispy on the outside, whilst the inside was soft, moist and mildly spicy and contained carrots and other vegetables.

My choice was less adventurous – the Gung Tempura – king prawns in a crispy batter. Again, the portion was very generous, and the sweet chilli sauce was mild, which I very much appreciated, not being a lover of all things spicy.

Phed Sawat

Pad King Stir Fry

When it came to mains, my colleague chose from the Chef’s Recommendations section and ordered Phed Sawat. The dish consisted of a deep-fried crispy duck breast in a very delicate batter which was topped with a mixed spice and delicious herb sauce. The sauce contained pineapple, cherry tomatoes and water chestnut portions. The perfect accompaniment to this was jasmine rice.

I chose a stir-fry dish, Pad Khing. It contained fresh ginger, spring onions, mushrooms and black jelly mushrooms, popular in Eastern Asian cuisine because they absorb the flavour of the stir-fry.

There was also a plethora of other vegetables, including carrots and peppers, all giving more flavour. The dish came with the option of adding either chicken, duck, pork, sliced beef, prawn or seafood. I chose pork, which was thinly sliced and tender. The whole dish had a great flavour and was a work of art in presentation. An accompaniment of egg fried rice went well with the dish.

My verdict – one of the very best stir-fries I have had, and I have had lots over the years in all parts of the world, both on land and at sea.

It was a while before we could even think about desserts. Being a bit of a chocoholic, I went for the Molten Chocolate Bomb, and I was not disappointed. This was a warm, rich chocolate bomb with a molten chocolate centre, served with vanilla ice cream. Despite the large amount of chocolate in the dish, it was not overly sweet and had a wonderful texture.

Lemon and Ginger Cheesecake

Molten Chocolate Bomb

My colleague’s choice was the Lemon and Ginger Cheesecake. But this was no ordinary cheesecake but had a pure butter shortcrust base with a cream cheese, lemon and ginger filling topped with a delicious soft meringue. The ginger was a great addition to the dessert and quite unusual, and the addition of pomegranate seeds as a decoration made a delicious accompaniment to the dish.

Our visit to Sukhothai was over all too soon, and we really felt so comfortable and relaxed we just didn’t want to leave. It was sad to say goodbye, but we “will be back” very soon to celebrate our respective big birthdays, and it's certainly the place to bring my partner whose career takes him round the world the next time he is on shore leave. He will just say one thing I know ‘why didn’t you bring me here before!’



Sukahothai South Parade, Leeds.

www.sukhothai.co.uk/leeds city centre

Tel: 0113 2422795

Open: Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs – 5pm – 10pm; Friday 5pm-11pm; Saturday 12pm-11pm; Sunday 12pm-8.00pm.