Sheesh Mahal

i want for a famliy meal on sat it was very nice as usual

Some of the tastiest and most authentic Indian in Leeds.
When you enter sheesh you will be greeted by a very friendly welcome and smile.
Although the décor is a little dated it does nothing to take away from the friendly and homely environment.
I would fully recommend the fish fish pakora for starters followed by the sheesh murgh karahi with either a spinach naan or a cauliflower naan.
For the price it’s unbelievable, it worked out the same price to go to here with a taxi back as it does to go to aggrah in the city centre yet it’s far tastier and much nicer atmosphere.

After a lengthy Sunday, what with the Olympic torch malarky, a late afternoon gig and the underwhelming experience of football, my band mates and I decided to nip across the road from the Three Hulats to grab a late night bit of curry. This little run of businesses where Sheesh Mahal sits hosts a few take aways and suchlike, but we wanted a sit in experience.
From the moment we walked in we were welcomed with such warmth from the staff, and given a seat. We ordered a few drinks and perused the menu, which had a range of all the classics. Whilst there weren’t many exotic dishes (from my brief glance) there was plenty to pick from. I opted for the korma, my friend had the spinach and lamb gosht, and the other chose the chicken karahi. (My spelling might be off there…)
We were given poppadoms and pickles, whilst we waited, and whilst the restaurant was empty the ambience was incredibly relaxed –I’m sure they could have closed up early, so it was lovely for them to stay open on our account. In terms of décor, it might be a little plain, but it’s tidy and clean and the welcoming staff more than make up for this. To be honest, when it comes to appearances, I’d go for friendly folk over glitz any day.
The food arrived swiftly and we all tucked into some deliciously spiced and well cooked curries. The korma, as a small warning, was a little spicier than expected –but this was welcome. (Just in case you really like it mild.) It had all the delicious creamy coconut flavour with plenty of kick from the chicken. The lamb gosht was fabulous; the lamb fell apart under your fork, and the spinach and sauce was incredibly well flavoured. The karahi was particularly spicy to me (I like it medium), but again, very flavoursome and filling.
To top it all off, the bill for three curries, rice, naans, chapatties, numerous beers and suchlike came to just over £30. If you’re looking for flavour and beers on a budget, this is most certainly a good shout. As we readied to leave, the staff even offered to call us each a taxi, which was just wonderful. Basically, on all accounts, this is a fantastic restaurant where you can expect excellent service to be paired with a damned good curry. Lovely!

After extensive research and sourcing, I came to the conclusion that Sheesh Mahal would be the most authentic Indian restaurant in Leeds (with exception of Hansa’s and Mumtaz) to take my Indian cohabiter.
We arrived at 8:15pm on a Saturday night. The restaurant is very small and only a third full. We were greeted and escorted a few meters to the table. The atmosphere was that of a library and everyone at the 3 occupied tables stared at us until we were seated. The lighting was reminiscent of secondary school classrooms of strip lighting to match the chip board ceiling and the music was not Indian or Asian, more budget supermarket, this wasn’t a positive start.
I opened the menu and was less than impressed as the choice was less extensive than on their website (more omelettes, chips and lasagne featured). A plastic dessert card was in the middle of the table displaying only bought-​in ice cream, which is clearly all they offered (what about all of the delicious tradional Indian sweets?). I asked my companion if he would mind that we leave and go elsewhere as I was not prepared to pay and persevere what I anticipated to be a negative experience. He agreed and we took a taxi into the city.

We moved from Kirkstall to Chapel Apple earlier this year and were dead chuffed that we were near another Sheesh Mahal! A friend recommended this place to us and we tried it for a takeaway a few weeks ago — it wasn’t cheap, but then I can’t think of many good quality indian takeouts where you’d pay less than £7 for a main course.
I had a keema and spinach balti, which is my usual order no matter where I get it from, and it was delicous. Just the right heat, and very tasty. The garlic naan was really light too, rather than doughy and stodgy, which was a nice change.
Even though I was there for a takeaway I got treated to brilliant service because I was early picking it up — the maitre d came and sat with me and chatted to me about everything and anything, but in a friendly and not-​at-​all-​annoying way. Which was nice.
The whole lot (including heaps of poppadoms for me, because I am a poppadom fiend/​monster/​über fan) came to £26, which is reasonable. Particularly when Hot Steve’s paying.

An unimpressive outside but a grand interior, Sheesh Mahal reminds me not to judge a restaurant by its signage. The large, dark brown chairs loom over the tables giving the place a sombre feel but the food more than makes up for this décor, which is at least very comfortable! It is cheaper than the fancy restaurants in Chapel Allerton and is not a chain — two things working in its favour in my opinion. The curry is tasty and fresh, just what you want. They even have halal meat.

In an area surprisingly lacking in Indian restaurants and even more lacking in quality ones, Shish Mahal is an unlikely bastion of fine Indian cooking, despite the fact that it looks like a launderette from the outside. Having been in Chapel Allerton for over 20 years, Shish Mahal has witnessed its evolution from troubled suburb to fashionable wining and dining capital and thankfully hasn’t felt the need to change one bit, offering up the same winning combination of classic Indian dishes, fresh ingredients and charming service as it did when it first opened, proving that quality really does stand the test of time. The décor is a bit dated, certainly when you compare it to some of the swish establishments nearby, but the food more than makes up for that and if, like me, you feel more comfortable on a slightly shabby sofa than on a sparkling clean bar stool you’ll welcome the fact that the focus is on what you eat rather than where you eat it. Come here and feel smug that you’re eating far better food for half the price of what you’d pay elsewhere in Chapel A.

Intermate friendly atmosphere, good food, friendly service, parking outside