137 Whitehall Rd, Leeds, BD11 1AT
Harden's survey result
Summary
The Hairy Bikers and Gordon Ramsay number amongst the fans of Bobby and Minal Patel’s West Yorkshire legend (est 1992 in Bradford before the move here in 2012) and “it continues to maintain a high standard” of “delicious vegetarian cuisine”.
Summary
“They could convince me to go vegetarian” – so good is the “well-prepared and authentic” Gujarati food at this West Yorkshire legend (est. 1992). First timers say “everything is delicious, slightly novel without being scary”: “it opened my eyes to several new Indian dishes I hadn’t tried before”. And “you just don’t notice there’s no meat or fish… impressive!”
Summary
“Consistently good” since its launch in 1992, and now run by the second generation – this West Yorkshire staple’s Gujarati cooking (“fresh ingredients are the key”) remains sufficiently impressive that no one misses the meat (“husband still hasn’t realised this is a vegetarian restaurant!”).
Summary
“Superb Indian vegetarian food” – “spicy but beautifully presented” – has made this family-run Gujarati a West Yorkshire institution since its humble beginnings in 1992. Now run by the second generation under Bobby Patel (brother Mayur founded Bundobust), it’s “still going strong” – and the “starters are spectacularly good”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Prashad?
Owner's description
Prashad is an award winning, family run Indian vegetarian restaurant in the heart of Drighlington. Our aim is to provide a unique culinary experience consisting of the highest quality, lovingly made Gujarati and North Indian vegetarian food, served in an intimate and welcoming environment by knowledgeable, intuitive and friendly staff.
At Prashad (meaning blessed food), our highly experienced and passionate chefs bring you authentic, ‘home style’ vegetarian cuisine from Gujarat, Punjab and South India handed down through the generations.
Our menu has been designed to introduce your palette to new tastes, flavours and textures using age old techniques, from the best ‘roadside snacks’ to richer, more robust dishes.
Prashad favourites include our famous Gujarati street-food Chaat, known for being the best in the UK, and our South Indian Massala Dosa, which we have spent years perfecting and now boast the best recipe outside of Kerala (the secret is in the dough preparation!) Alongside these classics, we have a number of ever-changing specials, made with locally-sourced, seasonal produce.
Kaushy Patel, founder of Prashad, is the author of two well established cookery books showcasing the best of Indian vegetarian cuisine. The chefs at Prashad try to bring alive this culture in every lovingly-made dish – and the prestigious awards we have won recently are a testament to this:
- Two Star AA Rosette for Culinary Excellence
- The Michelin Guide
- The Good Food Guide
- Morrisons Magazine Great Grub Award 2013
- Yorkshire Life Chef of the Year 2013
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand 2014
- Yorkshire Evening Post Oliver Awards Best Indian Restaurant 2014.
- TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence (Last 6 years running)
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £52.00 |  |
|
 |
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £7.50 | £19.80 | £10.25 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £22.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.60 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Restaurant details
The chef
Prashad is home to Minal, our Head Chef and runner up on Gordon Ramsay’s Best Restaurant TV series.
Minal was born to have a special and fruitful bond with food...
After marrying Bobby in 2004, she moved over to the UK to live with Bobby and his family. From the moment she stepped off the plane it was a very steep learning curve. Some of which is down to coming from a world which was slower and simpler and in some ways much more peaceful than ours.
As you might expect from growing up in a traditional Gujurati village, Minal’s interest in cooking began at an early age. Cutting out recipes from the local newspaper, going home and making it straight away and then following an age old custom of sharing with the rest of the village. Soon after completing a professional cookery course in India, local villagers began to bring their ingredients to Minal’s family home, to watch her prepare their food. Learning from her mum and family, Minal was able to prepare a full family meal aged just 7.
Imagine her excitement after finding out what Bobby's family did for a living!
After stepping into the Prashad kitchen for the first time, she was quick off the mark to learn from Kaushy and share her knowledge. Hara Bara kebab was the first dish she introduced to the restaurant and it's still a firm customer favourite today.
The early years weren't that straightforward, Minal would work busy days at the Deli/Café and spend her days off at college learning English. This allowed her to create meaningful relationships with customers, friends and suppliers.
In 2007, Minal received the ‘keys to the restaurant’ and took over the role of Head Chef. Since then, Minal and her team have attained numerous accolades and awards that set Prashad apart from all of the other Indian restaurants in the North of England whilst continuing to develop new twists on centuries old recipes and dishes. This isn't enough though and each day she strives for better and evaluates how to improve.
Minal isn't driven by money or materialistic things but good food, spending time with her family, India and a passion to succeed.
Family is her world.
Minal's inspiration comes from her mum and making her parents proud is very important to her. Every so often, childhood friends from her village will visit the restaurant and Minal relishes the chance to play host knowing every detail no matter how small will be fed back to her mum in India.
Seeing daughter Maitri grow up in the restaurant, spend time around her parents and show an interest in food is a bonus. She can't wait to share her knowledge and nurture her culinary skills.
Prashad Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Good Indian vegetarian. Not blown away by this - no better than Tharavadu in Leeds"
137 Whitehall Rd, Leeds, BD11 1AT
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 5 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 5 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Thursday | 5 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 5 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
