Arusuvai

Kirkstall has finally got a local restaurant of note, and what a restaurant it is. Arusuvai is broadly South Indian, with a focus on the 'six flavours' of Tamil cooking and a fondness for authentic ingredients that may raise a few eyebrows (bottle gourd or lamb's trotters, anyone?). That said, the dining room is comfortable, service puts everyone at their ease, and there are plenty of dishes to win over the unitiated: warming, fragrant curries, fresh steamed idli tossed in crunchy ‘gunpowder' seasoning, possibly Leeds' flakiest parathas, and an entire section of the menu devoted to dosas – including a 'family sized' masala version the size of a rolled-up yoga mat. Express lunchtime thalis are superb value.