Indian restaurant Dastaan has opened its first venue in the North, in the Leeds suburb of Adel

I’d been following all this, so when my pal Helen told me they were opening a second branch in Leeds we booked a table straightaway to see what all the fuss was about.

They’d chosen a location not in pricey Trinity or the flashy Victoria Quarter, but like the Epsom branch, in the suburbs. If the out-of-town formula could work in deepest Surrey, then why not in Adel?

We are in the further reaches of Otley Road in Leeds, outside what was the Italian Mio Modo. The glass frontage is aglow with fairy lights, and while I fear for their energy bills, it’s a bold statement, one that continues inside with a dining area covering two floors and decorated stylishly with velvet chairs in a vivid palette of burnt orange, green and turquoise and bright floral banquettes.

The young woman at the door meets us with a smile and an army of servers follow, bringing us menus, water, salted lassi, a basket of poppadoms and their own fabulous pickles brimming with flavour and spice; ‘We make everything in house’,we were told. It’s prompt and thoughtful service and all before the rest of our party arrives.

The menu has plenty of choice, but is not so long as to overwhelm.

Starters are between £5 and £9 and mains peak at £15. After poppadoms and pints of Cobra and Kirkstall Brewery ales, they bring us some superb bhaji’s. Three gnarly little patties, the colour of burnt Sienna flecked with green, made with kale, spinach, potato and onion. It’s the nicest way to enjoy kale I’ve come across. Every dish comes with a salad, raita or as here, with a fresh mint and tamarind chutney. Similarly, malai chicken tikka has been gently spiced and the tender pieces are accompanied by a fresh little salad of avocado, tomato, mustard seed and lime.

Fish Amritsari is a Punjabi street food dish of spice-marinated white fish, deep fried and with a dill and ginger raita.

Friends who’d been here before us recommended the duck and guinea fowl kebab and they were right, the fatty duck keeping it juicy and all brought together with herbs and spices and served with a chunky apple and mustard seed chutney.

If you’ve never had a proper biryani, then try this one. It’s a dish predominantly of spiced rice layered with marinated meat or other protein and gently steamed. The skill is getting the meat tender without the rice becoming overcooked and sticky. Our chicken biryani arrives in a conical earthenware pot, with the top firmly sealed with a flatbread – it’s a technique called dum pukht which means ‘breathe and cook’. It’s well described, the flatbread seals the pot so that the layers of rice and chicken can ‘breathe’ gently in their own steam yet keeping in all the flavours.

Our server slices off the pastry lid at the table to release a glorious whiff of spice and perfectly cooked Basmati rice, still with some bite and hidden beneath, the tender, aromatic meat. There’s no sauce with biryani so it needs the cooling pomegranate and cucumber raita alongside.

So far so tasty, but for me, there are two standout dishes: methi chicken and pork vindaloo.

The first has a rich and creamy sauce in which tender chicken has been poached with onion, tomato, spices and a hint of bitterness from fresh methi (fenugreek). Pork cheek vindaloo is not the fiery dish of curry house legend, but an authentic Goan version made with pork cooked until tender with vinegar, garlic and layers of spicing. It’s dark, rich, fragrant and the perfect advert for a proper vindaloo.

Side dishes, as recommended by our waiter are wild mustard potato and a kurkuri bhindi. Forget memories of unpleasant, slimy okra, these gorgeous little shards of green have been fried to a wonderful crisp. For a refreshing finale, we share a dessert of creamy pistachio kulfi.

By now our big round table is a muddle of half-finished dishes. Obviously, we’ve over-ordered, but they kindly pack up the leftovers to take home. We leave happy and replete, agreeing that Dastaan is one of the best Indian restaurants we’ve been to in a long time and a match for Bundobust, Tharavadu and Prashad.

Dastaan’s dishes feel fresh, vibrant and authentic. The team are welcoming and knowledgeable and it all takes place in smart modern surroundings. Nand Kishor Semwal and Sanjay Gour are experienced chefs. Sanjay was pastry chef at Angela Hartnett’s Murano and both were head chefs at the Michelin starred Gymkhana. Chefs don’t always make good restaurateurs, but they have cleverly used their experience to create in Epsom and now in Leeds, something simpler (and cheaper) than the high-flying Mayfair restaurant, and making it very good. They chose Leeds they say because of its vibrant restaurant scene. I'm so glad they did, we are lucky have them.

Dastaan, 473 Otley Road, Adel, Leeds LS16 7NR. T: 0113 230 0600. E: [email protected]. W: www.dastaan.co.uk. Open: Wed-Fri 5pm-10.30pm; Sat 12.30-2.30 & 5pm-10.30; Sun 12.30-2.30 & 5pm-9.30pm. Price: meal for two including a bottle wine and service £110