East Bar Lounge Grill, Leeds

“East is not just about one person, but the work of a team of talented people spending hours together. To produce the kind of food, drink, service and ambience you are about to experience.’’
Now that’s a mission statement that will be under scrutiny. The question is did it deliver everything we were expecting?

East is a new concept in Indian dining. Offering the whole package. With three very different bars on two levels, each as sumptuous as the other. Downstairs, adjacent to the restaurant, is the Piano Bar. This is a bustling bar where you can stand and watch an array of pianists/singers play really cool jazz, which is piped through to the restaurant. The bar lounges upstairs offer sophistication and charisma for the most discerning client. With fine wines and Champagnes complimented by your usual bottled beers and spirits, as well as a myriad of other bottled beers one has never herd of. East is a venue where you can drink will friends and mix with like-minded, nice people then dine at your leisure (if you can get a table, as it appears to be fully booked most of the time).

East offers the city centre feel without the hustle and bustle of the city. Yes, I did have reservations about it being in Pudsey, with a stigma of having an eclectic reputation and once you’re there, being trapped. Unless you want to drive or get a cab. We could not have been more wrong. East is a complete night out. The whole concept works, and works well.

Attention to detail is screaming out. From the meeting and greeting, to your wrap been put around your shoulders as you leave. All this does not come at a price. From the draught beers to the food, everything is extremely reasonable. “We want people to experience luxury without paying city centre prices, then tell their friends. After all the best form of compliment of all is recommendation,’’ Said Mo, joint owner.

Another attention to detail are the doormen. As we entered and as we left we all commented on how polite they were, wishing us a happy new year as we left. I know this venue has a very strict entry policy. So beware; be smart or expect to be politely refused entry. I love this attitude. It’s about time somewhere brought back some old fashioned values and stuck to them. But I am forty three and rapidly turning into Victor Meldrew!

My wife and two children were accompanying me. As we entered we were asked if we would like to dine immediately or have a drink, we opted to be seated as the bar was a little busy for the children, however we had to come back to the bar as no table was ready. My twelve year old son commented: “Not a good start Dad.’’ I agreed. Five minutes later we were seated. The restaurant was packed. The atmosphere was a little overwhelming to start with but within minutes we were really enjoying ourselves. The acoustics are not quite right; a little dampening is required.

For starters we had garlic tomato bread to share (wow, it was amazing). We then chose Gamberoni slow roasted king prawns with garlic, wine, chilli, lemon and parsley oil and bread @ £6.50 and Seafood Risotto, a real southern Italian dish, with fresh squid, mussels and Mediterranean king prawns with chilli and garlic oil @ £4.95.

As I said earlier, attention to detail shines through. Everything from quality cutlery to designer glasses, as well as a service buzzer on the table, makes it impossible to receive bad service. We did not need it once. The service is extremely friendly and very efficient without been overbearing

We Ordered

To start:
Lamb Chops £3.50
Onion Bhaji £2.20
King Prawn Chilli £5.50
Chicken Wings £2.75
All were absolutely fantastic.
Good sized portions. The chops were my favourite but were a little spicy for the family, so beware.

The mains:
Lamb on the Bone £6.95
Chicken Bhuna £5.50
Chicken Korma £5.50
Chicken Vindaloo £5.50 (fourteen year old daughter. I don’t know if I’m proud or concerned!)

The sides:
Various

It’s difficult not to over embellish how good the main dishes were. So I won’t. Adjectives like ‘amazing’ and ‘outstanding’ spring to mind. Let’s just leave it at ‘first class cuisine’. My only gripe would be that as much as the naans look great brought out on the tall tree pedestals, they go cold too fast. That’s a physics problem. Surface area to volume ratio and all that boring stuff.

To summarise I will be succinct and say East is a venue that has been long awaited. It offers everything the discerning diner as well as the middle to high income socialite wants from a night out.

Category under £20

Review Summary

Atmosphere ♦♦♦♦
Food ♦♦♦♦♦
Service ♦♦♦♦♦
Value ♦♦♦♦♦

Contact Details

East Bar Lounge Grill
7 Richardshaw Lane
Pudsey
Leeds LS28 6BN

Tel: 0113 257 9991