Indian Restaurants in Leeds: Where to Eat Curry by Area

City centre: Nawaab on Wellington Street

Nawaab sits at 27 Wellington Street, LS1 4WG, a short walk from the station quarter and well placed before a show or after work. It describes itself as an award-winning restaurant with sit-in and takeaway service, and it is set up for volume: functions and events, outdoor catering and Christmas parties all feature on its own site, alongside tables for celebrations and New Year's Eve.

This is the old-school curry-house model at its most useful — a large room, a main menu and a set menu, and a kitchen that expects groups rather than couples. The venue states that its Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice recognition dates to 2025, so treat any award mention as the restaurant's own claim rather than an independent verdict.

Order from the set menu if the table wants to eat quickly and share the decision, or go à la carte if one or two people have firm favourites. Because Nawaab's own site does not publish kitchen times in a single place, ring 0113 244 2979 or check the bookings page on the day you plan to eat.

Headingley: Bombay2Goa on Headingley Lane

Bombay2Goa is at 16 Headingley Lane, LS6 2AS, in Headingley — a short bus or taxi ride out of the city centre rather than a walk from the shops. It is family-run and describes its cooking as a journey from Bombay street food down the Goan coast, served in a retro Bollywood room that seats around 60.

The menu is where this kitchen separates itself from the curry-house norm. Start with vada pav, spiced potato fritters in a pav roll, or pav bhaji; follow with Goan chicken xacuti on the bone, made with roasted spices and grated coconut, tandoori prawns or a Goan fish curry built on coconut and regional spices. Butter chicken and chicken tikka are there for anyone who wants the familiar order.

The venue reports a 4.7 rating from more than 700 Google reviews and a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice 2026 label, both stated on its own site rather than verified here. It also has a full bar with cocktails and mocktails, which makes it the stronger pick of the three for a birthday or a long sit-down dinner rather than a quick feed.

Its stated hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 5pm to 11.30pm, and Friday to Sunday 5pm to midnight, with Tuesdays closed. Book ahead at weekends or for a group, since the 60-seat room is also used for private dining and celebrations.

Near the station: Aarti on Swinegate

Aarti is at Unit 3, 8–12 Swinegate, LS1 4AG, a city-centre address that works well for a sit-down lunch or a meal before a train. It runs both dine-in and takeaway, so it suits a solo traveller or a couple who want a proper plate of curry without committing to a long evening.

Its published hours are Monday to Saturday 12pm to 10pm and Sunday 12pm to 9.30pm, with last orders 30 minutes before closing. Those lunchtime openings are the practical advantage over the other two for daytime eating: a midday curry here fits around a museum visit or a meeting, whereas Bombay2Goa's published hours begin in the evening.

The menu is downloadable from the restaurant's own site, which is worth a look before you go if you want to check vegetarian choices or heat levels for a mixed table. Ring 0113 536 1961 for bookings and takeaway queries.

How to choose: by area, meal and group size

Start with the area, because it decides the night more than the menu does. If you are staying central, eating before a show or arriving by train, Nawaab and Aarti keep you on foot; if you are in Headingley or happy to take a bus or taxi, Bombay2Goa gives you the more distinctive cooking.

Then choose by appetite. For street-food starters and slow-cooked coastal curries, Bombay2Goa is the obvious pick; for a broad curry-house menu with set options and function space, Nawaab; for a straightforward lunch or a pre-train dinner, Aarti.

Group size tilts it further. A table of ten or a work celebration fits Nawaab's big-room format, and Bombay2Goa takes private dining for up to 60 guests with set menus arranged in advance. For two people on a Tuesday, remember that Headingley's option is shut and plan accordingly.

Booking and timing

All three take bookings, but the method differs. Bombay2Goa takes reservations online or by phone on 0113 513 5972 and advises booking ahead, especially at weekends; Nawaab books through its site or on 0113 244 2979; Aarti takes bookings on 0113 536 1961.

Watch the days. Bombay2Goa is closed on Tuesdays, so a Tuesday curry means staying central with Nawaab or Aarti. Aarti's lunchtime opening from noon also makes it the reliable choice for curry at midday rather than dinner.

For a quiet two-person dinner, avoid the big-room venues on peak nights and take the Headingley trip instead. For a large group, book early and confirm the set-menu arrangement with the restaurant rather than assuming the à la carte scales to fourteen people.

Price level and what to order

None of the three publishes a full price list in plain text on its homepage, so check the menu on the venue's own site before you commit. As a guide to style rather than cost: Nawaab promotes a set menu as well as à la carte and offers a stated 10% discount on takeaway orders collected by phone, while Bombay2Goa's own guests describe the prices as reasonable in reviews the restaurant reproduces.

To keep the bill down, order one street-food starter to share, one rice and one bread between two, and a single slow-cooked curry each rather than a spread of sides. At Nawaab, a set menu is usually the simpler route for a group; at Bombay2Goa, sharing vada pav and a fish curry across the table stretches the meal further than two mains.

Takeaway and delivery

All three do takeaway, which makes them useful on a wet Leeds evening. Aarti offers dine-in and takeaway from Swinegate with last orders 30 minutes before closing; Nawaab takes collection orders on 0113 244 2979 with its stated 10% takeaway discount; Bombay2Goa offers collection from Headingley Lane, typically ready in 15 to 20 minutes, plus delivery through Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo.

A sit-down meal beats a box at home when you want the tandoor dishes at their best, or when the point is the room — the Bollywood styling at Bombay2Goa, the big-room bustle at Nawaab. Order in when you are time-poor or the group is scattered across the city.

Dietary notes for a mixed table

Maharashtrian and Goan cooking leans heavily on vegetables, pulses and coconut, so vegetarians have real choice rather than a token dish. At Bombay2Goa, vada pav and pav bhaji sit alongside the meat curries, and guests quoted on its site single out misal pav and solkadhi as highlights.

Spice levels are marked on the Bombay2Goa menu with chilli symbols, which helps when ordering for children or anyone heat-shy. For stricter dietary needs, including vegan choices, check the menu PDFs and ring ahead — Aarti's menu is downloadable and Nawaab and Bombay2Goa both take phone queries before you book.

The honest trade-offs

Headingley is a trip out of the centre, not a stroll from the station, so factor in a bus or taxi fare and the journey home. That said, the reward is the most distinctive cooking of the three, with Goan fish curry and xacuti that you will not find in the big central rooms.

Big rooms can feel busy and loud on a Saturday, which suits celebrations and works against a quiet dinner for two. The Tuesday closure at Bombay2Goa is the other practical trap, and Nawaab's lack of published kitchen hours means a phone call before you travel is the safe move.

Quick answers: city centre, groups and vegetarians

For city-centre curry near the station, Aarti on Swinegate is the closest fit and the only one with published lunchtime hours; Nawaab on Wellington Street is a few minutes further but built for bigger tables. For a group or a celebration, Nawaab's set menus and function space or Bombay2Goa's 60-seat private dining room both work.

For vegetarians, head to Headingley for vada pav, pav bhaji and misal pav, and check the chilli markings before ordering. If you want to compare against the rest of the city's budget options or seafood, the cheap eats Leeds and seafood restaurants Leeds guides cover those separately.

Which Leeds Indian restaurant suits your night?

Pick by area first: Aarti if you are central and eating at lunchtime or before a train, Nawaab if you want a big room and a set menu with a group, Bombay2Goa if you will travel to Headingley for street food and Goan curries. Then check the day — Tuesday rules out Headingley — and book ahead at weekends.

Confirm the details that change: kitchen times, the current menu and whether a set menu is running for your date. One phone call to the restaurant settles all three faster than any listing.