Indian Pakwaan

You'll walk past this narrow Merrion Street shopfront a dozen times before realising it houses some of the most authentic Pakistani cooking in Leeds. The dining room feels like someone's front room – plastic chairs, fluorescent lighting, zero pretension – but that's exactly the point. This is proper home-style cooking, not curry house theatre. The karahi is what keeps regulars coming back religiously. Served sizzling in traditional cast iron pans, the lamb version arrives with chunks of meat so tender they fall apart at first glance, swimming in a sauce that's been cooked down to concentrated perfection. Skip the usual suspects and go for the Pakistani classics – the seekh kebabs are hand-rolled daily and the naans emerge from the tandoor with that perfect char-to-chew ratio that most places never quite nail.