Chaophraya, Leeds review: City may have changed a lot in the last 20 years, but Thai restaurant continues to deliver

The city has spread out and upwards, and I love how the canal dock areas were extraordinarily redeveloped and the changes particularly down by the Dark Arches, a part of the city centre I would never go near at one time.

But, the most significant change for me is the fabulous dining and hospitality there now, right across the city, not just in the centre. The scale and quality of cafes, bars, restaurants and clubs; the variety of cuisines to choose from; to think we thought we were rocking it back in the day if we went to a Berni Inn. Many claim to be the foodie capital of Yorkshire, but they will have to go some to beat Leeds.

The city centre is bustling as I head for Chaophraya Thai restaurant on Swinegate. I weave through groups of work colleagues and friends, chatting and laughing after throwing off the work mantel and heading into the weekend and one of the many bars or restaurants. I felt a small wave of nostalgia as I watched, remembering that delicious feeling so well.

I last reviewed Chaophraya not long after it opened in 2004, and though still in the same building, it was just one floor, now it is on two and is incredibly swish.

The previous week, Chaophraya had taken the prestigious award of Best World Restaurant at our sister paper, The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Oliver Awards and they had had some stiff competition.

However, it was a well-deserved win it seems; the Thai restaurant is a Leeds treasure, having made it through almost 20 years at the top of its game in the city and, amazingly, having expanded its business to five other UK cities.

At 6pm, the place is buzzing, and though not full, the arrival and departure of diners are constant.

We are tucked in by the window on the ground floor, so it was hard to see what was going on elsewhere, but when I do wander, I am staggered at the volume of people filling both floors and the number of small parties in progress. The staff have their work cut out for sure, and we found the service a little disjointed, to begin with. Drinks arrived, but the water didn't and we watched on as a couple of tables came in after us and were already eating even before we had placed our order. But, then, in swept manager, Giorgi Minkov and everything settled down. From our perspective, the early evening rush was under control, and from then on, this colossus of a restaurant was excellent.

I find the menu reassuringly familiar from some time spent in Thailand; there's nothing confrontational nor particularly culturally misappropriate - just a few bits and pieces.

Unfortunately, the wine list is a little thin on the ground by the glass, with just five whites and six reds for we out-of-towners who don't have the luxury of walking home or hopping on a train, but there are a few good zero-alcohol beers for my driver-husband.

We share a first course of a vegetarian starter platter. And wow, when the platter arrived, it was huge. There are corn tacos topped with bits of vegetables, the familiar Thai flavour of lime and basil, tiny edible flowers, and micro herbs. We ate clumsy, fat pieces of sweet potato, broccoli, courgette and onion, drenched in a thickish Tempura batter which, despite their appearance, were rather tasty. Summer rolls were annoyingly sticky yet so delicious and bursting with filling. The vegetarian rolls were unremarkable, unlike the sweetcorn cakes, which we dip into the remaining sweet Thai sauce, licking our fingers in appreciation of the great flavours.

Up next for me was Pla Yang – grilled sea bass fillets wrapped in banana leaf with Thai herbs, served with sautéed aubergine and a chilli and lime dressing. What a cracking dish this was. There were two thumpingly big fillets of fish with slightly crispy skin – I would have liked it a little longer under the grill – they weren't wrapped but laid nestled up to one another on the banana leaves and were meaty and soft and so good. The aubergine was lightly grilled and made an excellent side to the fish. Also on the plate was a small dish of very hot chilli sauce, and, for me, not needed anywhere near the sea bass; good as it was, I preferred the fish without it.

Across the table, he is tucking into Khao Pad Sapparod, essentially king prawn pineapple fried rice. He takes my leftover bowl of chilli sauce to add some punch to what was a slightly dry rice punctuated with tiny bits of pineapple, raisins and the like, served in a pineapple boat. He liked it but then loved it when he added the chilli and ate it all. By now, Chaophraya was hotting up, as was the music and on this rare occasion, we passed on dessert, preferring to head off for our long drive home up into the hills.

Hats off to the owner, chef and mastermind of Chaophraya Khun Kim and her husband Martin for their success and growth in a crowded market. I neither like nor dislike it from the original; it is simply different, but then so is the audience, the economic climate and the rest. I still believe their award was well deserved, and I for one wouldn't hesitate to return.

Chaophraya 20A, Blayds Court, Swinegate, Leeds LS1 4AG Tel: 0113 430 0122

Open daily from 12 noon until 11pm.