BIYA2…Delicious, Authentic Persian Cuisine

New opening BIYA2 brings authentic Persian cuisine and a spacious, well-designed restaurant.

 
Persian food is becoming quite a feature of the Leeds food scene. The small-scale Darvish in Harehills and Hafsin in Burley Park have had a devoted following for years, whilst Syrian Bab Tooma in Oakwood has shown this food style works in larger restaurants, too. BIYA2 has upscaled further, taking over the former TGI Friday site.

The restaurant adjoins the Premier Inn on Wellington Street, well placed for a stop when heading to Leeds from the West. Sitting on the City Centre’s edge, it is fortunate to have a car park which it shares with the hotel. On entering BIYA2, the first thing we needed to do was record our car’s registration number on a terminal, to trigger the three-hour free parking.

Gone are the TGI Friday bold red and white stripes, replaced with cool geometric patterned flooring and warm shades on the walls. The large area has been intelligently zoned: upper bar, a choice of tables or booths and another raised section separated off for large groups. What could be an intimidating space has become intimate.

We chose a window table with views of passing traffic. Good glazing cut out all exterior noise. Our server asked if we would like some water while seating us, a jug and glasses soon appeared, complete with ice and lemon. If there is one thing we could learn from the USA, it is bringing water to the table while people are reading the menu. I detest rushing into deciding what I would like to drink before thinking about food, but choosing whilst dehydrated can also cause poor decision making. The menu begins with classic Persian food then continues with pasta, pizza, fish. The starters are Persian with a few other

Mediterranean influences such as garlic bread and Greek salad. Aubergine dips featured in all their glory. I chose the kashke bademjan, although tempted by the mirza ghasemi and baba ghanoush. We also selected zaman va pache, a traditional dish I had never tried before. I had worried that the authenticity of the cooking might be tuned down to accommodate English tastes, but the inclusion of this lamb’s tongue starter dispelled my fears.

For mains we chose one kebab dish and one stew. Our server told us that the menu is changing to include more mixed kebab dishes. There is currently a mixed grill, but it is enormous, costs £49 and could feed three. For now, we added a stick of lamb kooobideh to the chicken kebab, a good move but it did increase the price to £20. The ghormeh sabzi we ordered was a traditional stew of lamb, dried lime, and kidney beans.

We ordered large glasses of wine to accompany our food. The large bar has a good selection of draught beer and cider at reasonable prices for a restaurant. Bottles of gluten free bottles of Peroni are a good inclusion to the drinks offer. There is also a cocktail and mocktail menu, although at £9.95 the mocktails, a pound cheaper than the cocktails, seemed expensive. However, if you want soft drinks there is a selection of draught sodas and traditional Persian yoghurt doogh, saffron water and rose water.

The kashke bademjan was beautifully presented. The walnut and aubergine dip garnished with sauces and fried onion. The aubergine was smooth and glossy with olive oil whilst the walnut gave it just the right amount of bite. It is difficult to make a bowl of tongue broth look good, but it tasted great. Two large pieces of tongue fell apart when cut and the broth was tasty and warming. My companion was not a fan of the fatty offcuts that were served alongside the tongue, but I thought a few added a good contrast to the dense meat. All Persian starters are served with freshly made nan bread, essential for dipping.

Service was good throughout our meal. All servers constantly check on tables to make sure that you have everything you need. Our mains arrived with attractive copper salt and pepper mills anda sumac shaker. Mains are large, we did not finish everything. If you have spare food staff are happy to provide take away cartons and a bag.

The kebabs were perfectly grilled. There is clearly a good charcoal grill in the kitchen and an expert griller. The chicken was well marinated, the outside slightly charred, the inside soft and moist. The koobideh was well seasoned and gently grilled. The kebabs came with side salad, fries, and a whole grilled fresh red chilli.

The ghormeh sabzi stew was rich with a sharp undertone from the dried lime. The balance in this dish is difficult, here it was executed perfectly, the lime adding flavour without bitterness. The rich gravy was full of dissolving meat, and the beans were soft but had just enough bite to add texture. The brown stew brightened by yellow saffron rice.

It was disappointing that there were no vegetarian kebabs or stews. The only vegetarian mains were one pizza and one pasta, whilst the £9.95 children’s menu does not include any vegetarian options or any stews. This would be a wonderful place for a big gathering of family and friends, but the menu will need to be more inclusive for this to work well.

We declined dessert, having struggled to finish our mains, although they did look interesting. Many Persian restaurants only serve sweet pastries such as baklava, lovely but over-sweet to my taste. Here other desserts received a Persian twist, including cheesecake, profiteroles and gateau. However, we were approached by a member of staff who asked us to try a dish the kitchen is developing.

The dish, called Maritozzo on the menu, was described as ‘delicious Italian sweet-dough brioche bun sliced in half and filled with smooth, fresh whipped cream.’ This is all true but omits the wonderful fruit compote that brought the bun and cream to life, the rich vanilla gelato and the beautiful Persian candy floss. The saffron spun floss was a unique , melt in the mouth soft but not too sweet, and seemed to accompany other desserts too.

There is also a speciality tea and coffee menu, which includes some interesting Persian herbal teas. After sharing the dessert, we could not manage another sip or bite so did not get to savour these.

A large screen above the bar runs an advertising video, including footage of kebabs cooking on the grill. It also held out the promise of a buffet ‘coming soon.’ I will keep an eye on this development; it would be good to try more of the dishes on offer but in smaller portions.

Address: Wellington Bridge St, Leeds LS3 1LW

Phone: 0113 547 8100

Menu: togolinks.co.uk

Hours: