Since it opened over 20 years ago Chaophraya has gained a reputation as  one of the finest Thai restaurants and one of the top must-go-to places to eat in the city.

Situated only a short walk from the city centre the moment you enter the restaurant you feel the refreshing sophisticated ambience of oriental charm.

The  mood lighting is discreet and rather romantic, there is a plethora of foliage and orchids and statues that add to the atmosphere. The seating is well choreographed with break out areas, divided by open work screens and it has some of the most comfortable banquette seating in its curved booth type areas.

In the warmer weather you can mount the highly polished stairs and discover the outside terrace for alfresco dining, a cheeky cocktail at sunset or even a cup of coffee at any time.

Perusing the menu with its wooden covers was rather a lengthy task for us so we ordered  Khao Kriab Tod – Thai Prawn Crackers that came with a sweet chilli dip and the large portion was perfect for two.

For our starter we decided on a sharing platter. Ted Sakarn Jay  is one of the many vegetarian options and I have to admit when it arrived at the table it really did take our breath away. Perfectly presented the board was laden with five delicious treats.

The Vegetable Spring Rolls were piping hot with a crispy outside and filled very generously whilst the Sweetcorn Cakes had an outside of crispy batter and a soft inside of appetizing  sweetcorn. The Papaya Salad we found to be very tasty with a generous helping of papaya, noodles, peanuts, beans, shredded carrot and tomato.

Also on the board were  Thai Vegetable Tacos with a mix of chopped vegetables and a red curry sauce that gave them a kick whilst the Tempura Vegetables included carrot, onion, broccoli and courgettes all coated in an  ultra crispy batter.

I decided on fish for my main course. Pla Yang  was grilled Sea Bass. It was wrapped in a banana leaf with Thai fragrant herbs. The fish was moist and succulent and it was a large portion. It was served with grilled aubergine a wonderful contrast to the fish and a chilli and lime dressing. As a fish lover this was absolute perfection for me.

My colleague chose Goong Prik Kluea – Salt and Pepper King Prawns. The prawns were large and plentiful and sauteed with garlic peppers, onions, chillies, crispy and spring onions and served on a base of crispy glass noodles. This was a lovely light dish with loads of flavour.

We shared what can only be described as a ‘work of art’ – Mango and Cucumber Salad. The preparation that must have gone into making this dish so visually stunning was amazing. With the fresh mint red onion, carrot, chilli and of course cucumber and mango it tasted as good as it looked and was the perfect accompaniment to both our main courses.

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When it came to sweets the menu was ‘our ocean’. My colleague chose the Clementine Tart. The tart had a light chocolate pastry base and a strong orange taste but was very refreshing and was served with vanilla ice-cream and the dessert was a vegetarian choice of sweet.

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My dessert of Banana Fritters was also a vegetarian dish. This was my heaven on a plate plus! The four bananas were deep fried and piping hot with a crisp coating and a delicious honey syrup with an accompaniment of coconut ice cream and cream.  This sweet has always been one of my favourites of all time and Chaophraya’s was the best I have ever tasted – and I have tasted a lot I can tell you

Soon it was time to bid farewell to Chaophraya. Where had time gone we asked ourselves? I was reminded of a saying my gran used to use “time goes fast when you are enjoying yourself” and we certainly did having dinner at Chaophraya.

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

Open: Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs 12 noon to