I tried Zayn Malik's favourite Bradford takeaway but left feeling nonplussed

You can take the boy Zayn Malik out of Bradford but it seems you can’t easily shake off the lure of the city’s famous cuisine.

The Yorkshire-born singer, who grew up in East Bowling, Bradford, now lives about 3,500 miles away on a farm in Pennsylvania where he doesn’t get to indulge in his favourite takeaway – a doner kebab.

The former One Direction star, 31, recently revealed on Capital Radio that his favourite place to get a doner kebab is Leeds Road Fisheries in Bradford. He said: “I love a doner kebab,” adding: “Leeds Road Fisheries…we always go there.”

YorkshireLive popped into Leeds Road Fisheries on Wednesday lunchtime to see if the kebabs are as good as Zayn Malik remembers. The first thing I noticed was the steady stream of customers and the growing queue, and the fact it’s cash only, so I had a take a very short walk to the nearby cashpoint. The takeaway was busy with workmen in hi-viz jackets and locals coming to and fro. A man beside me was tucking into chips covered in what appeared to be yoghurt sauce and chili sauce…maybe one to try next time.

I opted for a chicken kebab on naan bread with all the salad, mint sauce and chili sauce. Leeds Road Fisheries is a takeaway but you can stand at the window and eat from a high table if you wish. Customers were ordering cheeseburgers, fried chicken, chips, pizzas, and fish and chips as I tucked into my mega kebab. Online reviewers seemed to rate the fish masala.

My naan was a great big fluffy hunk of loveliness and certainly tasted nice and fresh. The salad consisted of fresh lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, topped off with yoghurt sauce and chilli sauce, the perfect combo. Sadly, my overall impression was a little let down by the chicken which was a bit stringy, and not what I had imagined.

On the plus side, the portion was huge and I only managed to eat around half as I watched the various BMWs and Audis popping and revving along Leeds Road. I day dreamed of Zayn pulling up in a super car and high fiving the chefs after wolfing down a big fat doner.

The bill came to just under £8 and included a can of cold Rubicon Mango from the fridge. As I left the shop I noted the four-star (out of five) food hygiene rating sticker on the door which, oddly, did not appear to correlate with the official rating listed online.

Puzzled, I emailed Bradford Council to double check the rating and was sent a link to the Food Standards Agency website which states that Leeds Road Fisheries was awarded one star on January 3, 2024. This rating equates to ‘major improvement necessary’. I felt a bit nonplussed by it all and, when Zayn Malik next lands at Leeds Bradford Airport, I hope and pray he gets the kebab of his dreams.