Tried Zayn Malik’s favorite food in Bradford but was denied

You can get 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 some 3,500 miles away on a farm in Pennsylvania, where he can’t indulge in his favorite food – a doner kebab.

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

Yorkshire Live popped into Leeds Road Fisheries on Wednesday lunchtime to see if the kebabs were as good as Zayn Malik remembers. The first thing I noticed was the constant flow of customers and the growing queue and the fact that they are cash only so it was a very short walk to the nearby cash register. The takeaway was busy with workers in hi-viz jackets and locals coming to and fro. A man next to me was munching on chips covered in what appeared to be yogurt sauce and chili sauce…maybe one to try next time.

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I opted for a chicken kebab on naan bread with all the salad, mint sauce and chili sauce. Leeds Road Fisheries is takeaway, but you can sit by the window and eat from a high table if you like. Customers were ordering cheeseburgers, fried chicken, chips, pizza and fish and chips while I was putting on my mega kebab. Online reviews seemed to rate the fish masala.

My naan was a big fluffy piece of beauty and definitely tasted nice and fresh. The salad consisted of fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber, topped with yogurt sauce and chilli sauce, the perfect combination. Unfortunately, my overall impression was a bit let down by the chicken, which was a bit stringy and not what I had imagined.

Plus the portion was huge and I only managed to eat half while watching the various BMWs and Audis zipping along Leeds Road. I daydreamed about Zayn pulling up in a supercar and elevating the chefs after taking on a big fat doner.

The bill came to just under £8 and included a box of cold Rubicon Mango from the fridge. As I left the store I noted the four star (out of five) food hygiene rating sticker on the door which strangely didn’t seem to match the official rating displayed online.

Confused, I emailed Bradford Council to check the rating and was sent a link to the Food Standards Agency website which says Leeds Road Fisheries was awarded one star on 3 January 2024. This rating equates to “major improvement required”. I felt a bit surprised by all of this and when Zayn Malik lands at Leeds Bradford Airport I hope and pray he gets the kebab of his dreams.

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