Harrogate’s diners now have a broader range of cuisines to choose from, following the opening yesterday of a new restaurant offering South Indian food.
Illam, on King’s Road, is a family-run establishment specialising in Keralan dishes, and customer manager Rahisa Kombath believes it’s a first for the district.
She said:
“You can find authentic South Indian food in Leeds and York, but not in Harrogate – until now. We’ve had a lot of Indian and English friends asking why we don’t open a restaurant here, so now we have.”
Illam, which employs six people, has 60 covers – 24 on the ground floor and 36 upstairs – and is currently offering an introductory discount of 20%, with no booking needed.
The restaurant is owned by Rahisa’s husband Sadiq Kattil, her father Abdul Majeed, and their business partner Sharaf Malayampadi. Sadiq is an experienced restaurant manager and head chef Abdul previously worked at award-winning Leeds restaurant Tharavadu.
Rahisa said:
“My dad has worked in restaurants for over 20 years as a chef, and it’s always been his dream to have a family business with our own stamp on it, so we’re all very much excited to open Illam.
“We love our authentic South Indian food and we always love to serve it to people who have never tried it before. I’m sure people in Harrogate will love it!”
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