LEICESTER AIMS TO RETAIN 'CURRY CAPITAL' TITLE - WITH A FOCUS ON ITS UNIQUE HERITAGE!

This year Leicester will be vying again for the title of England Curry Capital, which it has held for the past 2 years, since being crowned in July 2024. Leicester will be going up against four of the country’s most iconic curry locations in a public vote to see who has the best Biryani, the finest Phal and the top Tarka Dal, not to mention a pile of poppadoms and pilau to mop them all up!

The England Curry Capital competition was revived in 2023 by local journalist and founder of the Leicestershire Curry Awards Romail Gulzar (pictured), after the UK Curry Capital competition ended in 2016 following the sad passing of its founder Peter Grove.

Running the new competition with the express permission of Peter’s family, Leicester took on Bradford (the last winner of the UK Curry Capital) in the England Curry Capital 2024. Over 11,300 people voted in the online poll and via social media, with Leicester gaining the two-year title, taking 89% of the votes.

This win was a testament to the city’s long history of South Asian cuisine and huge diversity of Indian restaurants with the highest number per capita in the UK, an average of 47 restaurants per 100,000 people.

Leicester’s unique and varied cuisines reflect the city’s make-up, with various communities each contributing their culture to the restaurant scene. While many of the England’s curry loving cities base their cuisine around a single country or area, Leicester boasts cuisines from more areas of South Asia than any other city. Restaurants showcase unique flavours and cooking techniques from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The curry scene in Leicester is nothing new, with some of the restaurants going back more than a half century. Take a walk up the city’s Golden Mile and you will quickly come across family-run restaurants that are part of the fabric of the city.

Named after the famous Bollywood movie, Bobby’s celebrated its 50^th birthday on Valentine’s Day 2026! The restaurant was opened by Bhagwanjibhai and Manglaben Lakhani in 1976 and their fully vegetarian Gujarati menu has proved hugely popular over the years, with visitors including Rick Stein coming to sample their flavours. They also offer a stunning Indian afternoon tea, perfectly mixing English and Indian traditions!

Right across the road, Sharmilee Sweetmart and Restaurant have been plying their trade since 1973, with a selection of snacks, savouries and delicious Indian sweets downstairs and a buffet restaurant upstairs. Sharmilee was founded by Mr LV Gosai, who came to the UK after spending 30 years running the Dar-Es-Salaam Hotel in Tanzania. He found it difficult to get hold of the traditional Indian sweets (or mithai) that he had grown up with, so began producing handmade Indian sweets and savouries himself. These proved so popular that he opened the shop alongside his sons, and went from strength to strength. Recently the restaurant welcomed legendary food critic Jay Rayner for his final Observer column, revisiting one of the very first reviews he wrote more than 30 years earlier.

Not far from these two is another restaurant who are celebrating their 30^th anniversary this year. Mirch Masala is a favourite for foodies in the city and have been serving the community since their establishment in 1996 as the city’s first world street food restaurant, pre-dating the current trend for fusion street food by some decades. Leicester’s vegetarian restaurants have a reputation for being the best in the UK and Mirch Masala is no exception. Their blend of Indian and fusion dishes are an absolute treat, and their chilli paneer is an absolute classic!

As nominations open for the cities vying for the title of England Curry Capital, it is worth remembering the impressive contribution that the Indian restaurant industry makes, being worth £4.3 billion to our economy and hosting nights out, family gatherings, celebrations and much more.

Pukaar Group is now inviting curry lovers from across the country to take part in the official vote for 2026–2028. Leicester, which holds the title until June 2026, is now passing the baton to the public – and your vote will decide which city wears the crown next. Leicester will be up against London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bradford for the coveted crown of England Curry Capital.

CAST YOUR VOTE HERE

Voting will run until 1 May 2026 and the winner will be announced in mid-June 2026!