Leicester marks 1 year as England’s Curry Capital

The world is on our plate as Leicester celebrates a year of being England’s Curry Capital. The city, which is one of the best places to try Indian food is planning loads of activity, launching the 2025 Leicestershire Curry Awards, and of course giving you the chance to try the tastiest dhals, bhunas, tandoori, dosas and biriyani you’ll find outside the South Asian subcontinent!

How has it been a year already? On the 18 June 2024, Leicester was named England’s Curry Capital in a special ceremony at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester after a long process of online voting where the city was pitted against previous champion Bradford.

The original UK Curry Capital competition was established and run by Peter Grove, a curry aficionado who sadly passed away in 2016. The competition ran for 15 years with five cities named ‘Curry Capital’- Bradford (the last city to hold the title back in 2016), Glasgow, Leicester, Birmingham and West London. Leicester businessman and journalist Romail Gulzar, with the blessing of Peter Grove’s family and the support of Visit Leicester’s Taste the Place campaign, brought the competition back as England Curry Capital in 2024, pitting Leicester against Bradford in a battle of the curry titans

The votes came down in favour of Leicester, 89% in fact, and rightly so as the city has garnered a fantastic reputation for top quality restaurants showcasing cuisine from across the South Asian subcontinent.

Leicester has the highest number of Indian restaurants per capita in the UK, with an average of 47 restaurants per 100,000 people. The city is also proud to feature curry houses from 11 different South Asian countries, plus a huge range of Indian cuisines, spanning the gamut from traditional curry houses to desi pubs, vegetarian restaurants to Sweetmarts. The city specialises in a wide range of South Asian dishes – with curries hailing from countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, each country having its own unique flavours and cooking techniques.

Having the title of England Curry Capital has brought with it fantastic coverage and opportunities for the city and its restauranteurs. New Delhi TV covered the announcement of England Curry Capital and broadcast a special interview programme from Mohanthal Restaurant in January to celebrate the inaugural National Thali Week.

American YouTuber David’s Been Here visited the city recently to sample the city’s curry alongside local foodie HungryOliveTheThyme and showcased our offerings to his 1.37 million subscribers.

And finally, legendary food critic Jay Rayner chose Leicester’s Sharmilee as his final destination for his Observer food column. It was only the second restaurant he covered as a young critic for the newspaper, and is the only of those early eateries to still be trading 26 years later!

Through our Taste the Place campaign and its World on a Plate brand, Visit Leicester has been a staunch champion of the England Curry Capital. We have worked alongside local entrepreneur Romail Gulzar, Leicester’s Mr Curry, to promote and highlight the fantastic food and drink of the South Asian community. Romail is the man behind National Thali Week in January, National Samosa Week in April and the Leicestershire Curry Awards, which are held in September, he has also taken his ideas to Toronto and Paris, where he has set up Curry Awards competitions. Romail has long been committed to highlighting the difference food can make to a city’s identity and economy. He has been more than willing to tell us that through encouraging tourism, providing employment and being part of the service industry, Indian restaurants contribute massively to the UK economy, being worth £4.3 billion per year!

Nominations are now open for the Leicestershire Curry Awards 2025 which are taking place on Monday 15 September 2025. Anyone is able to cast their vote and the public are encouraged to nominate their favourite takeaways, restaurants and pubs to win the coveted awards. A team of experienced foodies and local representatives will then go out to judge the top venues. You can make your nomination now on the Leicestershire Curry Awards website.