Not London, Bradford or Leeds – England's best city for curry with most restaurants in UK
Even though Bradford or London's Brick Lane might spring to mind, one city has quietly held the crown for England’s best curry destination for the past two years. The Midlands city was crowned England’s Curry Capital for both 2024 and 2025, and is now preparing to defend the title again, going up against some of the country’s most iconic destinations.The award, decided by public vote and backed up by judges’ visits, saw more than 11,300 people casting their votes. Leicester secured a huge 89% share for its two-year reign, putting it firmly ahead of other heavyweights such as Bradford, which has held the wider UK Curry Capital title in recent years.It may come as no surprise for a city with the highest number of Indian restaurants per capita in the UK, according to Visit Leicestershire, with around 4.7 Indian restaurants per 10,000 people.But the choice is vast, with menus spanning flavours from across South Asia, from Bangladesh to Nepal and Sri Lanka, shaped by a population where around 43.4% identified as Asian in the latest Census, of whom the majority 34% had Indian heritage.Many of Leicester’s most loved spots also come with decades of history. Along the Golden Mile, Bobby’s has been serving vegetarian Gujarati dishes since 1976, while Sharmilee Sweetmart has been a staple since 1973, growing from a small mithai shop into a much-loved local institution. Nearby, Mirch Masala has been dishing up bold, street food-style plates since 1996.The strong food scene was also reflected in the Leicestershire Curry Awards. Recent winners include My Delhi, which took the best street food title, Chatwala was named the best vegetarian restaurant and Royal Leicesters was deemed the best pub restaurant.Chutney Ivy emerged as a standout, winning both restaurant of the year and best fine dining in the city, while Currylicious claimed the award for best takeaway.The city was crowned the England Curry Capital by Pukaar Group, a media and publishing organisation which founded the Leicester Curry Awards in 2016. In 2017, the Toronto Curry Awards and the National Samosa Week followed.
