Desi Street Food shopfront on Horsefair Street, Leicester
The hand painted dining room at Desi Street Food
Freshly made Desi street food small plates
Leicester · Horsefair Street

Keeping Desi traditions
alive through food.

Authentic Desi street food made fresh to order, crackling small plates, slow cooked curries and fragrant biryani, now serving veg & non veg.

The hand painted dining room at Desi Street Food Leicester
Welcome to Desi

The street food of home, served in the middle of Leicester.

We cook the food we grew up on. Nothing sits waiting under a lamp. The pakoras go in the fryer when you order them and the chilli paneer is tossed in the wok while it is still spitting.

Behind the hand painted sign on Horsefair Street you will find a room full of colour: a mural of the villages back home, mismatched painted chairs and a marigold canopy overhead. It is loud, warm and simple, just like the roadside stalls that inspired it.

Everything is made in our own kitchen, from the gram flour batter to the tadka that hits the dal at the last second. Veg and non veg, side by side, the way a proper Desi kitchen should be.

Freshly Made

Cooked to order, never held back. If it is crispy on the menu, it is crispy on the table.

Veg & Non Veg

A full vegetarian menu that stands on its own, alongside lamb, chicken, fish and prawns.

Open Late

In the heart of the city centre, two minutes from Town Hall Square.

Eat In or Takeaway

Sit down with us, collect on your way home, or get it delivered across Leicester.

What Leicester Orders

Desi Favourites

The dishes that leave our kitchen fastest and the ones people come back for.

Chilli Paneer

Chilli Paneer

Crispy paneer with peppers, onions & chilli sauce

£6.95
Chicken Lollipop

Chicken Lollipop

Crispy chicken with a spicy Desi glaze

£7.95
Masala Lamb Chops

Masala Lamb Chops

Lamb chops marinated in aromatic Desi spices

£11.95
Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Aromatic basmati rice layered with spiced chicken

£11.95
Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani

Slow cooked black lentils with butter & cream

£8.50
Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi

£4.50
A table laid for dinner at Desi Street Food
Reservations

Save yourself a seat.

Weekends fill up fast and we would hate to turn you away at the door. Booking takes about thirty seconds.

Tables for two through to twelve. Planning something bigger, like a birthday, a work do or the whole family? Give us a ring and we will sort the room out for you.

From the Kitchen

Stories, Spices & Leicester

Spices and street food being prepared in the Desi Street Food kitchen
Our Kitchen

What actually makes street food Desi?

It is not a spice level or a menu category. It is a way of cooking that is fast, loud, done in front of you and never left sitting around.

Read more
Leicester city centre near Horsefair Street
Leicester

Eating well in Leicester city centre

Leicester has one of the great food cultures in Britain. Here is how we think about eating in the middle of it, including when not to come to us.

Read more
Layered biryani being served at Desi Street Food
Our Kitchen

Why our biryani takes all morning

Biryani is not a rice dish with meat stirred through it. The difference is in the layering, and there is no way to rush it.

Read more
Find Us

22 to 24 Horsefair Street

Right in the middle of Leicester city centre, a moment from Town Hall Square and the Highcross.

22 to 24 Horsefair Street, Leicester LE1 5BP