Best Dosa & Thali in Leicester – Herb's Guide

Dosa and thali come up constantly in searches for South Indian food in Leicester, and for good reason – they're the two dishes that best represent what the cuisine is about. Here's what to expect from both at Herb, and what to order depending on how much time you've got.

What is a Kerala thali?

A thali is a full meal served as several small dishes alongside rice, rather than one large plate of a single dish – typically a lentil-based sambar, a couple of vegetable curries, pickle, papadum and a sweet. It's designed to be mixed together as you eat rather than worked through course by course. For a longer explanation, see our full beginner's guide to Kerala thali.

Our dosa varieties

• Plain dosa – just the crepe, sambar and chutney, the simplest way to try it.
• Masala dosa – filled with a spiced potato mixture, the best-known variety outside India.
• Paper dosa – a larger, extra-thin, extra-crisp version of the classic.
• Rava dosa – made with semolina worked into the batter for a lacier, more open texture.

All of them are made from the same fermented rice-and-lentil batter, naturally vegan and gluten-free. Our full dosa guide goes into more detail on how it's made.

£6.95 business lunch thali

At the Leicester restaurant, we run a business lunch thali at £6.95, served Monday to Friday between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM – a straightforward way to try the format without committing to a full evening menu's worth of ordering.

Customer favourites

Regulars tend to order the same two things: a masala dosa on a shorter visit, or the full thali when there's more time to sit and work through several dishes at once. Both are consistently the most-photographed items on the table, and for first-timers, either is a safe, representative way into the menu.

Where to try them

Herb Leicester is at 96 Granby Street, LE1 1DJ, open Sunday to Thursday 12:00 PM–10:00 PM and Friday to Saturday 12:00 PM–11:00 PM. See the full Leicester restaurant page to book.