Vegetarian and Vegan Food Restaurant in Leicester | Herb Restaurant

Herb sits on Granby Street, a short walk from Leicester railway station, and the entire menu is vegetarian – the majority of it vegan, or easily made vegan on request. That's not a "we also do a veggie option" restaurant; it's the whole premise of the place.

The kitchen

Executive chef Ramdas Krishna leads the kitchen, working from Kerala's culinary traditions – a region with a spice trade dating back thousands of years, long before it became part of the wider story of Indian cuisine. Dishes are tempered with curry leaves and mustard seed, cooked in coconut oil rather than ghee, and built around vegetables, lentils and rice rather than meat substitutes standing in for a traditional curry-house menu.

Dishes to try

• Pothichoru – a banana-leaf wrapped rice meal, traditionally packed for travel in Kerala, served here as a signature dish.
• Uppuma – a savoury semolina dish, often eaten at breakfast in South India.
• Green papaya stew – a light, coconut-based vegetable stew.
• Payar banana thoran – black-eyed peas and banana stir-fried with grated coconut.
• Pavakka pachadi – bitter gourd in a yoghurt-based curry, a Kerala classic that's less commonly seen outside the region.

Opening hours

Herb Leicester is open Sunday to Thursday, 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and Friday to Saturday, 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

Who it suits

Because there's no meat on the menu at all, Herb tends to work well for mixed groups where some people are vegetarian or vegan and others aren't sure what to expect from that – there's no separate "vegetarian section" to navigate, just the menu. For a broader look at what's on offer, see our guide to the best vegan dishes at Herb.