Belgrave Road

Belgrave Road is situated north of Leicester city centre and is home to some of the best Asian shops and restaurants in the UK. Discover fabulous silks, sarees, spices, jewellery and authentic Indian food.

Saree shops
There are a huge number of saree shops along Belgrave Road, selling everything from plain, simple designs to heavily embroidered wedding sarees. Prices can vary between £10 and £1500! Styles of clothing can be very different too, ranging from the traditional saree (or sari), which is a length of material draped around the entire body, to more modern lengha suits and shalwar kameez. Whilst there is a wider choice of clothes for women, many shops also have clothes for men, particularly wedding suits.

Jewellery shops
Belgrave Road and Melton Road are sometimes collectively referred to as ‘The Golden Mile' due to the number of jewellery shops that exist here. Asian gold is usually 22 or 24 carat gold, and very expensive. Security therefore tends to be very tight in Belgrave jewellers - most will have security locks on the door, and require you to buzz before you enter. Indian custom demands that gold is bought for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings or to celebrate various festivals. It is usually around Diwali (October/November) that gold is purchased by Hindus and Sikhs, whilst Muslims tend to buy around the festival of Eid.

General shops
Belgrave is well known for its saree shops and jewellers, but there are many other types of shop too. Some shops offer an eclectic mix of wares, with brightly coloured religious statues sitting alongside books, saucepans and costume jewellery. Cookware is widely available all along Belgrave Road - discover speciality items such as thalis (steel plates), and gigantic cooking pots and pans. Throw in bangles, bindis, festival goodies and Asian greetings cards for a colourful and inspiring shopping experience.

Grocery stores
If you're a fan of Asian food and fancy cooking it yourself, Belgrave is certainly the place to buy good quality ingredients. A huge number of people visit the Belgrave area for its grocers and millers and buy basic staples such as spices, rice, pickles and flour in large quantities at warehouse prices. An amazing variety of fresh fruits and unusual vegetables are readily available, all imported from far-away places such as India, Brazil and Africa. It's worth just browsing around some of these shops and taking in the fabulous smells and incredible range of different food.

Restaurants
Perhaps of all the things that Belgrave is well known for, it is its restaurants that spring to mind. There's no doubt that you can get some of the best curries in the country along Belgrave Road and Melton Road. People flock here in their thousands to enjoy the excellent range of spicy, aromatic Asian food. The choice of places to eat includes stylish, contemporary restaurants with light, modern interiors and imaginative menus, to more traditional curry houses serving authentic Gujarati and Punjabi cuisine.

Festivals
The famous Diwali celebrations are the largest of these, and are considered to be the biggest in the UK. As the Hindu festival of light, it involves switching on of lights along Belgrave Road, with entertainment and fireworks. Other celebrations include Navratri, which involves nine nights of dancing, and the festivals of Dashera and Holi, which burn effigies and fires to represent good overcoming evil. The dates of these festivals change each year according to the Hindu calendar. Belgrave's other major festival is the colourful Belgrave Mela; a celebration of arts, fashion, food and music that takes place in July.