Madhuri have a simplified menu consisting of a few dishes from each region. This is a joy to me as I have visited so many restaurants in this area which present lengthy, overcomplicated menus and leave me baffled every time. Madhuri have perfected the balance of variety and simplicity to an exceptional degree.
Having sung the praises of the variety and simplicity of their menu, the same must be said for the first-class Gujarati thali they offer. At £4.99 for three curries, rice, daal/kadhi, chapattis, a sweet item and poppadoms their thali is one of the best I have ever ordered at any restaurant. Indeed, you haven’t heard the best part yet… Each item on the Madhuri thali is refillable (excluding the sweet). You can eat as many chapattis as you like, without that ever-present problem of running out before your curries run out. I get that a lot. The hot, buttered chappatis, steaming curries and delicious soups are brought out fresh upon request. Heavenly.
The exceptional prices of the thali made us quickly opt for this, interrogating our very polite, smiling waiter about which curries we will be eating on our thali. After around a 20-25 minute wait (I presume this is because the food was being prepared freshly, for which I have no problem waiting for) we were devouring a simple potato curry, a Jain undhiyu (vegetable dumplings, aubergines and potatoes) and the most terrific sweetcorn and patra (curried leaf) curry. These came with a generous portion of basmati rice, kadhi (or daal) and a decadent bowl of phirni (hung sweet, spiced yogurt blended with kheer rice pudding). Oh, and as many chapattis as you like!
After eating our thalis there really wasn’t much space for anything else except a cup of traditional masala chai which, in my opinion is the perfect way to finish any meal. I sincerely hope this restaurant is here to stay and that they do not change one bit. Bravo!
So, next time you’re hungry and in Leicester try Popat’s Madhuri restaurant. You will leave feeling full and warm with a sense of home-cooking about your stomach.
Value for Money- 10/10
Deliciousness- 9.5/10
Service- 9/10
KO Rasoi is in no way affiliated with Popat’s Madhuri restaurant and has not been paid monetarily or otherwise to carry out this review. All thoughts and opinions published here are my own.
Contact:
Popat’s Madhuri Restaurant
87 Belgrave Road
Leicester
UK
0116 319 8467
Open everyday 10.30am-10pm
*Popat’s Madhuri Restaurant also offers no onion/garlic dishes upon request.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who supported the BBQ Season and left feedback! If you have any requests or questions about the recipes then please leave a comment or e-mail me!
XMC
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Assets just like the one you mentioned here will likely be very helpful to me! Ill submit a hyperlink to this page on my blog. I am sure my guests will discover that very useful. Massive thanks for the helpful info i found on Area News Anyway, in my language, there will not be a lot good source like this.
Pman
Saturday 21st of April 2012
Two years on and it's definately not good anymore, all there food is microwaved including the papad, rice and everything. Nothing is chilli and there Aubergine shaak was like a soup that was undercooked. There mitai has been Keri no ras for the last year and is straight from a tin that has definately gone off its use by date!
I originally asked for Dosa but they said it will take 40 mins to make because they don't ever use the grill and everybody only orders the thali. When I finally got served Bhel Puri which took 30 minutes to wait (how hard is it to put that together!!!), I got so fed up that I ordered the Thali. This came within 5 minutes and it was totally horrible that i ended up getting a stomach upset the next day. Considering that there food bins are just outside the toilets, smells horrible on first and only 1 chef and 1 waitor it's no wonder i'm not feeling well and why i'm not happy at all with this restaurant if you can call it that.
Best stick to the home cooking and I would warn everyone not to go here unless you want to get food poisoning!!!!
Saumya Gupta
Friday 10th of December 2010
I second your review Sanjana. We just ate there last night and were simply amazed. My husband liked the Thali so much that he had 7 chapattis (never eats so much). We quite like Dakshin as well. It is a south indian restaurant that also serves nice indo chinese food as well. In fact we were headed to there but spotted Madhuri and thought we'd give it a try. I tried the Chinese Chilli Paneer and Hakka noodles - LOVED IT! We live in Chester and visit Leicester once a year to devour the lovely pure veg food that we can. Oh just one thing, does anyone know of an eggless cake shop in leicester. I really miss the eggless cakes and pastries that are commonly available in India.
Tim
Friday 1st of October 2010
I spotted this one last time I was in Leicester (we live in Nottingham and often come to Belgrave Road). We usually end up in Bobby's but will try Popat's soon for sure. Love your blog btw, I am an Indian food obsessed vegetarian so it's right up my street.
Anonymous
Wednesday 21st of July 2010
Hey Sanjana... have you tried most of the Resturants of Leicester??? what about curry fever & curry pot?? which one would you say is the best one in Leicester?? I mean good value for money???
What about the new ones opening on Belgrave Road??
Thank you in advance ... it would help a lot:):)
love from
Anita