Lale Cafe & Bistro opens on Leicester’s Belgrave Gate

HALAL STATUS Fully Halal

A Turkish cafe has opened on Leicester’s Belgrave Gate and offers an extensive menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Taking over from The Village, an eatery that also served Turkish cuisine, Lale Cafe & Bistro opens as early as 7am with seating for 50.

The cafe has a fully Halal menu, with breakfast being served until 11am, lunch from 11am-3pm, and dinner from 4pm till 10:30pm.

While Lale’s breakfast menu is far more restricted than its lunch, it also includes some Bulgarian bites to:

• Banichka £1.50 – Bulgarian pastry with feta cheese filling
• Kifla £1.50 – Bulgarian pastry with chocolate or feta cheese filling
• Simit £1.50 – Turkish pastry encrusted with sesame seeds
• Lale’s Breakfast Plate £8.50 – Two pieces of homemade kebapce (Bulgarian sausage), two eggs of your choice, two slices of bread (grain, brown, or white), beans, tomato, and cucumber; served with jam and butter.

Although the lunch menu offers 13 main dishes, the cafe says it only serves a given six on any given day, with customers being asked to inquire with their server.

Nevertheless, there do appear to be some good ones, with a few perhaps appearing to be a little heavy for that time of day, but which all cost a £6.00 each:

• Lamb Stew – Lamb shank with potatos, carrots, and onions
• Lamb Casserole – Cubed lamb meat, red and green peppers, tomatos, and green onion
• Imam Bayildi – Stuffed aubergines with peppers, tomatos, and parsley
• Mousakka – Corurd lamb meat, potatos, onions, green and red peppers topped with bechamel sauce with eggs

As for dinner, then this is quite varied with 15 cold mezes, nine hot mezes, and 15 mains, which include:

• Kebapce £7.00 – Charcoal grilled Bulgarian sausages (3 pcs) served with fresh onions, Turkish vermicelli rice, and house salad
• Adana Kofte 2pcs £7.50 – Spiced minced lamb meat skewers (2 pcs) served with Turkish vermicelli and house salad
• Beiti Kebab (Lamb, Chicken or Vegetarian) £7.50 – Grilled ground lamb, chicken or vegetable skewer topped with tomato sauce and yogurt served with bulgur, fresh onions, parsley
• Kavurma (Lamb or Chicken) £7.50 –  Pan seared lamb meat cooked with tomato, red pepper papers, and green onions served with Turkish vermicelli rice and house salad

Exciting times are ahead for the area in and around Belgrave Gate too, with Leicester council having recently approved “£13.5 million plans for a new bus station on the existing Haymarket site” opposite the cafe.

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Lale Cafe & Bistro
60 Belgrave Gate, Leicester LE1 3GQ.

T: +44 (0)116 262 7202 | W: instagram.com/lale_cafe_and_bistro

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun 7:00-22:30