Roma

You're walking past the Victorian terraces of Halford Street and catching that unmistakable smell of garlic and basil wafting out. Roma's the kind of place where they've figured out what works and stuck with it—which, after years of watching Leicester's restaurant scene shift around them, feels increasingly rare. The room's warm and unfussy, packed with regulars who clearly know what they're after. This is straightforward Italian cooking done right: proper risottos, handmade pasta that tastes like it should, seafood that gets treated with respect. The menu doesn't overthink things, which is precisely why it works.