Karamay Uyghur Cuisine — Restaurant in England

Old review: Very delicious cuisine of Central Asian flavour!

Updated: Rubbish service and very small portions of overpriced dishes!

Karamay has long been my favourite restaurant in Leicester, to which I frequently brought my international friends to taste the Uyghur food that is quite similar to my country's food in Central Asia. Over three months since June 2018, I visited the place seven times and the food was very good most of the times though always overpriced. An average bill would be 50£ for 3 people, but I was ok with it since this was the only place in the city where I could try my home country's cuisine.

The owners of the place are also quite nice people, and were friendly to us. However, my opinion of the place changed to the worse after very bad service we received at the end of July. My family came for dinner, and while we were waiting for food, the only waitress was washing the restaurant window with some dirty rug in our presence! What was worse is that she never washed her hands when she brought us the cutlery, plates and then the food! We all felt disgusted. But we did not complain because the waitress seemed downcast and I was afraid that she may spit in my plate if I complained.

The food was also bad on that day, 29 July. The male chef was absent, only a female chef was present, and what she cooked for us tasted as old leftovers. Again I did not complain because I very much liked the owner, a pleasant Uighyr lady, who was always very friendly and generous to us.

I again visited the place today with my friend from Malta, who really wanted to visit the place because two years ago I had invited her and 10 other colleagues here to try my regional cuisine. I decided to give them another chance hoping that they had improved. Unfortunately, no..

The dishes we ordered were delicious, they were cooked by a male chef, however, all portions were much smaller than usual. I decided not to pay attention to it at first, but then a new waitress brought chicken skewers for my friend and one lamb skewer for myself. I right away spotted that the lamb skewer was very small, twice smaller than the chicken skewer, and much smaller than I had ordered before.

I asked the waitress to take it back to the chef to bring me a normal portion. She first went to him and came back telling me that this had always been their usual portion. I politely disagreed noting that I was their frequent customer and I remembered the earlier bigger portion. All of a sudden, the waitress became aggressive and started yelling at me, insisting that this was their usual portion! I was shocked and disgusted at this rude and unprofessional behaviour! The waitress was yelling at me so loud that the chef had to intervene. I explained to him that the portion was smaller than usual. I noted that it was much smaller than the chicken skewer on our table and even showed him the picture of the lamb skewer in their own menu which also proved that the lamb skewer I was served was minute!

Instead, the chef was trying to argue that lamb costs more expensive than chicken and that's why it was smaller! But the skewer was indeed a joke. Well, they could have made the price more expensive then. The chef agreed to cancel the lamb skewer from our order, but I felt very disappointed that the chef now appears to be reducing the portions of all dishes on their menu, though the prices, which had already been too high compared to other halal places in the same neighborhood, remained the same. I also felt ashamed of the incident that happened in front of my international friend and was very frustrated with the poor service and aggressive waitress, who made me feel intimidated and uncomfortable.

Definitely, I am not coming here anymore and not bringing my friends until the quality of food and...

I would have given four stars to this place it it weren't for the bit expensive prices. I went to this place in September. It serves traditional Chinese food as said in their description. Let's start with hygiene as usual. I loved the place as far as hygiene is concerned. Everything looked extra clean. They even give you plastic cutlery which means you don't have to worcutleryit using spoons and forks that thousands of people use. As seen in the picture, the place was very cozy and simply, but beautifully decorated. It brings the traditional peaceful vibe to the place. They were playing soothing piano music which made the experience very enjoyable. I appreciate the fact that they care about the quality of their services as much as the quality of their food. Speaking of which, the food was good. Not the greatest, but good. I'd recommend the deep fried chilly chicken anytime. If you go there, make sure to try it. It was better than the other dish that I ordered which was beef rice I think. The second dish was just bland. Both dishes were a bit overpriced, I must say. I think that if they were a bit reasonably priced, this restaurant would be one of the best in Leicester. One thing to add, they make you pay for the plastic spoons and forks so...🙄 Also, the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I have to give them this 👌👏. It just feels good when the staff smiles at you when you enter a restaurant. They even give free appetizers which adds to the super nice quality service. The only downside here is the prices. All the other things are perfect. Below are pictures of the place and a picture of their deep fried chilly chicken that I recently ordered (I still think it was a bit overpriced but it...

Excellent, warm, friendly service with useful recommendations.

We arrived quite early to avoid crowds (COVID cases are currently rising) - around 530 pm on a Sunday - the restaurant was mostly empty. So the food came very quickly - first the starters (after about 5-10 mins) then the main course following without pause.

Forgot to take photos of the food, but the prawn and lamb skewers tasted great (though small - could have eaten a lot more of them easily), the hot and sour soup was pleasantly different from that served in other Leicester Chinese/Asian (Cantonese, Szechuan, Korean) restaurants, and the stuffed Chinese pancake was a tasty appetiser.

The main courses were delicious and filling - hand-made noodles with beef and rice with slow-cooked lamb shank - both cooked in traditional sauces - again quite different from other Chinese/Asian flavours/tastes.

There is no dessert menu - but we tried the rose leaf tea to round off the meal - very nice - especially with a bit of sugar - similar to Turkish tea.

The interior is nicely traditionally decorated and each table is large and spacious - and well-separated from others.

The staff are very responsive and helpful - though again, we came at a less busy time. We were also told that Leicester is now their main ‘flagship’ restaurant.

Highly...