mmmm! I can;t wait to go back there!!
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Dishoom
Covent Garden, London
Star distribution
46 reviews
A Bombay Cafe in London, open all day. Bombay Breakfasts, Lunch, Afternoon Chai, Dinner & Tipples.
- Address:
-
12 Upper St Martins Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9FB
Tube:
- Leicester Square Tube Station (0.1 km)
- Leicester Square Station (0.2 km)
- Contact us:
-
020 7420 9320
Contact via email
ShamilThakrar
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44 reviews of Dishoom in English
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I loved the idea of a Bombay Café, but this did not live up to the hype. Despite having made a reservation, we waited a long time for our table. The food just isn't good enough and this in a city that isn't short of great Indian food. Dishoom is clearly a marketing "concept" with gimmicky food. If you love Indian food, you will be disappointed.
Yachiyo
22 reviews
22 reviews
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I went here with my son on a bank holiday Friday at lunch time, so it was rather quiet at first. It started to fill up as we were leaving however, mainly with large groups of tourists. My son had been here before one weekday evening and couldn't get in. He was told there was a 90 minute wait and a minimum order of £25 per person.
The staff were friendly and attentive. Maybe too quick to get your order though; I hadn't even got my menu open and the waiter was asking what we wanted.
The décor and atmosphere were really nice. I liked all the little Indian touches you'd not usually see in an Indian restaurant. Such as the sign by the door explaining the rules, very funny. I also liked the lighting, up turned brandy glasses with the stem cut off hanging from chains.
Some of the kitchen equipment wasn't working so there were items we couldn't order. We both opted for the Keema Frankie, a spiced minced lamb wrap at £6.90. It was a good size, very mild but flavoursome. A good choice. I then had the Gunpowder Potatoes. Shallow fried fluffy potatoes gently seasoned with herbs and spices and chopped spring onions at £5.50. The portion was enough for two to share and was very moreish.
My son had the the Pau Bhaji. A dish of mashed vegetables with a buttered pau bun at £3.90. It was fresh, light and delicious and again enough for two to share. He followed this with a Bombay Floater. Chocolate ice-cream floating in a tall glass of thums up (cola). Thums up is an Indian cola made by the coca cola company and is quite different from normal coke. Great stuff at £3.70. I chose the Green Darjeeling Tea at £2.20 a pot. This was really lovely and a great end to the meal. The pot was huge but only filled with enough water for three full cups. It was very refreshing though. To round it off we had a Malai Kulfi £2.90, small but good with a caramel taste and a Pineapple and black pepper crumble which was said to be very good at £5.20. Total for the meal: £41.85
I did like this place and would certainly go back again soon. I would have given more points, but I didn't because you couldn't choose how hot or mild you wanted each dish and the tables were so close to each other you felt like you were wedged between the tables with no room to move. It also irritated me that people were using chairs for their lap tops. Once we'd paid the bill the staff tended to ignore you and didn't reply when we said 'Goodbye'.
What I did like was the food, it was not the usual Indian fayre dished up in most restaurants and that made a big difference to me. The menu felt like a sheet from a newspaper which liked too. There were other dishes that caught my eye too, that's why I'd like to go back.
The staff were friendly and attentive. Maybe too quick to get your order though; I hadn't even got my menu open and the waiter was asking what we wanted.
The décor and atmosphere were really nice. I liked all the little Indian touches you'd not usually see in an Indian restaurant. Such as the sign by the door explaining the rules, very funny. I also liked the lighting, up turned brandy glasses with the stem cut off hanging from chains.
Some of the kitchen equipment wasn't working so there were items we couldn't order. We both opted for the Keema Frankie, a spiced minced lamb wrap at £6.90. It was a good size, very mild but flavoursome. A good choice. I then had the Gunpowder Potatoes. Shallow fried fluffy potatoes gently seasoned with herbs and spices and chopped spring onions at £5.50. The portion was enough for two to share and was very moreish.
My son had the the Pau Bhaji. A dish of mashed vegetables with a buttered pau bun at £3.90. It was fresh, light and delicious and again enough for two to share. He followed this with a Bombay Floater. Chocolate ice-cream floating in a tall glass of thums up (cola). Thums up is an Indian cola made by the coca cola company and is quite different from normal coke. Great stuff at £3.70. I chose the Green Darjeeling Tea at £2.20 a pot. This was really lovely and a great end to the meal. The pot was huge but only filled with enough water for three full cups. It was very refreshing though. To round it off we had a Malai Kulfi £2.90, small but good with a caramel taste and a Pineapple and black pepper crumble which was said to be very good at £5.20. Total for the meal: £41.85
I did like this place and would certainly go back again soon. I would have given more points, but I didn't because you couldn't choose how hot or mild you wanted each dish and the tables were so close to each other you felt like you were wedged between the tables with no room to move. It also irritated me that people were using chairs for their lap tops. Once we'd paid the bill the staff tended to ignore you and didn't reply when we said 'Goodbye'.
What I did like was the food, it was not the usual Indian fayre dished up in most restaurants and that made a big difference to me. The menu felt like a sheet from a newspaper which liked too. There were other dishes that caught my eye too, that's why I'd like to go back.
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THE BEST Indian restaurant in London which I've been. Me and my friends went here for an evening meal and had a thoroughly enjoyable time - friendly staff, quick service, and delicious food. Can't ask for anything more from a Indian restaurant!
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Dishoom is a new group of slick bombay/ Irani cafes which are highly stylised with all things Indian and quirky e.g. metal cups to drink water, indian medicaments on display, old black and white Indian family photos. The service is attentive and friendly. The food is very reasonably priced, we ate like a king for £20/head. Highlights include hot sweet chai, spicy lamb chops sprinkled with pomegranate jewels, a solid chargrilled chicken, bacon nan, spicy chip butties (to try next time for carb overload). Perfect a relaxed lunch with girlfriends post covent garden shopping or for a local chilled business lunch. Ps grab a booth and relax…(Covent Garden, Shoreditch branches so far…) (www.monikasays.com)
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Love this restaurant. The masala chai is a must and the food is delicious. It has lots of style and character. Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner
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Buzzy and stylish Dishoom aims to give punters a taste of Bombay street food and if what they serve up is typical then I can see I'm going to have to save up for that trip to Mumbai. Everything was very good indeed, with none of the same-flavour experience that you sometimes get in a high street curry house.
The menu is designed for sharing, with smaller plates and larger portions and it all comes up pretty much at the same time. But they are very accommodating -- you can order some smaller dishes and eat them, then order more, big or small. We were encouraged to do just this. (and we did)
So we had fried skate cheeks and crispy calamari, both very differently spiced, and a keema pau (listed as a small dish but almost enough for a light meal!), lamb chops, (4), black dhal, a home-style house 'Ruby' (a chicken curry) and lamb biriani, all lovely. The black dhal was rich, creamy and soothing, the lamb chops were outstanding, tender and with a good spice hit, the chicken curry was a delight and the lamb biriani was delicate and aromatic (if just a little short on lamb).
Other good things -- a trio of chutneys, all fresh tasting and nothing like the dreaded 'chutney tray' with its over-sweet mango and tired kachoombar. And the bread! The roti was almost ethereally light and elastic. We had four between three of us. Plain nan was every bit as good as the one in your favourite Indian.
We drank icy, refreshing lassi. The cocktails look most enticing, will definitely try them next time -- and there will be a next time.
We paid about £28 a head, including service, and we were stuffed. (Over-ordered, as usual, but we ate up every bit of it.)
The menu is designed for sharing, with smaller plates and larger portions and it all comes up pretty much at the same time. But they are very accommodating -- you can order some smaller dishes and eat them, then order more, big or small. We were encouraged to do just this. (and we did)
So we had fried skate cheeks and crispy calamari, both very differently spiced, and a keema pau (listed as a small dish but almost enough for a light meal!), lamb chops, (4), black dhal, a home-style house 'Ruby' (a chicken curry) and lamb biriani, all lovely. The black dhal was rich, creamy and soothing, the lamb chops were outstanding, tender and with a good spice hit, the chicken curry was a delight and the lamb biriani was delicate and aromatic (if just a little short on lamb).
Other good things -- a trio of chutneys, all fresh tasting and nothing like the dreaded 'chutney tray' with its over-sweet mango and tired kachoombar. And the bread! The roti was almost ethereally light and elastic. We had four between three of us. Plain nan was every bit as good as the one in your favourite Indian.
We drank icy, refreshing lassi. The cocktails look most enticing, will definitely try them next time -- and there will be a next time.
We paid about £28 a head, including service, and we were stuffed. (Over-ordered, as usual, but we ate up every bit of it.)
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bexb-d, 25 September 2012:
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I have often walked past this restaurant, assuming that it was an upmarket Indian restaurant run by some annoying celebrity. In retrospect I wished I had stopped.
The decor is delightful, it feels homely, well thought out and classy. Downstairs you will find snug booths, whilst upstairs intimate tables. Asian newspaper prints line the walls and geometric tiles laiden the floor.
However, as grand as this place feels, this is eclipsed by the quality of the food.
This restaurant serves authentic Bombay food and they seem very keen on keeping things traditional, although every now and then, with a little kick!
The food us down to earth, wholesome, packed with vegetables, seeds, nuts and lashing of fresh herbs and everything I have tried here has been a pure delight! Tasty, fresh and absolutely divine!
It's also a good choice for the vegetarians with a lot of meat free, but equally fantastic, options...
I sampled the keema pau, skate cheeks koliada and the bhel. Whilst an unusual mix, which might sound not to everyone's taste, everything was fresh and tasted fantastic. I couldn't get enough if the skate cheeks and bhel. They were addictive!
I also tried the Bombay pimms, a cocktail made with saffron gin, pomegranate and Ginger beer. It was wonderful. I loved every sip. I've been to some great London cocktail bars and whilst you might not expect it from what is primarily an eatery, this tops a lot of them!
Plates are reasonably priced, with lots if smaller dishes which can be sampled with friends tapas style. How very social!
Highly recommended... I can't wait to return to try out some of their other delightful offerings.
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I had heard great things about Dishoom from many people, but had never actually got around to going myself.It took the Qype Covent Garden Crawl event for me to finally experience the place.
And it was well worth the wait. Promoted as a 'Bombay Cafe' - but far more stylish a setting than the image that conjures up, we were ushered into our little 'cavern' downstairs and given a Bombay Pimms - pimms, saffron gin, ginger beer and coriander. I love Pimms and was slightly dubious as to how this would taste,, but I can assure it more than worked - it was fabulous...and kicked our evening off to a great start.
The head chef then came out to explain what we would be eating - a selection of dishes from their 'small plates' offer. Think Indian tapas and you will have hit the nail on the head.
We had keema pau, skate cheeks koliwada and bhel - a zesty and fresh puffed rice salad with pomegranate. The keema pau was the star of the show, rich and full of flavour - only lightly spiced. But the skate cheeks were also gorgeous - tender and moist with a slightly spicy batter.
Unfortunately we didn't get much time at Dishoom as we had to rush off to the next location of our 'crawl',, but what we had definitely made me thirsty (and hungry) for more - so I wil be retrning!
And it was well worth the wait. Promoted as a 'Bombay Cafe' - but far more stylish a setting than the image that conjures up, we were ushered into our little 'cavern' downstairs and given a Bombay Pimms - pimms, saffron gin, ginger beer and coriander. I love Pimms and was slightly dubious as to how this would taste,, but I can assure it more than worked - it was fabulous...and kicked our evening off to a great start.
The head chef then came out to explain what we would be eating - a selection of dishes from their 'small plates' offer. Think Indian tapas and you will have hit the nail on the head.
We had keema pau, skate cheeks koliwada and bhel - a zesty and fresh puffed rice salad with pomegranate. The keema pau was the star of the show, rich and full of flavour - only lightly spiced. But the skate cheeks were also gorgeous - tender and moist with a slightly spicy batter.
Unfortunately we didn't get much time at Dishoom as we had to rush off to the next location of our 'crawl',, but what we had definitely made me thirsty (and hungry) for more - so I wil be retrning!
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So... There I am, telling everyone how cool Dishoom is, and it turns out I haven't even written a review of the place! So here goes :)
I've been to Dishoom a fair few times. Usually what happens is I look at the menu, give the very patient and friendly waiting staff a hard time over how I can get this stuff much cheaper in East London, with bigger portion sizes, and have a bit of banter about how they aren't allowed to change the menu or ask for things to be changed.
Each time the food arrives and I shut up and eat it because it tastes so lovely.
The pau bhaji is just like my mum used to make, only they are much tighter on the bread than my mum was. They give you enough bhaji for 4 bread but you only get 2. The same goes for a few more of their dishes.
The bacon naan rolls are quite possibly the best bacon based product I have ever eaten.
The chai is lovely.
And they have this Bombay mojito thing that is really nice and refreshing.
So, I'd give this place 5 stars except for the following:
1. The menu items can't really be customised
2. Portion sizes are really tight for the price you pay
3. The bar is downstairs and really dark. It would be much nicer if it was upstairs and the dining area was downstairs (and a bit brighter).
But it's a great place - you should try it. And try their new branch in Shoreditch too because it'll be better :)
I've been to Dishoom a fair few times. Usually what happens is I look at the menu, give the very patient and friendly waiting staff a hard time over how I can get this stuff much cheaper in East London, with bigger portion sizes, and have a bit of banter about how they aren't allowed to change the menu or ask for things to be changed.
Each time the food arrives and I shut up and eat it because it tastes so lovely.
The pau bhaji is just like my mum used to make, only they are much tighter on the bread than my mum was. They give you enough bhaji for 4 bread but you only get 2. The same goes for a few more of their dishes.
The bacon naan rolls are quite possibly the best bacon based product I have ever eaten.
The chai is lovely.
And they have this Bombay mojito thing that is really nice and refreshing.
So, I'd give this place 5 stars except for the following:
1. The menu items can't really be customised
2. Portion sizes are really tight for the price you pay
3. The bar is downstairs and really dark. It would be much nicer if it was upstairs and the dining area was downstairs (and a bit brighter).
But it's a great place - you should try it. And try their new branch in Shoreditch too because it'll be better :)
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Dishoom, a Bombay Cafe in London with an array of tasty authentic indian dishes, Keema Pau, Bhel, Calamari, Biriyani. Thumbs up to the staff as the service is quick and the atmosphere banging like the Dhol Drums in India with a trendy atmosphere.
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I had heard of this place until the Qype event, but i will definetly be back. despite being in the heart of covent garden it really is an inexpensive place to eat.
The quality of the food we had was very nice and looking at the menu it reminds me of an indian tapas bar.
we started with a bombay pimms, and served Keema Pau,Bhel,Skate Cheeks after speaking to the chef (very knowledgeable and the look of a bollywood moviestar ;), we then also had Calamari and a vada (a spicy potato patty in a bun).
The drinks walla also came over to speak to us and gave us a history on the drinks and out bombay pimms.
The staff are very friendly and informative on their menu and history and i have no doubts in recommending this resturant and i will definetly be going back to sample some more dishes as the lamp chops sound very nice
The quality of the food we had was very nice and looking at the menu it reminds me of an indian tapas bar.
we started with a bombay pimms, and served Keema Pau,Bhel,Skate Cheeks after speaking to the chef (very knowledgeable and the look of a bollywood moviestar ;), we then also had Calamari and a vada (a spicy potato patty in a bun).
The drinks walla also came over to speak to us and gave us a history on the drinks and out bombay pimms.
The staff are very friendly and informative on their menu and history and i have no doubts in recommending this resturant and i will definetly be going back to sample some more dishes as the lamp chops sound very nice
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Ah Dishoom! I love love Dishoom, and I can't believe it's taken a Qype event to get me to review it (bad Maggie!).
Dishoom is a self-styled Bombay Cafe. The fun and relaxed atmosphere is echoed in the decor and the staff. You can't pre-book for small groups, but I've never struggled to get a seat - evenings or weekend.
The waiting staff will be more than happy to talk you through the menu, which features a number of 'small plates' as well as grills and side dishes (rice, bread etc). My personal recommendations are the calamari (and everyone at the Qype event with me agreed), the Keema Pau (a spice minced lamb dish), and of you're having a curry of any description you must get one of Dishoom's amazing (and HUGE!) rotis to sop up the juices.
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I've had some misconceptions that if you're heading our for dinner in covent garden then it's going to be full of chain restaurants or places targeted for tourist - now Dishoom is really a diamond in and among all of this.
Think of it like Indian Tapas...lots of small dishes for you to share around - my perfect kind of meal!
We came hear as part of a Qype event so have't sampled all the food, but we did have:
Keema Pau
Bhel
Skate Cheeks
Calamari
It's so hard to describe how amazing the food was. It was fresh, homemade, completely unexpected. I was thinking the usual Indian food, stodgy, large and very filling - but Doshoom is light and has little extra twists to make the food exceptional.
For example the calamari was cooked to perfection, the batter crispy but it was sweet! I've never had calamari sweet, but it added an extra dimension to the experience. mmmm. The same with their version on Pimms - made with Ginger Beer rather than lemonade (not to my taste, but I can appreciate why it's nice)
You can't reserve tables for less than 10 people as far as I'm aware, but I would really recommend try it out!
Think of it like Indian Tapas...lots of small dishes for you to share around - my perfect kind of meal!
We came hear as part of a Qype event so have't sampled all the food, but we did have:
Keema Pau
Bhel
Skate Cheeks
Calamari
It's so hard to describe how amazing the food was. It was fresh, homemade, completely unexpected. I was thinking the usual Indian food, stodgy, large and very filling - but Doshoom is light and has little extra twists to make the food exceptional.
For example the calamari was cooked to perfection, the batter crispy but it was sweet! I've never had calamari sweet, but it added an extra dimension to the experience. mmmm. The same with their version on Pimms - made with Ginger Beer rather than lemonade (not to my taste, but I can appreciate why it's nice)
You can't reserve tables for less than 10 people as far as I'm aware, but I would really recommend try it out!
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I've known about Dishoom for a while and have seen its rave reviews so I'm glad to have had the chance to go there for the Covent Garden Review Crawl this week. The atmosphere is very cosy, with lots of different pictures everywhere, a bit dark downstairs but I quite like that at times. We tried the Bombay Pimms which was a really interesting take on normal Pimms, definitely not something I would have chosen but I enjoyed it nonetheless! We were then provided with lots of different small plates, including a bhel salad and skate cheeks which were really really lovely! Kheema Pau, a mince lamb dish with bread, was also tasty, though I think the skate cheeks were the hit of our group!
Needless to say I think I'll be coming back here to try more of what this lovely Bombay Cafe has to offer.
Needless to say I think I'll be coming back here to try more of what this lovely Bombay Cafe has to offer.
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I have walked past Dishoom on various occasions and was happy to have a good reason to enter as part of last night's Qype Review Crawl. The downstairs area reminded me of a German beer cellar and will come into its own in winter, I am sure (a bit dark for my liking when outdoors is treated to a rare ray of sunshine).
Dishoom is the perfect place for a quick bite to eat and perfectly located for pre-theatre dinner, etc. We were all quite intrigued by the breakfast menu which starts at 8am - excellent idea!
I am a big fan of tapas-style menus as I can never make up my mind and love the idea of tasting many different flavours. The portions are quite generous and the hardest decision will be when to stop ordering. We were lucky to be introduced to the head chef and learnt a bit more about the menu which is a collection of favourite dishes from different regions in India - apparently there is no other place where you'd find a similar variety.
We sampled a Bombay take on Pimms - a particular hit with fans of ginger beer!
Dishoom is the perfect place for a quick bite to eat and perfectly located for pre-theatre dinner, etc. We were all quite intrigued by the breakfast menu which starts at 8am - excellent idea!
I am a big fan of tapas-style menus as I can never make up my mind and love the idea of tasting many different flavours. The portions are quite generous and the hardest decision will be when to stop ordering. We were lucky to be introduced to the head chef and learnt a bit more about the menu which is a collection of favourite dishes from different regions in India - apparently there is no other place where you'd find a similar variety.
We sampled a Bombay take on Pimms - a particular hit with fans of ginger beer!
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Hier war die erste erste der drei Stationen unseres Qype Crawl in Covent Garden. Wir wurden vom sehr stylishen Eingangs- und Hauptraum runtergeführt, in den Keller, der besser für größere Gruppen geeignet ist. Hier sitzt man unter Rundbögen an großen Tischen auf Bänken und genießt etwas mehr Privatsphäre. Es ist zwar etwas dunkler aber dennoch irgendwie cool und schick. So kennt man indische Restaurants gar nicht!
Es ist also etwas moderner hier, genauso wird auch das Essen und trinken im Dishroom ein wenig moderner interpretiert. Klassische indische Details wie Koreander oder Safran werden mit beliebten englischen Köstlichkeiten wie Pimms gemischt. Das Personal ist überzeugt von dem, was es verkauft und das merkt man. Voller begeisterung erklärte uns z.B. der Barkeeper, was alles in seinem Bombay Pimms drin ist und obwohl es danach klang, als müsse der Cocktail eigentlich nach Curry schmecken, schmeckte er sehr frisch, leicht und lecker. Auch das Essen war würzig aber nicht zu scharf. Genau richtig.
Ein schönes Restaurant für alle, die es gerne etwas ausgefallener und stylisher haben.
___________________
The first of the three stations of our Covent Garden Crawl by Qype was very stylish.
It's an Indian restaurant which mixes traditional food with modern and british elements. A good example would be the Bombay Pimms, which is an ordinary Pimms, pimmed with safran, coriander and other very indian ingredients. It was really tasty which was surpring to me - I thought it must taste like a curry or something. But it was fresh, delicious and just like a well spiced Pimms.
The food was yummy, as well. It was not to greasy and had just the right amount of spices.
To conclude:The Dishroom is a very nice, modern and stylish Indian restaurant which I absolutely recommend to all of you!
Es ist also etwas moderner hier, genauso wird auch das Essen und trinken im Dishroom ein wenig moderner interpretiert. Klassische indische Details wie Koreander oder Safran werden mit beliebten englischen Köstlichkeiten wie Pimms gemischt. Das Personal ist überzeugt von dem, was es verkauft und das merkt man. Voller begeisterung erklärte uns z.B. der Barkeeper, was alles in seinem Bombay Pimms drin ist und obwohl es danach klang, als müsse der Cocktail eigentlich nach Curry schmecken, schmeckte er sehr frisch, leicht und lecker. Auch das Essen war würzig aber nicht zu scharf. Genau richtig.
Ein schönes Restaurant für alle, die es gerne etwas ausgefallener und stylisher haben.
___________________
The first of the three stations of our Covent Garden Crawl by Qype was very stylish.
It's an Indian restaurant which mixes traditional food with modern and british elements. A good example would be the Bombay Pimms, which is an ordinary Pimms, pimmed with safran, coriander and other very indian ingredients. It was really tasty which was surpring to me - I thought it must taste like a curry or something. But it was fresh, delicious and just like a well spiced Pimms.
The food was yummy, as well. It was not to greasy and had just the right amount of spices.
To conclude:The Dishroom is a very nice, modern and stylish Indian restaurant which I absolutely recommend to all of you!
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I heard about Dishoom, but you know, never made it round to the place (in that busy London life 'oh yes we should go there soon' way ). But I made it now (courtesy of Qype's Review Crawl event) and I have to say, Dishoom made a fab first impression.
We started with Bombay Pimms (a great start to any summer evening) and soon after several small plates to share arrived. I personally prefer this way of eating over a large plate with one dish - so these small bites of many plates made me one happy lady.
My favourites:
The Bhel salad - great mix of flavours and a must for pomegranate fans
The Keema Pau (lamb) - so flavoursome and plain morish
Now I've had the opportunity to try out the food, Dishoom is well and truly on my mental map of restaurants in central London (which is the beginning of any of my repeat visits).
We started with Bombay Pimms (a great start to any summer evening) and soon after several small plates to share arrived. I personally prefer this way of eating over a large plate with one dish - so these small bites of many plates made me one happy lady.
My favourites:
The Bhel salad - great mix of flavours and a must for pomegranate fans
The Keema Pau (lamb) - so flavoursome and plain morish
Now I've had the opportunity to try out the food, Dishoom is well and truly on my mental map of restaurants in central London (which is the beginning of any of my repeat visits).
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Batavier, 17 August 2012:The Indian restaurants in England are just infinitely better than those here in Germany! Bland food and rude staff are the common ingredients here.
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maeverutten, 21 August 2012:That’s a pity. I have to say London has indeed a great number of fab Indian restaurants. But then again I was in Munich for 2 weeks recently and enjoyed many of its friendly establishments ;-)
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A classy, informal, onomatopoeically-named Indian-Indian cafe restaurant in the Bombay Cafe Farsi-Indian style of yesteryear, modernised with modern British culinary edges, such as a breakfast menu with English Breakfast tea as well as some Chai choices, and muffins to dip in your spicy lamb Kofte. Order large or small plates; breakfast, lunch or dinner items - all at once or as you like! The lightly fried squid and the skate pieces (yes really!) are wonderful as are the range of accompanying dips. The ambience is as cool and mutlicoloured as the cocktails even though the latter were a tad weak for my taste. In London, at least, this place is still unique - but not for long - their second branch will be in (yes you guessed it) Shoreditch.
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I'm reviewing this on the basis of one visit, on a wet Sunday in the late afternoon. We arrived having been soaked and were warmly greeted, seated near the tandoor (the warmest place), offered towels and hot tea. A very good start.
Our server was a young chap by the name of Lokesh. We explained that we were ravenous having missed lunch, and Lokesh kindly took us through how much we might have needed to order. He also explained that food arrives as it is cooked, this is a cafe not a restaurant (even though, as cafes go, this is more like a restaurant than any other cafe I've been to).
Food arrived, and was delicious! Skate cheeks - lovely chunks of fish coated in spiced gram flour and flash fried and served with fenugreek and coriander with red chilli dip, tamarind, spicy tomato sauce and mint, coriander and green chilli sauce. Yum. Sheel kebab were meltingly soft, as they should be, with a satisfying bite of ginger and green chilli. Clumsily we both ended up ordering the same main dish, a lamb biryani. This arrived 'dum' style, sealed with a pastry lid. The lamb was cooked soft and the rice was nicely moist still. A good balance of spicing which was offset with a raita which we asked for as an accompaniment.
Dessert was a Gola Ice, shaved ice and tamarind for that sweet/sour/savoury edge (kala khatta), kind of like a Coke might taste, Indian style. It was lovely but probably one for a very hot day rather than the soggy one we had experienced, can't criticise Dishoom for that.
Cocktails (pomegranate juice, gin, martini and a hint of line juice - yum) and Nimboo Pani (lemon juice, mint, sparkling water, sugar and a hint of spice) accompanied the meal.
Delicious, good service which was attentive and 'felt' rather than rehearsed. A delightful place which I'll visit again. I gather a new branch is opening soon (in Shoreditch).
Our server was a young chap by the name of Lokesh. We explained that we were ravenous having missed lunch, and Lokesh kindly took us through how much we might have needed to order. He also explained that food arrives as it is cooked, this is a cafe not a restaurant (even though, as cafes go, this is more like a restaurant than any other cafe I've been to).
Food arrived, and was delicious! Skate cheeks - lovely chunks of fish coated in spiced gram flour and flash fried and served with fenugreek and coriander with red chilli dip, tamarind, spicy tomato sauce and mint, coriander and green chilli sauce. Yum. Sheel kebab were meltingly soft, as they should be, with a satisfying bite of ginger and green chilli. Clumsily we both ended up ordering the same main dish, a lamb biryani. This arrived 'dum' style, sealed with a pastry lid. The lamb was cooked soft and the rice was nicely moist still. A good balance of spicing which was offset with a raita which we asked for as an accompaniment.
Dessert was a Gola Ice, shaved ice and tamarind for that sweet/sour/savoury edge (kala khatta), kind of like a Coke might taste, Indian style. It was lovely but probably one for a very hot day rather than the soggy one we had experienced, can't criticise Dishoom for that.
Cocktails (pomegranate juice, gin, martini and a hint of line juice - yum) and Nimboo Pani (lemon juice, mint, sparkling water, sugar and a hint of spice) accompanied the meal.
Delicious, good service which was attentive and 'felt' rather than rehearsed. A delightful place which I'll visit again. I gather a new branch is opening soon (in Shoreditch).
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Really like this place. Have been for brunch a couple of times and the bacon naan is amazing. Came for dinner on my birthday and unfortunately it took a bit of time to get our table ready, and we were quite cramped on one of the downstairs tables. These are in little alcoves, and would be great on a colder night, but avoid if its hot out.
Foodwise, all very good. The waiter suggested we order 3 dishes each, but I had more than enough food with the chicken salad and roti, ending up sharing my daal around the table. The cocktails are great value too.
Foodwise, all very good. The waiter suggested we order 3 dishes each, but I had more than enough food with the chicken salad and roti, ending up sharing my daal around the table. The cocktails are great value too.
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