Decorated to look like an Irani, Persian-style café from Bombay in the 1930s, much like its Shoreditch location the décor is a little rough round the edges but popular and charming all the same. Although décor wise Dishoom embraces imperfections, when it comes to the food the upmost attention is paid to making sure you get great authentic dishes with a fun and modern twist.
Serving food from breakfast all the way through to late night snacks, Dishoom has a dish that will suit you mood no matter what time of day you decide to visit. With so many different naan rolls to choose from including the now-famous bacon naan roll with cream cheese and chilli jam, start your day with this filling treat or go for something a little lighter like the date and banana porridge. When it comes to mains in the middle of the day, start with a small plate of veggie samosas, chilli cheese toast or okra fries before moving onto dishes from the grill including chicken tikka or sheekh kabab. Curry-wise, mattar paneer, chicken ruby in a rich, silky ‘makhani’ sauce and the 24 hour cooked house black daal feature on the menu.
Drink offerings include a number of alcohol free tipples to honour Bombay’s 1949 alcohol prohibition. Sober martinis and a dry old-fashioned feature on this part of the menu but don’t worry because there are lots of alcohol filled tipples too. The East India Gimlet mixes gin, rose’s lime and celery bitters, while the Viceroy’s Old Fashioned is made with bourbon, bayleaf reduction and green tea – not one for the faint hearted.
At its Shoreditch location Dishoom also offers up a signature lamb raan bun – lamb marinated in red chilli, ginger and garlic in a sourdough bun with pickles and onions. This dish is only served at the Shoreditch restaurant though so if this is what you’re after, you know where to go.