Dishoom Review

Disclaimer: This review and visit was made pre-coronavirus. I can confirm that Dishoom restaurants have sadly had to close temporarily, like many others, but are still offering takeaway delivery services in London. I urge you to support them if you can, and give them a try if you are in the area so that they live on in the hopeful future.

The other night, I had the courtesy of finally visiting Dishoom, after hearing from it for what feels like years, since it exploded on social media after its opening and having walked away three times in the past due to the extraordinary queues spilling round the corner of each branch. One might say it is one of the most hyped up restaurants in London. Very often I am disappointed by such places, but I have to say that this was one of the few that completely lived up to expectations.

First of all, the service was outstanding. I have become increasingly disheartened by the standards of service in London. I can’t help but feel that the social aspect of eating out is slightly disrupted by trying to catch the waiter’s eye throughout most of the conversation or feeling quite neglected in the corner. However, in Dishoom, you almost feel like you are lifted on a magic carpet from the moment of arrival until you walk out their door at the end.

We started by ordering some cocktails. The cocktail menu is exciting: not overwhelming with an abundance options, just a curated mixture of classic with Indian twists or straight-up Indian concoctions. My friend ordered a Gin Giblet whilst I ordered the Indian-spiced colada. The gimlet was light and refreshing whilst the colada was a touch sweet, but made with fresh pineapple puree, which was delicious and the perfect kind of decadent.

We then ordered a multitude of dishes to try and get as full a spread of the menu as we could. A few of these included the Dishoom classics, such as the puffed rice salad and okra fries. We also ordered the greens, dressed in lime and chilli, as well as two mains of chicken tikka, for a meat option, and the Chole Puri, for the vegan option. The dishes arrived one by one with a flourish, sizzling and spectacular. The Chole was delightful. Dark, rich and creamy, and very satisfying with the light and fluffy Puri to dunk in. It was also served with some essential crunchy, light onions and pickles and some very unexpected sweet, polenta-like cake, called halwa. The ‘halva’ that I know is Turkish and is a mixture of tahini/sesame paste and sugar, but this was definitely not this. It was a nice surprise, although not something I would have chosen to eat necessarily with the curry. It made a lovely change to a usual vegetable curry, with one of those flavours that you just can’t replicate at home no matter how hard you try. Another favourite were the greens, that were powerful and punchy and a pleasure to eat, and the okra fries, which were also fiery and packed with spice and flavour. I have now come to the conclusion that fried is by far the best way to eat okra.

Following this feast, I was so full I could barely move. We couldn’t even finish everything, which is rare for me. Perhaps we had overordered, but I would still recommend doing this in a restaurant like Dishoom when it’s an absolute must to try absolutely everything that you can. Would I return … certainly, there is still so much to try and now that I can guarantee that everything will be excellent, I believe this restaurant would qualify as a second-offender on my list.

Chole Puri/Greens/Chicken Tikka/Puffed rice salad/Okra fries/Fresh chutneys #indian #feast #Dishoom #dinner #restaurant #diningout