A Dishoom Feast

There were three reasons for going back to Dishoom, a Bombay café / restaurant in central London:

1. They serve delicious Indian cuisine
2. It was my birthday
3. We had a Dishoom note worth £10

The last time I dined here was last year. In fact, it was only a few weeks ago and we each got a £10 Dishoom note to use. So when it came to my birthday, my fiancé and I tried to decide whether we should go out for dinner or if he would cook a meal for me at home. After much back and forth, we took the easier and more-likely-to-be-successful option of going out. We fancied Indian and so I pulled out my £10 Dishoom note. Such a novelty, but hey, it brought them more business. I'm all for marketing ploys if they save me money and give me good food.

I've been here only a handful of times, but I already have my favourite dishes. So while we waited at the bar for our table, I was quick to put my finger to the menu already. "I want this one, and this one, and this..." We hadn't fully decided by the time we were called to our seats, but we had a game-plan which was dependant on what the house special was.

Well, that plan was quickly put to one side as we saw the tasting menu propped up at our booth. I was happy to sat in a booth. The couple who were seated before us got one of the tables in the middle. Muhahahaha!

Our previous experience of a tasting menu was at Indian Accent in Delhi. We quickly looked at the dishes on the menu, and I pointed again. "I'll have this one, and this one and...". But we could have them all! It included drinks, and the equivalent of what could be seen as starters, a mix of mains and desserts. PLUS chai tea's at the end, and neither of us have had a chai since being in India. Excited? Yes.

The menu

These were the options we chose from the menu, but you could have a vegetable biryani instead of chicken, a different bread, and different flavoured desserts. There is also a vegetarian tasting menu to choose from, but we went for non-veg.

• Mango and Fennel Lassi
• Dishoom Calamari
• Bhel
• Nihari
• Chicken Berry Biryani
• House Black Dahl
• Raita
• Roomali Roti
• Passionfruit Gola Ice and Mango Kulfi
• House Chai

Now, I have to say, this isn't really like a normal tasting menu that I've had before. I would usually expect little dishes of each so that we could 'taste' a variety of foods. I'd say that this is more of a set meal, rather than a tasting menu and it was probably enough for three people to share.

The lowdown

Mango and fennel lassi

I already had a glass of red wine from when we were waiting at the bar. The mango and fennel lassi came out and I was quite unsure if the two would mix well. They didn't. But I only slowly drank half the lassi so no one had to be witness to anything vile. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the lassi either, although it's never been a favourite of mine anyway. It's milkier and not as sweet as the few I've tried before. The rioja was very nice though!

Our small plates came out next. I'd already tried the calamari before, and I wanted to have it again anyway. This is the third time I've had it now and it is different again. I mean, it's clearly the same dish, but they just don't seem to be consistent in making it. This time the calamari pieces were cut differently and the flavour wasn't as vibrant. Nice and crispy though.

The bhel was very new to me. I don't think I have tried it before. The menu states that it is a classic bombay snack and I quite enjoyed it. Bit of crunch from the rice, bit of fresh from the pomegranate mixed with all sorts of other ingredients including tomato, coriander, and onion. Interesting and nice.

Dishoom calamari

Bhel - a classic Bombay snack

Next were our mains which I was really pleased that it consisted of rice, breads, curry and more! I always enjoy a curry with a whole mix of things. I'm not a one-dish-to-myself kind of person when it comes to Indian. I like to have a couple of curries, a bit of rice to mix in with it, and a bit of bread to mop it up. Shared of course. I'm not that greedy. Not always anyway.

I really enjoyed the chicken biryani. I'm told that it takes hours to make one of these usually. I don't think I've come across a takeaway biryani which is quite like the real thing. Or at least what I know to be the real thing. Someone I know once made a biryani at home and brought it into work for us all to try. Boy, was that some decent biryani! I recall he talked about cooking it all separately, then layering up the rice, the sauce, the chicken and the vegetables, then cooking it for longer and mixing it all up. What he brought in was rather yummy. Dishoom's biryani comes very close to it. It is different. The flavours of the berries work quite well in it and I really enjoyed it, but it doesn't quite live up to this one I've had before but I'd certainly have it again. It's served with some raita which adds a fresh and cool dimension to the mix.

Chicken berry biryani

Nihari

The nihari is a new dish for Dishoom, or so I'm told. I've not seen it on the menu before and I did fancy a bit of lamb. It's like a stew and there is quite a lot of sauce which is thinner than the usual curries I've tried before. The flavour it quite rich, and a bit salty but it was good. Definitely nice to mix in with the rice and eat with the roti. 

Ah, the roti! I've not had roti like this anywhere else. Granted, I've only had roti in two places. Once in Rishikesh, India and once at Dishoom. I much prefer Dishoom's version. It's like a stretchy cloth, but is edible and tastes really fresh. You can see it being made in the kitchen. They stretch out the dough and place it over a hot dome to cook.

Roomali roti

House black dahl

Now, I can't say much for the dahl. Having tried various dahl's over the past few years, I have decided that I don't like it. I'm not sure what it is, but it's really not to my taste. The other half enjoyed it though!

Does that sound like a lot of food? Well, it was. We couldn't finish it all. Defeated! We tried, we really did. We paused and tried to eat more, then paused again, and nibbled some more. But we were indeed defeated.

So I'm pleased that the desserts were nothing too heavy. Of course, we waited a little bit before actually delving into our desserts. The mango kulfi is essentially a milk-based ice lolly and the gola ice is pretty much crushed and flavoured ice. Nothing spectacular but I enjoyed it. It was actually a really good dessert for such a heavy meal.

Mango kulfi

Passionfruit gola ice

Oh, we are not finished yet! Then it was the chai. It had been about a month and a half since we had chai's in India and I really did miss it. I remember coming back to the UK and craving a normal cup of English Breakfast tea and then being bitterly disappointed at how bland it was. I wanted a chai tea again. And here it was.

House chai

Good end to the meal. A lovely warming cup of spiced, slightly sweet and milky chai tea. It was the good type too, as we did have a few chai's which were far too sweet in India. They sure do like sweet!

We then got given two more Dishoom notes worth a tenner each. I need to remind myself that eating out this often doesn't actually save any money! Keeps me happy though :) Also, I do want to pop in for a Bombay breakfast or lunch some time!

Links

Website: http://www.dishoom.com/

Twitter: Follow @dishoomlondon