our review
THE LOWDOWN: Inspired by the 'Bombay cafes' opened by Persian immigrants in what is now Mumbai, Dishoom is already a popular addition to St Martin's Courtyard. Just a stones throw from Leicester Square, it's sandwiched between Jamie's Italian and Cantina Laredo and offers an all-day menu of Indian snacks.
THE LOOK: In an area dominated by faceless chains, Dishoom stands out as a seriously good-looking space. With its mix of dark wood, mirrors and monochrome floor tiles, it's more Bombay brasserie than cafe and the colour scheme is a muted blend of greys, browns and pale blue. Designer Afroditi Krassa has injected plenty of personality with colourful Bollywood posters and low-hanging lighting but the main attraction is the busy open kitchen where smartly-attired chefs prepare roomali rotis to order. The attention to detail extends to the rather lovely toilets where there are quirky mirrors, incense and vintage medicine cabinets in each cubicle.
The only downside is that all those sleek hard surfaces create a lot of noise. In opening week, the place was predictably rammed and it was hard to make ourselves heard over the din. Great for groups and quick lunch stops, but not so good for cosy dinner dates. Another minor niggle is that the tables for two are very close together and quite small, so dishes have to be served afternoon tea style on tiered trays. The best seats are the more spacious black leather booths and the quieter downstairs area, which is due to open soon.
THE FOOD: We started with the house crisps which are zingy little triangles, more like filo than potato and completely grease-free so possibly baked rather than fried. We had fun trying to guess the seasoning - possibly amchoor (a citrusy dried mango powder)? Next came two similarly greaseless lamb samosas, packed full of well-seasoned spicy mince, and three excellent chutneys (sweet and tangy tamarind and date; cooling mint and coriander; and a fiery tomato salsa). Lamb sheekh kebabs laced with cumin were perked up by a squeeze of lime and deftly grilled chunk of tender murgh malai was a good alternative to the hotter chicken tikka.
Dishoom's signature roomali roti, made by stretching the thin dough over a dome, is lighter than naan and less dense than paratha - perfect for mopping up leftover sauces. I liked the dark, earthy house daal but my companion was less impressed, declaring it one dimensional. Perhaps a golden yellow tarka daal would be a worthy addition to the menu? Skipping small plates like desi fish fingers and chilli cheese toast, we ordered the curry of the day - lamb dahi-wala. The lamb was tender enough to cut with a spoon and the sauce was lightly spiced, creamy and tangy with yoghurt - close to a korma but not as insipid. It was tasty but pricey at 7.90 for a small bowlful. A very Western chocolate fondant seemed misplaced on the dessert menu; we preferred the mouth-puckering passion fruit and chilli granita and the Mini Milk-style kulfi on a stick.
The dishes arrives quickly, all at once - perfect if you've got limited time before the theatre but not ideal if you're a slow eater or like to linger over your meal. As food blogger Chris Pople noted in his review, it can feel like a race to eat the dishes before they go cold. Next time, we'll ask if they can stagger our order. The swift service is a plus at times though, especially if you're only dropping in for a lunchtime roti or a bacon naan en route to work.
THE DRINKS: From the fragrant house chai to the creamy cooling lassis, drinkers at Dishoom are spoilt for choice. There's a small but carefully compiled wine list and a couple of beers but the real winners are the cocktails - all priced under 6 quid. The best of these are the St Martini, a smooth gin and pomegranate Martini with a subtle chilli kick, and the chaijito, a lightly spiced twist on the classic. Filtered water is available in Dishoom-branded bottles priced at a quid, of which 20p goes to helping to provide clean water for Bombay slums.
THE VERDICT: Admittedly, it's early days but we've yet to hear a bad word said about Dishoom. The quality ingredients and low prices are a rarity in an area more familiar with the mediocrity of Bella Italia and Angus Steakhouses. On our visit, service was hyper-efficient and friendly, if a little over-rehearsed, but things should feel more relaxed in a month or so. The food, while tasty, might not blow your mind but it's fresh, honest and they don't skimp on the spice. With the Mexican next door failing to impress and the long waits for tables at Jamie's Italian, Dishoom is currently your best bet in St Martin's Courtyard. For lunch stops, pre-theatre feasts and curry-in-a-hurry, it's definitely worth a place on your To Do list.
KP - July 2010
what the critics say
Zoe Williams - 7.5/10
Marina O'Loughlin - 3/5
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
I went here on a friends recommendation so I had high hopes, to which they certainly did not live up to. A member from our party of 4 arrived early and placed our name on the waiting list, she was told an hour and half, so she left her name and number and we went for a drink nearby. Upon arrival 90 mins later, and no phone call as promised we were told our reservation had been "put on hold" and it was going to be at least another 30 mins. I am pretty certain this restaurant is NOT worth a 2 hour wait. So we demanded a form of compensation if we had to wait further, to which the clipboard man at the front said hes not sure and will need to refer back to us. We were told to wait downstairs and within 2 mins got seated to a table (think they were avoiding the loss in profit of a round of free cocktails) happily seated I was further disappointed by the lack of attentiveness by the waiters who took our drink order after 10 mins of waiting and we specifically asked him to return in 5 mins to take our food order, to which he never returned and we were placed a different waiter. Asked for water 3 times and they only served it at the end of our meal, and halfway through ordering dessert the waiter said I'll come back later and cut me off short when I was about to speak, which I was appalled by so I changed my mind because of his rudeness and when he returned I told him to just being the bill. Overall awful service, small portions of food therefore overpriced for value, over hyped and food was ok but not amazing. The best attribute of this restaurant is the decor which is a shame because of its prime location I expected more from the food and staff and annoyed by the fact you cannot book.
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Bela
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Saturday, February 04, 2012
well, i think i should come again and check about this place. on my first visit i was impressed. very good food. portions looks small but they are not.
i ordered the lentil mulligatawny soup. the soup came way too hot but still delicious. very tasty. also ordered the lamb biryani. well in this case.. it comes with loads of rice. and almost none of the lamb.. anyway i had to dig in in order to find the pieces of lamb at the bottom. bit chunks of it, rather tender, overall nice dish but a bit too expensive for what you get. the calamari was fantastic. delicious.. garlic nan was very good too.
i wanted to order the lemonade but they did not have any at all. so i went for the thums up coke.. rather nice anyway in a massive bottle.
overall this is a good place to go and will try again. maybe by not ordering an starter and leaving room for the dessert. i will go back only if the biryani had more meat and less rice... pity about that...
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the golden palate
- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thought Dishoom was excellent in all aspects! Will be returning soon...
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Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Love it, Love it, Love it!! There was a little wait for a table (20 minutes) at 7.30pm on a Thursday, so had a drink at the bar. We had the pink G&T and a seriously camp "bollibellini" which was delicious. Liked the bar - not huge, but it's got a lot of soul, and personality - moody lighting, incence whisps and seriously cool music, along with a very knowledgeable and aproachable bar team made it a great start to our evening. Hostesses were chatty and friendly, didn't offer to carry our drinks from the bar to the table for us though - don't worry, we survived - it was in the same room technically, which has been very cleverly broken up so that every space feels private and cosy.
Food was absolutely delicious - waitress was passionate about the place, and really brought it to life by explaining all the design features - sounds like a lot of thought has gone into each and every one, after chatting to her, i really began to fall in love with Dishoom, which is clearly very close to someone's heart.
For an instant trip back to grand Bombay in the 50's - without the jet lag - it's a must.
I'll be back for breakfast soon - when i asked the waitress for a reccomendation, she told me that everything was delicious, but that for the very best of Dishoom, I'd need to try the bacon and sausage rolls - served at breakfast only :-(
Oh well, an early start never killed anyone...........did it?
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, August 27, 2011
the place always has a good vibe and buzz. but mostly consistently good food
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mital patel
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 08, 2011
Once again my Dishoom experience was GREAT! Great food, great atmosphere and great Bellinis!
Yummy hot naan's, masala chai and pau bhaji's!
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Rajvi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 08, 2011
The service is awful. Waiters dropping things left right + centre. One waiter split leftover food and sauce all over my clothes and jacket. Gave us complimentary pudding which we refused and then CHARGED us for it!
Never again!
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Me
Overall rating 
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 01, 2011
We (4 of us) visited Dishoom last Saturday - the website claims no bookings for less than 6 people so we were walk-ins at around 7pm. There was a booth free towards the far end of the restaurant (can only seat 4 comfortably), but we were told this was 'reserved' and asked to come back in around an hours time - the guy at the door with the customary clipboard took a contact number but made no promise to call if a table opened up earlier. On returning an hour later, the same booth was still vacant, but we were instead seated at a table. The trouble was the table was right next to the stair case, to the extent that anyone sitting in one particular seat ran a high risk of disappearing down a flight of stairs if he/she made any kind of sharp movement.
We again asked for the still open booth, this time we were told by clipboard person two that she would check on its availability and revert back to us. In the meantime we were moved from the original 'staircase' table to the one next to it - that itself would have been fine if it were not for the fact that it was surrounded by tables and the staircase wall. You had to ask fellow diners to squeeze in a bit, or get up off the chairs in order to get to, or from, the table. This may explain the poor service - the waitress simply could not get to us!!!
Five minutes later a couple who were assigned the 'staircase' table asked and were granted their request to be moved to the still vacant booth - we never got a response to our similar request made 5-10 minutes earlier - remember you cannot book at Dishoom....
After that the saving grace is that the food was reasonably good, although portion sizes are small and its not your standard Indian restaurant. If you are looking a 'curry house' with filling mains as opposed to sharing tapas kind of plates, this is definitely not your place. Also if you are looking for good service this is again not your place - service was slow and haphazard at best. When asking our waitress for a little help with the menu the best we got out of her was a polite smile - to her credit though she was aware of the meaning of 'Dishoom'. Wine served in indian chai glasses may seem like a quaint idea and could work for reds, but whites I'm not too sure about. In fact the red wine (by the glass) tasted as if it was rather stale - I have had the same wine at Gaucho so it was not poor selection on my side I believe.
If the idea was to replicate a typical old style Bombay cafe then it may well be achieved on food taste and perhaps decor. But Dishoom could learn a lot on service and how to listen/treat your customers from just about any place in Bombay.
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Rohit
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, June 17, 2011
I've visited both the restaurant and the pop-up at Southbank. It's a kitsch place- great decor, but the food is quite different from what one gets in a Parsi cafe in Bombay. The potions are teeny - definitely not value for money for someone looking for a filling meal. My standards may be high, but the flavours don't always cut it. That said, the dishes served at the pop-up are closer to the original than the restaurant's menu. It's a good formula, but they need to balance the ambience vs. flavour equation if they want a dedicated clientele.
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S
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Friday, June 10, 2011
The decor is fantastic, leading you to expect a lot especially with some classics on the menu that lead me off to some exciting food moments in India. Therefore I am naturally eagerly anticipating the arrival of our dinner. However I found myself a quite dissapointed.
The portions are T I N Y for the amount you are being charged. I do not expect American sized portions but when you are being served biriyani you would expect it to go around more than two/three people (where you are serving about two spoons onto your plate). The chilli cheese toast did not come up to scratch, which I was most dissapointed about as this is a very popular snack in India. The food was just 'ok'. It certainly did not live up to the expectations I had from various reviews. The price for portion size was the biggest let down.
Great concept but it does not feel completely authentic. There is a great atmosphere in the restaurant and the service was friendly and attentative however the food does not live up to Bombay standards!
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CD
Overall rating 
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
what the bloggers say
London Eater
Gourmet Chick - 7/10
@alittledavetime Thank you! I'll pass the recs on :)
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