Have You Heard Of It?
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • London
      • Shoreditch & East
      • Soho
      • Fitzrovia
      • Covent Garden & Holborn
      • Marylebone & Mayfair
      • South
      • North
      • West
    • UK outside London
      • Bath
      • Brighton
      • Cambridge
      • Cumbria
      • Kent
      • Manchester
      • Oxford
    • Europe
      • Amsterdam
      • Barcelona
      • Berlin
      • Budapest
      • Lisbon
    • USA
      • Austin TX
      • Boston MA
      • New York NY
      • Providence RI
      • San Francisco CA
    • Africa
      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Bali
      • Singapore
  • Categories
    • EAT
    • DRINK
    • COFFEE
    • WORKOUT
    • STAY
    • SEE + DO
    • SHOP
  • London Map
  • New York Map
  • Contact
    • About
Dishoom Covent Garden restaurant
Covent Garden & Holborn, EAT, London, Shoreditch & East 0

Dishoom: Bombay café in Shoreditch & Covent Garden

By Nina @WrittenByFitton · On March 3, 2014

Dishoom isn’t such a secret anymore.  I first started raving about it a few years ago, just after the Covent Garden restaurant opened.  I took countless people there, for dinner and for breakfast, and each and every one was impressed, going on to spread the word to their friends too.  I spent Valentine’s Day with my (also single) best friend at Dishoom in 2011; I dined with big groups of friends, feasting on huge numbers of sharing plates; I went with colleagues; I went on dates; and all while Dishoom was still relatively unknown.

Dishoom Covent Garden restaurant

NOW, however, you’ll have a hard time getting a table (annoyingly they don’t take dinner bookings) – I tried to take my cousin on a Monday evening last month and was informed the wait for a table would be 40 minutes.  Not cool.  So be grateful, readers, that I’m telling you about Dishoom at all!  I’m only shooting myself in the foot, increasing the wait time for a table by encouraging you all to visit!

Dishoom Covent Garden restaurant

Dishoom is a Bombay Café, and there’s one in both Covent Garden and Shoreditch.  Inspiration comes from the bustling Irani cafés of Bombay from the 1960s, but with a luxe twist.  Slow spinning fans rotate overhead, exposed light bulbs hang low over tables, the floor tiling is a monochromatically geometric, and the family photos and framed pictures on the wall bring a homely vibe.  I’d say the Covent Garden restaurant is a bit smarter and more polished than its Shoreditch sister, which has a more industrial, dark feel – but I still can’t decide which I love more.

Dishoom Shoreditch restaurant

An open-plan kitchen gives glimpses of the chefs tossing dough over hot cooking domes to make the light romali roti flat bread, and the spiced scents permeate the entire room.  In Covent Garden, be sure to venture downstairs to check out the intimate alcove tables – and the bathrooms also deserve a mention (I’m a firm believer that you can really judge a place by its bathrooms!) as the exquisite attention to detail extends even to here, with classic posters and medicine cabinets full of colourful balms and tonics.

Dishoom Shoreditch restaurant

Dishoom aims to introduce Londoners to a new take on Indian food, moving away from the traditional curry house dishes and into the territory of sophisticated sharing plates, with influences of street grills and food stalls, but all beautifully presented.  A kind of Bombay tapas, reasonably priced, which allows you try a variety of the dishes.

You must try [dinner]…

To share:
Chili Cheese Toast
Dishoom Calamari
House Black Daal
Chicken Berry Britannia Biryani
Romali Roti bread, with Classic Raita for dipping

For afters:
Pineapple & Black Pepper Crumble & Ice Cream
House Chai

Dishoom Shoreditch Verandah

Dishoom Shoreditch Verandah

Dishoom Shoreditch Verandah

My favourite meal at Dishoom is actually breakfast.  You can book a table for breakfast (bookings are accepted up until 6pm, after which you can only book for 6+ people), and it’s the perfect place for a lazy morning bite.  The Shoreditch restaurant also has a verandah, which is ideal for a balmy brunch/lunch, or lantern-lit evening meal.

You must order [breakfast]:
Ginger Pig Bacon Naan Roll, with Cream Cheese & Chutney
Granola with Vanilla Bean Yoghurt & Fresh Fruits
House Chai / Chocolate Chai (I can never decide which I like best!)

Dishoom Bombay Cafe breakfast

The Permit Room bar area of the Shoreditch branch is perfect for cocktails; Juleps, Sours, Fizzes, Smashes and other fancies all feature, and each one is impressive and stunningly served.

Dishoom Shoreditch Permit Room bar

The word dishoom is the old Bollywood sound effect when a hero lands a good punch.  Dishoom’s two restaurants have succeeded in wining over London, and I can vouch for their ability to pack a serious punch.

Dishoom - Shoreditch - Covent Garden - Instagram

Dishoom is getting ready to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi with a crazy colour party at Hawker House in East London, on 23rd March.  Buy tickets (£15) to enjoy an afternoon of storytelling, traditional colour-play, music, delicious snacks and drinks, between 2pm and 4.30pm.

Look back at the 2013 festivities here:

Dishoom
Shoreditch: 7 Boundary Street, London, E2 7JE | 020 7420 9324
Covent Garden: 12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2H 9FB | 020 7420 9320

breakfastbrunchcocktailsCovent GardenDishoomgorgeous interiorgreat for datesIndianinterior designsharing platesShoreditch££
Share Tweet

Nina

You Might Also Like

  • Radio Alice Clapham: Fluffy pizzas, burrata & Negronis - a winning combo in Clapham | Recommended by HYHOI.com: Have You Heard Of It? | A curation of design-led hotspots around the world, tried and tasted EAT

    Radio Alice Clapham: Fluffy pizzas, burrata & Negronis – a winning combo in Clapham

  • Breddos Kingly Street: New taco & tequila joint in Soho, London | Recommended by HYHOI.com: Have You Heard Of It? | A curation of design-led hotspots around the world, tried and tasted EAT

    Breddos Kingly Street: New taco & tequila joint in Soho, London

  • Wer-Haus: Hidden hipster oasis in Barcelona's L'Eixample district | Recommended by HYHOI.com: Have You Heard Of It? | A curation of design-led hotspots around the world, tried and tasted Barcelona

    Wer Haus: Hidden hipster oasis in Barcelona’s L’Eixample district

No Comments

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to HYHOI - we'll email you to ensure you never miss a post!

Ad

Instagram

  • rawduck in Hackney a very long way from Richmond but
     @raw_duck  in Hackney: a very long way from Richmond, but worth the trek for healthy Japanese-influenced brunch, kombucha, coffee &  @ameeels 
  • Harking back to the weekend when I had all the
    Harking back to the weekend, when I had all the sand to myself, plus sea air and sunrise
  • Lovely 48 hours in Northumberland staying in a cute nationaltrust
    Lovely 48 hours in Northumberland, staying in a cute  @nationaltrust  cottage just 20m from the beach. An unplanned digital detox (can't get over how appalling the mobile signal was!), with lots of beach walks/runs, crab sandwiches and family time.
  • The coffee in Bali was just better  and today
    The coffee in Bali was just better... ☕ and today is one of those days where there's going to be a lot of coffee...
  • Best sunset ever?! This was 10 days ago at potatoheadbali
    Best sunset *ever*?! This was 10 days ago, at  @potatoheadbali  beach bar, with cocktail in hand &  @johzeeck  by my side Zero filters on this photo. Mental!
  • The Tipper wedding so much love a vintage paddle steamer
    The Tipper wedding so much love, a vintage paddle steamer and a Thames wharf shindig. Congratulations  @hollylena  &  @mtipper  - what an incredible day!
  • Grey days in Singapore were still sooooo much brighter than
    Grey days in Singapore were still sooooo much brighter than the ones in London.. ️ These photos were taken from our Sunday morning walk in the Southern Ridges, with the  #HendersonWaves  bridge, treetop walk (watch out for ..) and beautiful rainy season flowers
  • MonocleSingapore in cute Holland Village Just across the road is
     @Monocle .Singapore, in cute Holland Village. Just across the road is womenswear heaven  @oursecondnature , where I spent way too much ...!
  • About Have You Heard Of It?
  • Contact
  • London Map
  • New York Map

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 135 other subscribers

Instagram

  • rawduck in Hackney a very long way from Richmond but
     @raw_duck  in Hackney: a very long way from Richmond, but worth the trek for healthy Japanese-influenced brunch, kombucha, coffee &  @ameeels 
  • Harking back to the weekend when I had all the
    Harking back to the weekend, when I had all the sand to myself, plus sea air and sunrise
  • Lovely 48 hours in Northumberland staying in a cute nationaltrust
    Lovely 48 hours in Northumberland, staying in a cute  @nationaltrust  cottage just 20m from the beach. An unplanned digital detox (can't get over how appalling the mobile signal was!), with lots of beach walks/runs, crab sandwiches and family time.
  • The coffee in Bali was just better  and today
    The coffee in Bali was just better... ☕ and today is one of those days where there's going to be a lot of coffee...
  • Best sunset ever?! This was 10 days ago at potatoheadbali
    Best sunset *ever*?! This was 10 days ago, at  @potatoheadbali  beach bar, with cocktail in hand &  @johzeeck  by my side Zero filters on this photo. Mental!

Tags

breakfast brunch cocktails coffee gorgeous interior great for dates interior design London interior design London restaurants lunch restaurant Shoreditch Soho trendy

© 2014 Have You Heard Of It? All rights reserved.