Dishoom
Indian
5 Stable St, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AB
££
In the style of post colonial 'Irani cafés' of Bombay, Dishoom is the cool kid on the block when it comes to quality Indian food without going for the 'traditional' curry. Old school brasserie design runs in all 3 branches around London (Kings X, Shoreditch and Covent Garden). The mood is informal and friendly, but the grub is top notch.
Dishoom opens at the bright eyed hour of 8am, and runs through all day until 11pm, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's amazing that a restaurant can assure it will be able to fill it's tables all day every day, but Dishoom has the confidence as well as the results. Despite this all-hours dining experience, Dishoom still gets booked up incredibly quickly and faces common queues in the evening, when bookings aren't taken.
The food isn't your typical British take on Indian and verges away from the endless dishes of curry and rice, with only one option of steamed rice (if you must...) Me and mum ordered two Garlic Naan's £2.90 (because bread, after all, is the superior carb), Chicken Tikka £7.90, Mattar Paneer £8.90, Lamb Samosas £4.90 and the House Black Dahl £5.90 - recommended by all as Dishooms 'signature dish'. To finish, a Pistachio and Malai Kulfi were mandatory at £3.50 each.
Whilst the Lamb Samosas could have been crunchier and a tad more flakey, they were still very tasty. The Chicken was tender and juicy, whilst the flavours in the Mattar Paneer delicate yet powerful. The House Black Deal was rich goodness, managing to make even lentils indulgent, and the Garlic Naan the perfect accompaniment to mop it all up with. Kulfi is delicious wherever you go, but Dishoom's were particularly good: smooth and creamy sticks of joy.
Whilst Dishooms food was undoubtedly tasty, I'm not sure how much it deserves the astronomical hype it gets. Queues outside this place can go up to 2 hours long, which is a complete madness. I took Mum on a Tuesday afternoon around 3pm, just escaping peak lunch and dinner times. We walked straight in and were served by hospitable and effortlessly friendly staff. The place was busy, despite the swift entrance, but the food still came quickly.
Overall, Dishoom is a great place to get some Indian food with a difference. The venue's are designed well and the staff are smiley. Prices are cheap, but given the small portion sizes the bill soon adds up - the total for me and Mum having lunch was around £50.00 for two. Not bad, but you could definitely get a cheaper Indian elsewhere.
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.dishoom.com/
