Dishoom & Dinerama's Diwali
Dinerama, 19 Great Eastern St, EC2A 3EJ TUESDAY 30 OCTOBER 18:00-22:00 £8
In celebration of Diwali, Dishoom teamed up with Street Feast’s Dinerama to bring Londoners a fresh take on the festival of light. The night was complete with a promise of Live Music, Spoken word, Poetry and Street Food’s finest.
We arrived at the venue shortly after 6pm, and were surprised to find there was already a queue forming. We waited outside for a while, watching it grow, before we were informed that they were having some issues with the generator, and currently there was no light at “the festival of light”. Ironic to say the least, we were brought around some free warm chai, which was delicious, and were assured that we would be let in shortly.
Around half an hour later, we started to be let in. Although we were now actually in the venue, the lighting was still intermittent and the whole place very dark. What’s more, the food stands couldn’t do their thing without any electricity, so this was worrying for some for a while (luckily for me I’d already had a sneaky Pret Sandwich en route). I did find it kind of bizzare how they could be having a problem this big this late on in the day, given that Dinerama is not a new venue, and is open usually Wednesday-Sunday anyway, so they should be used to figuring out logistics of the venue. To make up for the darkness, the bar became open and all drinks were free! A clever move in my opinion, as no one can argue with a free drink (even me, who claimed I was going sober that night).
Around an hour later, lighting was restored, along with the festival spirit of Diwali: so food vans re-opened, and the open bar closed. Regular traders such as Up In My Grill, Club Mexicana and Fundi Pizza were there, however, had given their usual’s a vegetarian spin especially for the event: which was exclusively no meat or fish. I ended up going for a cauliflower garlic flatbread with some tomato salsa-y sauce, which to be honest was really average and verging on tasteless – a surprise, coming from the Dishoom stand. Tom went for some Halloumi fries and a curry from other stalls which were a lot better, but I’ve still had better street food.
Around an hour after this, the sound system was reinstated and we were told that although the spoken word and poetry wouldn’t be taking place, we were still able to enjoy some live music. British Asian singer-songwriter Abi Sampha did a 20 minute set, joined by Shammi Pithia and Vik Sankadecha. They all sat on the floor and strummed/banged instruments I couldn’t name, whilst Abi sung hauntingly good vocals: English song covers with a distinctively Indian twist. After the set, we were told that they were taking a half an hour break before returning. We decided to call it a night, given there had already been a lot of waiting around.
Despite the obvious, Dishoom’s Diwali party was a nice and original way to spend a Tuesday evening. Granted, the food could have been more intriguing, but to be honest I always tend to find these street food places slightly underwhelming. Whilst they’re a easy, relaxed and casual place to catch up with friends, the food I have found is never quite as good as it sounds. On top of that, they tend to get really crowded, loud and noisy, and given you can’t reserve tables, if you go with a big group there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to sit down and enjoy your food. A great idea in theory, but on this occasion just one that didn’t really pan out.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.dishoom.com/diwali/
https://www.streetfeast.com/visit-us/dinerama/
