Dishoom

Although being a great concept as a business idea, epitomising the idea of a Parsi traditional Bombay side cafe being a haven for travellers and locals alike, Dishoom Bar Covent Garden appeared to be more of a gimmick. With average food with only a choice of mild flavour it didn't seem very typical of an Indian cafe. However not to be just the cynic, this place is great for socialising, drinks, chatting and its atmosphere is great. The prices are overpriced for the quality of food but you pay more for the atmosphere than anything else. Service was mediocre, having asked waiters if we can order drinks we got served after the 3rd. Also on Sunday kitchen closes at 10pm despite being incredibly busy.
Not to be judgemental but would be most popular amongst younger people and western people who may not have necessarily tasted traditional proper indian street/ cafe food. (mild flavours, bland in some respects)

I've been 3 times – an achievement as I have a relatively small budget for eating out. This is a perfect destination for lunch in Covent Garden, I really enjoyed the chicken roti I had when I came last it was very good value and spiced to perfection. The staff were also very helpful with explaining all of the dips, advising on the spiciness of dishes and were very friendly and attentive without being overbearing. My only criticism is that the same menu is offered all day and there's not many options when choosing a main course for dinner but being styled as a Bombay cafe I'm not sure this is a fair complaint! The ‘rose and cardamon’ and ‘mango and fennel’ lassis are to die for and the highlight of any visit.

“Simply dreadful – poor food, even worse service.

This restaurant is an embarrassment to India. It looks like one of those restaurants where someone has inherited it from their parents and run it into the ground. The owner has no idea.

The meals we had ranged from horrendous to average.

We went to Dishoom for the first time yesterday evening and we were very impressed. The ambience and service were great. The unique selection of dishes were mouthwatering, flavoursome and spicy. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.

Great restaurant. It's one of the best value for money, combined with fun atmosphere restaurants in central london.

A must try!

Mixed feelings in every way! I happened to go to Dishoom twice in the same day, once at lunch and then cocktails and dinner. At lunch the staff was plain awful, I must really have come in on a bad day. They just looked like they did not want to be there, almost rude bar one waiter who actually managed to do the job. Food was interesting, but not fantastic.
Then came night, I was dragged back kicking and screaming only because friends of ours were meeting up there, and my what a difference. Staff was charming, much happier, described our food and the cocktails were great! Totally confused! I just hope it was a bad moment earlier Dishoom!
Would go there again maybe sometime, not so soon.

Dishoom wasnt quite what I had expected from the pre-launch hype and reviews… I wouldnt imagine you can spend an afternoon hanging out here to enjoy it fully, nor were we surrounded by lots of interesting folk on our lunchtime visit. Not much bustle but still, some good inventive food and standard yummies on the menu. I had the chilli cheese on toast which was delicious along with a nice cuppa Indian chai. I could not fault the food and enjoyed watching the chef making the balloon-like chappatti's in front of me! If the ambience was more as advertised – i think as a bustling cafe with good food, this would be a great pit-stop place at an optimum location.

Agree with some previous reviewers that the restaurant did not live up to expectations. The service was scatty and forgetful and culminated in the smashing of some plates and glasses on our table and covering us with glass! The food lacked variety and was inconsistent, with some very yummy dishes – chilli cheese on toast, fish fingers, and the cheese naan were simple and delicious. Other dishes were very average including the curries, dahl, lamb and chicken. Nice concept in theory but fails to deliver. Has the feel of a ‘chain’ restaurant, and would guess that's what the owners intend to roll out. Not the place for any kind of ‘occassion’, but would be ok for a quick snack in passing.

Good place to go with friends, portion are a bit too small but yummy and drinks are expensive, I have been to Bombay 23 times and seen 2 good Bombay cafes, this is a good match in London.

My server was very informative about the food and drink.

Chai offered while I was waiting for a table is a good gesture.

Kulfi was too sweet, need to improve.

Every now and then I hold such high expectations based on hype and PR, that it is almost inevitable I will come away disappointed. Dishoom was one such experience. Lesson learnt; this is not, as marketed, a ‘Bombay cafe’ in any sense of the word, as it does not feature any of the key ‘chat’ dishes that are the staple of the Bombay street cafe scene; bhel puri, pani puri, aloo chat…I could go on…

Further disappointing was the lack of imagination evident on the sparse menu, with the same (bland) dill salmon featuring as a salad and tandoor grill option and paneer and mushroom appearing in roll and salad form. Dull.

Service is scatty and the only thing that really captured my attention and made me smile were the 70's style decor and movie posters. It was always asking too much to have the next closest thing to the fingerlickin' good snacks of Chowpatty beach slap bang in the centre of London. Having experienced Dishoom, it almost seems an insult than recogniton. Avoid.

Id wanted to go to Dishoom for ages now given every food blogger seems to have written about the place! The actual place is beautifully designed (in the style of a Prohibition style bar) and the location is ideal – next door to Jamie's Kitchen and just near Cambridge Circus/Leicester Square station. In terms of a venue for pre-theatre or a date night, its ideal.

Foodwise – it was either (big) hit or misses. We decided to have vegetarian samosas and pau bhaji (Mashed veg with hot buttered bread) as starters. The samosas tasted warm rather than hot and did seem to have been sitting there a while – despite our orders coming through immediately. I wasnt that impressed with the bhaji, nothing really to write home about though my friend has it regularly and enjoyed it. To me, it tasted of a tomatoey paste type thing.

Now to the hits – i decided to not have my usual biryani as many reviewers have stated there just isnt enough meat. So i went with the well reviewed spicy lamb chops which were indeed perfect. Well spiced, hot and melt in the mouth. I could have probably had two portions if my greediness took over. I accompanied this with a huge bowl of raitha (yoghurt) – good value for money, rice and naan. I felt the rice was just rice and Dishoom might want to consider making it a bit more special – fried rice, or saffron rice for example. The nan wasnt great – very dry and seemed to have been sitting around again for a while (perhaps alongside those samosas…). My friend had the prawns and roti and thought these were very good indeed.

Pudding wise – i had the predictable chocolate pudding – which although may not have sat well with the rest of the menu, was delicious, and im sure had a hint of spice. More than enough to share.

The bill came to £44 for two people so wasnt cheap. My main (no sides) was close to £10 so you can easily spend a lot. Next time i think id just have mains and pud, and avoid/choose different starters. The lamb is worth it alone. Service wise, the food comes so quickly, you can imagine they want to table turn a lot. Im sure its going to be a hit as the only other nearby indian i can think of is Moti Mahal whereas this place seems extremely tailored towards a hipper crowd. By 8 it was packing out and i can imagine its going to do very well.

dishoom was a big disappointment, we had a booking for 2 and we had to wait 2 hours for our table. We should have just left knowing that the food was not going to be as great as it claims to be. Our server was over stretched managing a number of tables so again we had to wait to be served. Our mains arrived before starters and drinks just arrived as we ordered our tea. The food wasn't exceptional- cold starters. Complete disorganization. The evening was nothing but a big let down, Dishoom is a indian restaurant trying to claim west end prestige but better off being located on your high street- at least with high street restaurants you know what to expect.

Brilliant – loved the atmosphere, loved the food and drink. Really great vibe. We came with a friend from Mumbai who kept smiling at the Mumbai Parsee Cafe references and the overall feel (slightly over my head, admittedly). Biryani, daal, lamb chops excellent. Shaved ice dessert apparently very authentic, and very tasty. Choc fondant, although a little odd on the menu, wasn't bad. Service possibly over enthusiastic. This is a great place for a casual dinner, a nice portal into a stylish, vintage Mumbai. Try it.

Sunday Lunch at the newly opened Dishoom (Bollywood-speak for a “filmi” punch) was a true Mumbai ‘cafe’ experience. The house (masala) chai was just as I remembered it from the stall vendors in Mumbai. Tender lamb samosas, without blazing hot spices, that just melted in your mouth and complemented with a subtle mint chutney. A chilli cheese toast (Indian rarebit) was delightfully familiar to my Mumbaiite husband, and tasted exactly as he remembered – fiery hot!

The Dishoom chicken Roomali Roll was delicately flavoured chicken wrapped with herbs, leaves and chutney in a soft and moist roomali roti (handkerchief thin chapatti) – the best yet in London! A must-try dish is the chicken berry biryani which was a delicious cleverly-fused mix of berries with traditional spices and cooked in a sealed clay pot! The house black daal was a carefully balanced mix of spices with a smooth glazed finish. I was please to discover it was not smothered in butter or ghee. All this accompanied by a mango and fennel lassi and nimbu pani (fresh lemon juice cordial). Desserts were all the old favourites – Gola ice, Kulfi, fresh mango and a fruit and nut crumble! We finished with a Gola Ice – a passion fruit and ginger granite – a truly amazing combination of flavours.

The drinks menu is a marvellous mix of old fashioned lassi with a twist and some spectacular new tipples. The Bollybellini was a dream of rose, lychee and raspberry Bellini and the Virgin Bombalada, a Bombay-twisted take on the classic with pineapple, coconut milk, herbs and spices! We will be back to try some more.

The decor is simple but black and white photos of family and friends and ads from old Indian magazines add a warm touch to the monochrome ambience. I loved the quirky display cabinet of Indian ‘aryuvedic’ ointments and remedies in the ladies loos!

The service was attentive and unobtrusive; our waiter made several helpful recommendations to suit our palate. Overall: a delightful experience.

A cafe trying to make a mark with Indian food needs to at least produce food at a par with its competition. It doesn't unfortunately. The food tasted as if it was thrown together using off-the-shelf sauces, was poorly executed and poorly presented. This reminded me so much of eating in a 4 star hotel in India. Bland, mediocre food served to satisfy the unadventurous tourists, whilst so much better exists outside. So all that is place offers is an excellent location and beautiful decor. I would be surprised to see it survive with so many other offerings in Soho and surrounding areas.