The first time I had lunch at Dishoom in Shoreditch, I reluctantly gave in to my cousins’ recommendation. Because I have never been a fan of Indian cuisine I was prepared to order plain white bread Naan and get it over with quickly.
But boy, was I wrong. Honestly, it wasn’t that I have never been a fan of Indian food, I just never gave it a chance. 16 days of traveling through Rajasthan and some of the worst experiences of my life left me scarred and full of antibodies against anything having remotely to do with India. But that’s another story because it’s never too late to change your mind especially if it means trying out new stuff. Also, I’m quite easy to convince when food is involved, so here we go. The successful Indian restaurant Dishoom has opened up its fifth location in London, Dishoom Kensington!
THE BAR
I’m going to start off with the bar because it’s very likely you’ll be spending the first hour of your visit here. Dishoom doesn’t take reservations for less than 6 people, so they’ll tell you to wait at the bar until a table becomes free. We had enough time to drink at least 3 cocktails and they were all pretty amazing! Don’t be afraid to get drunk before dinner, because the delicious “Dry Tipples” from the menu is completely alcohol-free. I suggest you try the Sober Martini that comes with grape and cucumber waters and a gin-like bitterness or the Passionfruit Sharbat with lime and soda. If you prefer the real deal then there’s plenty of choice on the bar menu: The Kohinoor Fizz with gooseberry syrup, lime juice, Gin, Aperol, Prosecco and egg white or the Monsoon Martini with espresso, chili liqueur, black walnut bitters, and cream.
THE INTERIOR
Inspired by Art Deco and Bombay in the 30ies, the restaurant on Derry Street feels once again like traveling back in time. Bold colors and patterns, brass details and great music make a great atmosphere, cherishing the golden age of Bombay jazz.
The Food
You can come to Dishoom for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There’s a wide variety of vegan dishes, hence even an own vegan breakfast menu that offers vegan lassis, date banana porridge and vegan house granola with oats, seeds, cashews, almonds, pistachios and cinnamon roasted in coconut oil served with fruits and coconut yogurt. If you’re not necessarily into vegan, don’t worry because their Bacon & Egg Naan will get you sorted!
For lunch and dinner, everything you order from the menu is family style, encouraging you to order several dishes for the table and then share everything. My favorite anyway, because you get to try so many dishes at once! But if I’d have to pick only one dish, I could easily go for the Sheekh Kabab, which is minced lamb marinated with lime, coriander, and cumin, then grilled and then drown that in the cool minty yogurt cucumber Raita. Oh yes!
DISHOOM CHARITY AND OTHER AMAZING FACTS
I actually didn’t know about this until I saw the note on the menu: “For each and every meal you eat at Dishoom, we donate a meal to a child. We work with two charities – Magic Breakfast in the UK and Akshaya Patra in India – who provide nourishing free meals to schools. This means children are undistracted by hunger and ready to learn.” – how amazing is that? Dishoom has already donated over 5 million meals to hungry kids! Find out more about this here.
Also, Dishoom puts great value into sourcing the right ingredients. That’s why they work with carefully selected producers, all eggs are free range, all meats carry the Red Tractor certification.
Address:
Dishoom Kensington, 4 Derry Street, London W8 5SE
OPENING HOURS: Monday to Friday: 8am to 11pm; Saturday & Sunday: 9am to 11pm
Check website for other locations in London and the newest additions in Edinburgh and Manchester.
www.dishoom.com/kensington
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