When the first Dishoom opened in Covent Garden in mid-2010, it injected a bolt of much-needed adrenaline into London’s staid Indian restaurant scene. Each successive opening has built on the group’s formula of brightly coloured, imaginatively furnished spaces that feel as it’s the Raj-via-Bombay days all over again, but zhooshed up with 60s-inspired pep and a youthful, accessible menu of modernised street food classics.
The newly opened Dishoom Carnaby cleaves close to the formula while channeling a visual and aural vibe that pays exuberant homage to its namesake’s cultural cache.
The references by interior designer Macaulay Sinclair are a solid roll-call of Indian nostalgia – the black-and-white checkered terrazzo floor is straight out of the Irani café playbook, art prints by the Bombay Progressives hang on walls, a jukebox rescued from Chor Bazaar stands in a corner, while the soundtrack is inspired by the popular Bombay night club Slip-Disc.
In the kitchen, executive chef Naved Nasir sends out classic bun maskas, chilli cheese toast, masala prawns, lamb biryani cooked ‘dum’ style, pau bhaji, and sali boti, the latter a Parsi favourite of braised lamb served with buttered handkerchief bread.
The drinks list is an inventive hoot, not least the Bollybellini spiked with cardamom, and Edwina’s Affair, a light julep of gin, mint and candied rose petals.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
22 Kingly Street
London W1B 5QB
-
Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekHere in the UK, summer seems to be fading fast. Moody skies and showers called for early-autumn rituals for the Wallpaper* team: retreating into the depths of the Tate Modern, slipping into shadowy cocktail bars, and curling up with a good book
-
To celebrate 50 years in business, Giorgio Armani is opening up his extraordinary archive to everybodyLaunched at the Venice Film Festival, Armani/Archivio is a digital archive charting 50 years of Giorgio Armani through the house’s most memorable designs
-
The Macbeth, an icon of indie sleaze, goes from grotty to gastroAn East End legend meets Portuguese small plates in Jamie Allan’s ambitious revival of a beloved Hackney watering hole
-
A complete collection of Phaidon’s ‘Contemporary Artists Series’ is on display in LondonA 30-year project reaching 100 volumes is being celebrated with an exhibition at the 45 Park Lane hotel, including limited-edition works by Kaws and Dana Schutz
-
London’s best pizza restaurant gets a new home in MayfairSecure a slice of New York-style pizza in central London as Crisp Pizza teams up with the Devonshire pub to set up shop in the relaunched The Marlborough
-
At this east London listening bar, mezcal-fuelled cocktails hit as hard as the basslinesIn Bethnal Green, Little Fires pairs vinyl grooves with mezcal margaritas and Oaxacan sharing plates
-
Harry Nuriev’s Noisy Oyster London bistro isn’t quite finished – and that’s the pointA futuristic, work-in-progress aesthetic forms a striking backdrop for a new, sustainably focused seafood bistro in Shoreditch
-
Head to Lupa for a taste of Rome in the heart of HighburyEd Templeton, Theo James and Naz Hassan unveil an intimate 28-seat restaurant that balances a cosy, candlelit atmosphere with Roman-style dining
-
Underground grooves and a touch of ‘controlled chaos’ make this exciting Japanese-inspired restaurant one to bookMoi, a new subterranean hotspot in London, is a feast for the senses
-
Café Kitsuné doubles down on London with a new locationCafé Kitsuné continues its global expansion with a bijou two-floor venue in Covent Garden that prioritises both craft and flavour
