The expansion of a much-loved restaurant often marks the point at which it loses its soul. Not so for Dishoom, which continues to excel with the opening of its sixth location, this time in London’s Kensington. The winning formula is still there: show-stopping Indian cuisine served in a space inspired by the old Irani cafés of Bombay. Dishoom Kensington, however, takes this journey one step further and draws design cues from the city’s abounding art deco architecture, created by the first generation of modern Indian architects in the 1940s.
Based in the art deco Barkers Building, the restaurant includes a bar, a 200-seat dining hall and an open kitchen. Architecture studio Macaulay Sinclair has filled the restaurant with original period furniture, art and light fixtures sourced in Bombay and a number of striking bespoke features including stone frieze panels, marble monogram insets and, in a further nod to the era, which also heralded Bombay’s jazz age, original photographs of jazz icons.
The result is atmospheric, which feels far from a franchise; rather a painstakingly detailed throwback to a bygone era that sets an appropriate tone for a well-curated menu of Indian comfort food. The Chef’s Special, the fiery Mutton Pepper Fry, is well matched with cooling cocktails like the refreshing Edwina’s Affair, containing a winning trifecta of gin, rose and cardamom. With ‘hot jazz’ humming in the background, the sweltering heat of Bombay nights seems closer than ever.
