Dishoom: King's Cross vs Shoreditch
Which Dishoom is the best in London? - Restaurant Review
Price: ££
Food: 5/5
Style Points: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Dishoom King’s Cross
A few years ago if diners wanted some authentic Indian house chai coupled with Pau Bhaji reminiscent of Chowpatty Beach then there was only one place to go: Dishoom in Covent Garden.
However, after years of braving the tourists dwelling by Leicester Square Station and waiting in line for a table inside what had become a coveted dining location, Dishoom multiplied, not once but twice over opening restaurants in Shoreditch and then King’s Cross. Yet significantly Dishoom didn’t duplicate in a chain restaurant fashion, instead they grew with style and added a distinctive edge to each of their locations.
Dishoom King's Cross opened in late 2014 with much hype and publicity resulting in queues snaking round the entire restaurant and waiting times running into hours, and this is still the case today,
This restaurant itself is located in a handsomely restored Victorian former railway transit shed constructed in 1850, adding a touch of the colonial and industrial. As a result this is a large space made up of 9000 square foot spread over three floors, and they all still seem to reach capacity every evening.
The decor in this restaurant is nostalgic but also romantic restaurant littered with lamps, tiling, artwork and dark wood. Additionally the ground floor houses an elegant but trendy cocktail bar which effortlessly recreates the feel of 1930s Bombay.
Dishoom Shoreditch
The next branch of Dishoom opened in Shoreditch back in October 2012. This restaurant is also immersed in Bombay Art Deco styling full of opulent details such as worn antique furniture, retro adverts and hilarious but beautifully scrawled signs in Hindi.
However the main attraction at Dishoom Shoreditch is Verandah. This indoor/outdoor, year-round space has an eclectic design to it and is filled with comfortable furnishings. The additions of lamps and bookcases add an adorable homely feel to the restaurant, making this Verandah my favourite space out of all three of the Dishoom restaurants. It also has a retractable roof which protects from London monsoons but can also provide the perfect idyllic setting for al fresco breakfast or for sipping cocktails on a balmy summer evening.
Food?
I can never get enough of Dishoom because it serves some of my favourite type of food. As a result I seem to always end up over ordering and over eating.
I tried Dishoom King’s Cross for dinner where the table was brimming full of all the dishes we had ordered. This included vegetable samosas which arrived in a portion of three and were cooked using a fine filo pastry and filled with peas and potato spiced with cinnamon and cloves. We also tried the chilli cheese toast which was highly recommend as a Bombay standard and was composed of cheddar cheese melted onto white bloomer bread, with chillies added on top.
Next came the vada pau, described as Bombay’s version of the chip butty this dish was essentially a vada (fried vegetable ball) in a buttered pau bun with a sprinkle of ghati masala.
My favourite dish out of these and one which I could not wait was the pau bhaji. The menu is right when it describes this dish as ‘Chowpatty Beach style’ as I remember trying pau bhaji just as good on the beaches of Mumbai. Served as a bowl of mashed and thoroughly spiced vegetables with an immensely large portion of butter for its silky texture, this concoction is delectable when eaten scooped on top of hot buttered pau bun. This is one dish where it is very hard not to order seconds.
To top it all off we also ordered the paneer roll which was composed of the famous Dishoom ‘Roomali Roti’, a delicate handkerchief bread wrapped around green leaves, grilled Indian cheese and mint chutney. We also tried the paneer tikka which did not include any curry sauce but had marinated then chargrilled with red and green capsicums and paneer.
As always we were substantially full by the end of this banquet at Dishoom King’s Cross and immensely pleased with the quality and quantity of the food.
As all the Dishoom venues have a similar menu I decided go at a different time of the day and try the breakfast menu at Dishoom Shoreditch, afterall it has been listed in Timeout’s ‘Best Breakfasts’ awards.
One of the highlights of this meal was the bottomless house chai of which the waiters kept us well supplied. I tried the Malabar coffee caffelatte which was a perfect pick me up for the morning.
To eat we ordered akuri spicy scrambled eggs, a spicy Irani café staple served piled up alongside plump pau buns and served with grilled tomato. We also tried the Bombay omelette the ingredients of which included chopped tomato, onion, coriander and green chilli and was served with grilled tomato and fire toast. Both of these dishes were quite hot and spicy and worked a treat in waking up the taste buds on an icy cold morning.
Price?
The menu, and so also the prices are Dishoom King’s Cross and Dishoom Shoreditch are very similar. These restaurants are both accessibly priced which makes the food even more tempting.
I have also been impressed by the starters at Dishoom which are a delicious bargain at between £2.50 to £5. Main courses cost about £7 to £10 are arrive in substantial portions. The most expensive options include the masala prawns at £11.20 and the Kacchi lamb served with rice and cooked Hyderabadi style at £9.50, yet I know many restaurants which would serve much more than this for a similar dish.
Breakfast dishes are also competitively priced at between £4 to £7 for healthy portions. The bottomless house chai is £2.50 with Malabar coffee and a variety of teas all costing just under £3. This means Dishoom is ideal for a cheap cosy catch up over warming tea or for a full meal with many sharing plates, as either will put you out of pocket.
Overall:
Dishoom is one of my favourite restaurants in London and I’m sure many Londoners would agree.
The King’s Cross branch has a darker, edgier feel to it compared to the bright and cosy Shoreditch restaurant. The service at both is friendly and alert leaving very little to choose between the two as the menus are mirrored across both branches.
Personally, my favourite branch is Shoreditch, mainly for the Verandah; I plan on spending a large of portion of my time this year in this lovely space, either sipping house chai in the bright spring mornings or stocking up on my favourite Indian street food dishes on a long summer evenings.
I would always recommend Dishoom for its décor, food and price and so I have to give both these restaurants top marks.