Restaurant Review: DUM Biriyani House, Soho, London

Style Points: 4/5
Price: £
Overall: 5/5

DUM Biriyani House is a welcomed new addition to the Soho dining scene. Located on the bustling Wardour street, DUM Biriyani House is tucked away as a cosy basement restaurant.

Diners the descend the steps towards the restaurant and push past a plush velvet curtain into a cosy biriyani den filled with funky artwork, inviting low lighting and alcoves separating the dining areas.

What’s on the menu?

DUM Biriyani House has a specialist and specific menu. Based on traditional biryani recipes from the central Indian state of Hyderabad, the menu here consist of one vegetable and one meat-based biryani, a daily special and starters.

We started our order with a few Limcas, India’s version of 7up and ordered starters too. We tried the spicy andhra prawn fry in red and chilli and coconut as well as the dahi kebab which were essentially yogurt patties served with tomato chutney. Both dishes were appetising starters and the ideal size not fill us up too much!

For my main course I ordered the seasonal vegetarian biriyani. This was served in a large karahi style dish and was filled with mushrooms, chickpeas, potatoes and peas. After breaking open the crispy pastry lid, a steam of saffron and cardamom aurora invites you in to dig into the biriyani.
The biriyani is served on a thali with mirch salan kachumber and yogurt raita as well as a spicy chutney to add into the biriyani.

The portions at DUM Biriyani House are fabulously large, barely leaving any room for dessert. However the menu includes one irresistible dessert which is Rabdi, an indian milk pudding which was divine and provided the perfect creamy sweet end to the meal. Thankfully it wasn’t too big so we could easily finish it after our main course.

DUM Biriyani Soho London Restaurant review

Could I afford to dine here again?

DUM Biriyani House is a very reasonably priced restaurant located in the middle of Soho. The starters are approximately £4.50 and the biriyani’s themselves are £14.95, which is amazing value considering the large portion that is served.

Overall:

I’m so pleased that DUM Biriyani House has opened up so close to my work place, as it is the ideal place to pop into for a warming lunch or relaxed, casual dinner destination. The decor of the restaurant, designed by founder Dhruv Mittal himself, is welcoming, comfortable and ironically fun.

The subtly spicy biriyanis are ideal for curing the winter blues and the basement location makes it the perfect foodie hideaway to take refuge from the winter weather!