Dishoom - overrated?

[Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain]

I had to go away from the London office to the Birmingham office for an away day recently. Yeah one of those forced enjoyment things...

So we had a poll to decide what to eat that night and we decided on Dishoom. I've been to Dishoom a couple of times in London and found it edible.

When I went and ate there this time, honestly, I ate it because I was hungry and we'd booked the table but I thought it was awful, especially because there are so many nice Indian restaurants in Birmingham. What also stuck in my craw was about £10 for a gin and tonic!

So is this a one off bad experience? Have they gone downhill? All my colleagues were raving about Dishoom.

incredibly bland

It was the first place I found that did the kind of Indian food that I like. I'm not a fan of the standard stuff that you get in the usual Bangladeshi 'Indian' restaurants.

But South Indian food is gaining traction, and I've been to two or three places in London and outskirts that do it really well.

I've always had lovely food at the one in Manchester. I especially love the broccoli salad with dates and loads of other gorgeous ingredients. So fresh and vibrant.

I've never had their curries, I tend to go for the chicken murgh and a salad. The main issue I have with them is the noise! I can never hear my husband when we go in the evening.

It's nice but there are loads of much better Indian restaurants in London. Tourists and Tim Tokkers love it though.

I was underwhelmed, I went to the one in Covent Garden when it first opened. I have coeliac disease and most Indian restaurants are excellent for gluten free food, but Dishoom has a fairly limited offering and it wasn't brilliant. I haven't been back.
i would like to know if there's a good Indian restaurant in Bethnal Green though. My part of town smells amazing but alas it's all home cooking wafting out of the windows

"You know what's funny about Brick Lane, in 2000 approx I worked around there, and there were a handful of restaurants we actually rated, one was just off Brick Lane in a side street, they've all gone now! But we didn't go to any old curry house and even now, we could go there when we go out there but I've got no idea which one is the best. Plus I prefer South Indian food more."

The one on Hanbury Street? That was the best, along with the other one with the pictures of Princess Di 😁

For the nice surroundings and good drinks plus decent Indian food vibe (at a similar price point), I prefer gunpowder, cricket or Booma in Brixton. For just good food leave me anywhere on tooting Broadway, or tayyab. Curry leaf in Brighton is excellent for both.

I have been to a Mowgli once and didn't care for it. Felt a bit too chainy both food and atmosphere.

Rasa in N16 - get the dosa!

I like Tayyabs in Whitechapel. If only for the lamb chops.

Agree with this, and the dried meat is good too! Also agree that Tooting has always had good Indian restaurants and Green St is also supposed to have good food too

Agree. We used to go fairly frequently to Dishoom. Recently we discovered a far better restaurant in Wimbledon- the food is amazing. I do love Dishoom porridge though.

Is Babur still going strong? I used to live opposite to that restaurant about 10 year ago, love it and the takeaway sister shop along the road.

Now in Glasgow and we have some great South Indian places and have for many years now. Having said that most Indian restaurants in Glasgow are Pakistani run and the quality is usually excellent.

I did think that when I lived in London the Indian food was often not great outside places like Brick Lane and a few trusted places like Babur. I once had a paneer dish in central London that was made with mozzarella, I kid you not!

@SuncreamAndIceCream We used to go to Chandni Chowk on the Soho road years ago (not sure if I'm spelling that correctly) - the only place in Birmingham I've ever found proper chole bhature.

@moleyholey This reminds me of a very popular Indian restaurant close to where I live in a leafy London suburb. It has since closed down but was beloved by all the locals as THE place to go for a curry. They had chicken and cheese on the menu and my Indian brain just assumed this would be chicken curry with paneer. What actually came out was chicken curry with cheddar cheese. It was hands down the worst dish I have ever eaten. I swear the waiter was embarrassed to serve it to me as he just knew…..

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Ha yes now that's a proper Birmingham institution! The staff were so unfriendly it used to be a family joke. Not been for years since my sis in law had a bad stomach after eating there.

I really like Dishoom in Manchester for breakfast, but much prefer The Indian Tiffin Room in the evening.

@mrschocolatte I think that might even beat my mozzarella debacle, they must have been mortified 😂

I can't understand why people rave about it either, I found the food underwhelming. I nake better at home. Their cookbook is really good tho. My DS bought it and I've tried a few recipes from there, all cane out really good although I do go rogue with some of the ingredients so it's to my taste
We went to The Ivy Asia last week omg! What a disappointment - overpriced and underwhelming. These places are really for the expense card people there's no way you would spend your own hard earned money on that! While I'm at it the Duck and Waffle is rubbish too. We killed ourselves laughing when we ordered their signature dish which turned out to be a waffle with the tiniest duck leg and an egg!!! There were 7 of us - I generously gave up my share!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Brick lane is mostly vintage shops now.

I am not a huge fan of Dishoom. It's a bit bland.

I get my curry from a reputable place near where I live in London. I think it's great there are so many good South Asian restaurants here.

So in the small city I live in you can order Dishoom on Deliveroo but we don’t have a Dishoom restaurant in the city. Basically, Deliveroo have a warehouse unit near the railway line level crossing on the outskirts. They do their ‘only on Deliveroo’ franchises there. I dare say they do this in other towns, but it does tend to put me off and it shows how the franchise is stretched thin.

Additionally, we have 4 or 5 decent Indian restaurants in the city

Ah that's interesting. We haven't been there yet. Is that the one by the Innside Melia hotel? Near HOME arts complex? My husband often works in Manchester (and I tag along) and is due to go again soon so we'll add that to the list!

@catwithflowers Yes that's the one - It's on First St. It's well worth a visit, you'll need to book at a weekend, but we've usually walked in during the week. You won't be disappointed!

I really like India Tiffin Room - they still have their tiny suburban restaurant in Cheadle which is still great (and still the size of someone's living room!)

I've been to Indian tiffin room too on a work trip, definitely recommend it

They still do have lots of curry houses up the Whitechapel end and East London Mosque part about 23 in total. I certainly wouldn't say it's mostly vintage shops.

The vintage shops tend to be further down from my recollection. And there's still loads of leather shops too (my friend and I went there when we were after biker jackets).

Yes that one, on Hanbury Street. The food was so nice there!