Dishoom Covent Garden
London
Anmeldelser
Dishoom London effortlessly lives up to its reputation as one of the city’s best Indian dining experiences. Inspired by the old Irani cafés of Bombay, the restaurant combines exceptional food with a warm, nostalgic atmosphere. The vintage décor, soft lighting, and bustling yet welcoming ambience create an experience that feels both elegant and comforting. It’s the kind of place where every detail—from the music to the tableware—contributes to the overall charm, making it easy to understand why queues regularly form outside. The food was the highlight of the visit. The Lamb Biryani was fragrant and beautifully layered, with tender, slow-cooked lamb and perfectly spiced saffron rice that was both hearty and refined. The Okra Fries were a surprise favourite—crispy, lightly seasoned, and incredibly moreish, making for an excellent starter. The Chicken Ruby, Dishoom’s signature take on a rich makhani (butter chicken) curry, was silky, flavourful, and wonderfully balanced, pairing perfectly with the biryani. Every dish felt carefully executed rather than overly heavy, and together they made for a memorable meal. Dishoom is one of those rare restaurants where the food, service, and ambience all meet the high expectations set by its reputation.
We visited this iconic spot twice over the last two days, once for their famous Bombay breakfast and again for a full Indian street food lunch. The service here is absolutely phenomenal—incredibly warm, fast, and attentive. The restaurant itself is beautiful, featuring a gorgeous vintage bar and stunning decorations and historical photos covering the walls that create a cinematic, nostalgic atmosphere. The kitchen also delivers the food with impressive speed, but we found some inconsistencies in the actual dining experience. For breakfast, we ordered the famous naan rolls along with a chocolate chai, which was rich and nicely spiced. Unfortunately, the naan rolls suffered from a serious balance issue. Both of our rolls were heavily oversauced, which introduced an overwhelming sweetness that masked the other ingredients. We actually ended up trying to scrape the sweet tomato-chili sambol off the bread just so we could eat the eggs inside. To make matters worse, by the time we got to the second half of our rolls, the naan had completely softened and absorbed the moisture, causing the sauce to bleed straight through the dough and turn into a messy, structurally compromised roll. Lunch was decent, but the food felt fairly average when compared to the incredible depth of flavor you can easily find at other Indian restaurants in London. Our seating also put a damper on the midday experience. We were placed all the way in the back in an extended area that felt cut off and lacked the vibrant, energetic atmosphere of the main dining room. We also had a really hard time fitting all of our dishes onto our tiny table and would have much preferred one of the larger tables we saw other couples sitting at. Dishoom Covent Garden is worth a visit for the stunning design, fast service, and consistent menu, but if you are looking for the absolute best Indian culinary execution in the city, there are better options in London.
One of the best Indian restaurants I’ve been to. I’ve tried many over the years, but Dishoom really stands out for the quality of its food. Everything we ordered was incredibly flavourful, and the staff were exceptionally friendly and welcoming. The desserts were a real surprise too—Indian desserts aren’t usually my favourite, but both the Basmati Kheer and the Malai Kulfi were outstanding, especially the Kheer. My only suggestions would be to offer milder spice levels, as every dish was quite spicy, especially the House Chaat. It was still incredibly tasty, but having the option to reduce the heat would make it even better. The naan and roti portions also felt a little small for the price. The restaurant was also quite noisy, making it a bit difficult to have a conversation. Overall, a fantastic experience and definitely worth a visit.
Recommended to try at least once on your trip! Tasty and flavourful indian cuisine - different from the usual. We were on a vegetarian diet that evening and there's a great selection of vegetarian options available. Although it may lean towards the saltier side. For people who prefer less sodium in your diets, yoy may wish to try requesting for less salt and see if it could be accommodated. Great service as well! The server presented us with a complimentary molten chocolate cake as it was my birthday. Thankful for the kind gesture!
Ok the important things , you can book after 6 pm provided the group is 6 people or more. Around 7 to 8 pm on a Friday night at least , the wait for the restaurant is 25-30 minutes. Free tea is served at random for the queueing customers. The restaurant is on 2 floors , each floor is huge . The lower floor seems the more quiet part. The whole place is very busy but buzzing with good vibes and atmosphere. An army of well organized servers are constantly around cleaning serving and taking orders. Indeed our server was a well spoken knowledgeable gentleman. The menu is a moderate size , a good selection of everything. The food itself was one of the best experiences of Indian food I've ever had , and I've been to a lot of places in the UK and india . The spice levels are fortunately catered for the Indian palate . So westerners beware lol Toilets were very nicely decorated and very clean , a bit oldly worldy in design You must at least try this restaurant once in your life! I'll definitely come back here.
