11 hours ago
Inside the first Dishoom hotel rooms
Since the first Dishoom outpost opened its doors in Covent Garden back in 2010, it's no stretch to say that the nostalgia-steeped Indian restaurant group has cemented itself as a London dining scene mainstay.
Even 15 years later, hopeful diners queue for hours to sample the likes of Goan monkfish curry with a fresh-from-the-tandoor masala paratha. During the pandemic, its legendary hangover-curing chilli-jam-laced bacon naan roll was so missed that a DIY at-home kit was launched.
A major aspect of Dishoom 's success is the transportative feel of each space. From the artful lighting and mellow soundtrack to the pithy yet approachable menu annotations, founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar have always had their fingers firmly on the pulse.
New locations have sprung up in Brighton, Cambridge and Oxford over the course of the past year or two – each one an impeccably designed portal to 1960s Bombay, but with its own unique kick. No surprises, then, that the duo's next project allows for around-the-clock immersion, with the unveiling this summer of the Permit Room Lodgings – a two-bedroom suite in the middle of Notting Hill, above the all-day bar-café space.
'We've always loved the kind of stay where we're with friends or family in Bombay. The door's open, someone's insisting we eat something and we're utterly looked after,' says Kavi.
A great deal of thought is put into the premises that house each new Dishoom. Take the Manchester restaurant, for example, which is set in a Grade II listed former Freemasons' hall on the edge of Spinningfields, or the branch just off Kensington High Street – occupying a corner of the Art Deco Barkers building.
The Notting Hill opening is no exception. '186 Portobello Road has lived many lives,' Kavi told me when I checked in recently. 'It was a hotel back in the day, then a West Indian pub – a place where Londoners have long come to eat, drink and stay, so it felt right to revive that spirit.'
Step in off the street and you'll notice at once the wispy plumes of sandalwood incense that, over the years, have become just as much a Dishoom signature as the house black daal. There's no check-in desk – instead, guests head over to the jade-coloured bar to retrieve a four-digit door code and are then guided towards a steep stairway hung with old-school gig posters. The Lodgings can be found at the top of the building, on the second floor.
A parquet-floored hallway leads through to two en-suite bedrooms – both a celebration of rich colour and pattern – and then there's the lofty living space, with its butter-yellow walls and arched windows framing vignettes of lively Portobello Road below. Areca palms burst from burnished gold pots in every corner and the furniture is a considered mishmash of 1970s pieces – a glossy teak sideboard here, a geometric-print lampshade there – with a few restored Mumbai market finds thrown in for good measure.
Conversation-starting works from the likes of Tarini Sethi and Mustafa Mohsin adorn the walls, each piece hand-picked with a steer from the team at Rajiv Menon Contemporary in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, cult newsagent Shreeji News has had a hand in curating the zines and books you'll find scattered about the place. In Shamil's words, it has been designed to feel 'like the home of a Bombayite friend – the kind who's inherently stylish and has impeccable taste without trying'.
For all the design-forward details, the overall mood is warm and homey. The first round of drinks is on the house; guests can call down and order (on a powder-blue rotary phone) whenever they're ready. The list features some curious riffs on the classics – mangosteen daiquiri, anyone? – and the feni martini I opted for went down nicely as I got ready for dinner and rifled through the vinyl collection.
It's a pretty decent line-up, pulled together in collaboration with Notting Hill mainstay Rough Trade West – expect to find the likes of Father John Misty and Sade, plus a bit of early Indian electronica.
Down in the dining room, there's always a table for guests of the Lodgings and service has an unhurried feel to it without being frustratingly slow. You can expect to see a good number of long-standing favourites on the menu, alongside a couple of specials, the most tempting of which has to be the spatchcock chicken tandoori with kachumber, tangy green chutney and charred lemon.
After dinner, those partial to a nightcap can assail the Lodgings' custom-made drinks cabinet (stocked with Kingfisher lager, house-made tipples and bars of crunchy caramel-studded chocolate from Melt, just down the road).
The next morning, breakfast can be brought up to the living room or taken in the ground floor bar-café, which looks out over the Electric Cinema. There's date and banana porridge, plus a satisfyingly spicy take on the full English. Best of all though is the akuri pau – eggs scrambled with tomato, onion and plenty of green chilli, served with a pillowy-soft bun that's just right for dunking.
There's a lot to like and with prices starting from £700 for the characterful two-bedroom, two-bathroom space, value for money is decent given the prime Portobello Road position.
With more restaurants opening in Glasgow and Leeds, and the brand making its stateside debut in New York City early next year – with backing from the luxury LVMH group, no less – it will be intriguing to see whether Dishoom can continue to expand without diluting what is, evidently, a winning formula.
