Back in 2010 when we first opened Dishoom, we (perhaps sensibly) thought our job was simply to serve Londoners good food and good drink. However, as we deepened our knowledge of the Irani cafés and their role in Bombay’s civic culture, we became increasingly conscious that breaking down barriers was important to us too.
We love serving you dishes cooked in Parsi, Muslim, Hindu and Christian traditions, which all jostle on our tables for space. We like to do it deliberately and self-consciously. As you enter our restaurants, you might spot a statue of Ganesh – the elephant-headed Hindu god who removes obstacles – sitting companionably alongside an Asho Farohar, the symbol of Zoroastrianism. We also feel very strongly that Dishoom has to be a place where the hard-up student (taking full advantage of our bottomless chai) can sit easily next to the wealthy steel magnate (who might order bottles of champagne), and where the Muslim family can share a table with Hindu teenagers.