The men behind Dishoom, the St Martin’s Courtyard restaurant that brings a taste of traditional Bombay cafe culture to Covent Garden, talk about combining the flavours of Persia, India and England in a unique blend
For many people, the traditional British transport cafe conjures up happy thoughts of fried breakfasts, sweet tea and a friendly, if occasionally boisterous, atmosphere. According to Shamil Thakrar, one of the founders of Dishoom, the Bombay cafe has a similar emotional resonance with its devotees. And just like the genuine transport cafe, the old fashioned Bombay cafe is in seemingly terminal decline.
“These cafes peaked in the 50s and 60s,” says Shamil Thakrar. “Everyone in Bombay has their favourite. People have enormous affection for them. The customers know the people who run them, and generations of a family will go to the same cafe. They were far more than just places to eat. Everyone that you speak to in Bombay has the one that they used to go to. They will instantly recall its unique, communal atmosphere. The ethos was very democratic – they were places for everyone, the prices weren’t too high. It was a place where people would meet. We want to recreate that feel here in Dishoom. Covent Garden has that sense of people coming and going, people visiting. It’s a great place to meet, so it felt the right kind of spirit for us.”
It turns out that one of the reasons behind the unique feel of the Bombay cafes that Dishoom seeks to emulate was the fact that they were not actually Indian at all. As is so often the case, it was an idea brought in by outsiders that captured the locals’ hearts. “They were started by immigrants who originally came over from Iran in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,” Shamir explains. “At first they set up in the homes of previous immigrants, before moving out into their own premises. At the time the British were ruling India and the architectural style harked back to Europe. So trying to impress with their new businesses, new cafes had a nostalgic European feel. They had bentwood chairs, marble tables, spinning fans, mirrors and portraits of ancestors who actually look quite European.”
The ethos was very democratic – they were places for everyone, the prices weren’t too high. It was a place where people would meet. Covent Garden has that sense of people coming and going, people visiting. It’s a great place to meet, so it felt the right kind of spirit for us
Then of course there was the food. These Persian immigrants brought their food with them. They would serve masala eggs on toast in the morning. And they had a particular chai – a milky tea infused with different herbs and spices. They had dishes resembling the keemapPau found on Dishoom’s menu –minced lamb and a kind of flattened round naan bread. It seems strange that these foods that sound typically Indian to us today were once unfamiliar and exotic to the Bombay population, but they were. Over the years, as locals began to venture into these strange new cafes in ever increasing numbers, the food absorbed ideas from the local cuisine to create something unique to Bombay.
According to Dishoom’s head chef, Naved Nasir, the singular flavours of Bombay cafe cuisine that developed from this cultural blend are strongly reflected in the restaurant’s menu. “It is one of the things that made the cafes unique, so we follow that tradition here,” Navid he says. “We try to avoid cardamom, mace, nutmeg, which are all generally associated with Indian food. The kind of flavours we use will be things like lime, ginger, coriander, mint. We have our own house blends, but we don’t use a lot of different spices at the same time, which is something you find in more general Indian cooking. Also, the main cooking process that we use here is grilling. Most of our food is cooked on an open grill. Our aim is to keep the food simple, and very fresh. We try and balance the flavours in a way that the dominant flavours are all still visible”
Naved trained in Delhi at some of the best hotels in India, including the 5-star Sheraton. After moving to Bombay, he soon discovered a love for the city’s food. The Bombay Cafe is his first job outside the subcontinent, and the decision to move here was an easy one. “One of the reasons I like it here is that we were creating the only place I know where you can get the real flavour of Bombay food. In Bombay itself so many of these places have closed down that it is just about impossible to find anywhere which takes Bombay as its inspiration and serves all the food found there.”
Shamil says that the team spent an enormous amount of time and energy on the streets of Bombay, gauging the food of the city. “Our menu is a homage to Bombay, so we went out and looked. We all have family there, so we know the city well, but this was different. We were researching a very specific project so we had to look at the city in a new kind of way. There’s this place called Maleanea, which has a very democratic feel. It’s the kind of place that everybody heads for at midnight after a club. It is a very inexpensive place where a lot of the food is grilled. It’s full of the kind of people looking for genuinely inexpensive food, next to very rich people who go because it’s a great place to eat and very cool. Then there are other parts of Bombay – places like Chowpatty Beach, which has little flat breads and mashed vegetables. The menu here is very varied, but the thing that very much holds it together is that it is a homage to Bombay.”
Shamil’s favourite part of the menu is breakfast, and he is not alone. It looks a bit different, but is a real hit with both the staff and customers. For example, one breakfast is naan bread, bacon, coriander and chilli jam. Strange as the combination may seem, Shamil insists that it is grounded in Bombay’s cuisine. “We are very true to our roots,” he says “but within that we have had some fun. If you root yourself deeply in true authenticity and are true to your heritage, it gives you the freedom to play around without the results looking false. If you have a ‘cod’ version of the food, you find yourself restricted by the public’s perception and not being led by the authentic experience.”
The team also took very fresh approach to the drinks. After carrying out a blind beer tasting, the brews that worked best with the food were Meantime Union, a beer made in Greenwich, and Alhambra Especial, brewed in Spain. There were no thoughts of having to have an ‘Indian’ beer on the menu. The same approach was taken with the wine list – it is not an extensive list but what is there, is very specifically chosen to match the food.
What has especially thrilled me is to see a large number of Indian people here, especially from Bombay, who love it. They talk to us about being transported back in both space and time. They say the place gives them a feeling of nostalgia, and I whenever I hear that, I think we have managed to create something special
Of course the drinks menu did not escape the team’s sense of fun. “The bhang lassi is interesting,” says Shamil. “In India there is a tradition, particularly around festivals, of putting cannabis in the lassi – clearly not something we can do here. In many areas of India it is legal and holy men drink it. But we have taken that idea and played with it a bit and put rum in the lassi. It’s a bit if fun, and we put ginger and mint in as well. It’s a really delicious drink.”
In order to capture the Bombay cafe feel, getting the interior décor right was an important as nailing the food, so the design team was also taken to Bombay. “The Iranian cafes always had portraits of ancestors on the walls and adverts, so we have really taken that cue,” says Shamil. “We have portraits of our own families – my father and my grandparents appear. The beautiful lady by the door who looks like a 60s actress is my partner’s mother. We also have Bollywood music from the 40s and 50s and other cafe music from that time. It should feel like the cafe opened in 1935 and you are walking in. in the late 40s. There is also a list of rules – the original cafe owners, as immigrants, were very concerned that the behaviour in their establishments was seen to be correct, so they had lists of rules that had to be adhered to, and they were very particular about this.”
When I ask how the public are reacting, a huge smile breaks across Shamil’s face. Things are going well it seems. “What has especially thrilled me is to see a large number of Indian people here, especially from Bombay, who love it. They talk to us about being transported back in both space and time. They say the place gives them a feeling of nostalgia, and I whenever I hear that, I think we have managed to create something special.”
Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, St Martin’s Courtyard
020 7420 9320
Tags: Bombay Cafe, Covent Garden, Dishoom, Indian restaurant, Persian restaurant, Shamil Thakrar, St Martins Courtyard