“Coming from an entrepreneurial family I realised that just wasn’t my calling. This move into entrepreneurship came after a stint in banking. It’s also been suggested that a Manchester branch could be in the works.Īdarsh enjoyed using his creativity with Dishoom, something that was stifled while running his first business (also with his brother) – a franchise of Subway sandwiches. Its turnover for 2014 (the latest figure filed to Companies House) was £10.2m. It was voted the UK’s best place to eat in 2016 in a list compiled by Yelp, which was created by analysing data from users of the site. But if you’re in a group of six or more we appreciate that you need to plan ahead.”ĭishoom’s success has been humbling, he says. “Being able to reserve is kind of ,” adds Radia. “They were democratic they weren’t exclusive.” While India in the early 1900s was divided by class, caste and religion, Irani cafes were a place of inclusion – anyone could enter and the food was reasonably priced. The reservations policy was also rooted in the Irani cafe model, explains Adarsh. If you visit a branch of Dishoom, you’ll notice the close attention to detail, from the burning incense to the retro rule signs, such as: “All Chai is coming strictly without opium”. These spaces ended up being community hubs in Bombay – and for us that was amazing. They were trying to recreate the Parisian brasseries and the grand cafes of Vienna.

They were formed by the Parsi community who were very western in their thinking. “We fell in love with the idea of the Irani cafes of Bombay. The Radia brothers grew up in an Indian family in Kenya, while the Thakrars lived in the UK but enjoyed regular trips to India as children.īefore launching the business in 2010, a group trip to Mumbai cemented the idea for how Dishoom would stand out in the crowded restaurant industry. They spent three years deciding how it would look, but the driving force was their shared experience of home-made Indian food.

Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/The Guardianĭishoom was founded by Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, who are cousins, and Adarsh and his brother Amar.

Dishoom reservations