Dear Dishoom,
I will never forget the first meal I had at your location in Shoreditch. It was the Sunday before I was due to fly home after visiting David in London for the weekend. This was back in our long-distance dating days, before he moved back to the United States and way before we had Bear. We had plans to check out Rooftop Cinema Club on a gorgeous London evening, but first, he suggested we grab dinner and away we went. I had no idea that a lifelong love affair was about to begin.
First, let me acknowledge that you played hard to get, as the lines for dinner service were always crazy long, and we had given up waiting a few times before. Honestly, I hate nothing more than waiting in line for hours. We arrived early for dinner that night and only had to wait about 40 minutes for our table, which was a win. I did like your cocktails, and the space was really neat, but it wasn’t until we went downstairs and I saw the menu that I knew I was in trouble. Your menu is immense and I think we ordered five times the amount of food that we really needed to because there were just too many good things to try. The standout, as always, was the black dahl which I am still obsessed with to this day.
This is a little embarrassing for a self-proclaimed foodie who supposedly likes to try new things to admit, but my obsession has not faded in the least. Every time we are in London, Edinburgh, or wherever you have a spot to call home, we make sure to eat with you at least twice, even if we are only in town for one night. We always try to pick at least one different dish that we haven’t had before, but we cannot seem to stray from our all time favorites, especially the black dahl. The only time I remember straying from the black dahl was when I had a 5 hour layover at London Heathrow and crossed the immigration rubicon (pre e-gates) into the city and took the Tube into town to join you for breakfast. I was by myself at the time and I remember the pilgrimage I made to the Kensington location and how wonderful that breakfast was. I would not willingly subject myself to immigration at Heathrow with such a relatively short layover for anyone else.
The memory of our meals with you and your marketing even brought us comfort during the pandemic. I had bought your cookbook for David for Christmas the year it was published and I was delighted to see the black dahl recipe. We carefully ordered all of the correct ingredients and planned on bringing a little bit of our favorite dish home to the US since we were not able to visit you in London. Of course, what actually happened? Absolutely nothing. And this was even before we had Bear and the fast forward button really got hit on life! All of the ingredients are still in our cupboard, waiting for us to use them to this day, including the 5 pound bag of black dahl. I think we were too afraid to get it wrong; then maybe someday, we will have the courage to finish what we purchased.
Now we have a new team member who we’ve introduced to the delight of your incredible menu, style and culinary execution. So far, this letter has been about your food which isn’t really giving you full justice of the beauty that is your restaurant design. I love that each location is different and brings its own unique features to the experience while still being cohesive enough to know exactly where you were eating. All of your many faces are lovely. Would I call you a theme restaurant to your face? It seems like a dirty accusation, but what a wonderful theme and experience it is; you transport those dining with you to another world without being heavy handed about it. I really can’t think of another restaurant that does a better job telling its story.
However, I do have one small, kindly meant suggestion. Maybe put a quieter hand dryer in the family room? On Bear’s first visit at the ripe old age of 12 weeks old, I went to change him in the family restroom (which is great!) and thought idly “Man, that Dyson is gonna be super loud.” I do not think Bear made as much noise as he did when the deafening roar started for another year when he was three times the size. I am pretty sure I have not cursed out loud at that volume since then either. But that is just a mere quibble! Everything else you do is pretty much perfection as far as I am concerned. I especially love that you allow reservations for lunch so we do not have to stand in your long, long lines (for we are not the only ones who love you).
We may be separated by oceans, but I know we will meet again. Until then, stay wonderful and true to yourself. And, please, for the love of everything that is holy, never take the black dahl off your menu.
Love,
Kelly