Dishoom is a chain of Indian restaurants based in London, England. It was founded in 2010 by co-founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, along with Amar and Adarsh Radia, who both left the business in 2017. It was designed to match the Irani cafés popular in Bombay in the 1960s.
Described by some as Indian street food, the restaurant describes its offering as Bombay comfort food with an evolving menu. The menu includes breakfast naan.
The first Dishoom restaurant opened in 2010 in Covent Garden, London. In 2023, the brand opened its first spin-off concept, Permit Room. As of July 2025, the company operates 11 Dishoom restaurants across the UK and four Permit Room bars in Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton and Notting Hill.
Contents
Cookbook
In 2019, Dishoom published a cookbook with recipes for many of their popular dishes and cocktails, while also taking the reader on a tour of south Bombay.
Awards
Best hospitality company to work for in the UK by Glassdoor, 2023
Best hospitality company to work for in the UK by Glassdoor, 2022
Ranked #4, Times Best Places to Work For in the UK, 2021
Ranked #12, Best Places to Work for in the UK, 2021
Best Restaurant Scotland, British Curry Awards, 2021
Employer of the year, R200 Restaurant Awards 2021
Ranked #19, Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to work for, 2017
Best Overall Operator – under 20 sites – Restaurant Magazine R200, 2017
Most Admired Brand – CGA, Peach Heroes and Icon Awards, 2018
Restaurateur of the Year (Group) – The Catey's, 2018
Diversity in Business – Edinburgh Business Award, 2018
Best Breakfast Destination – The Scottish Food Awards, 2017
Best Small Group – Good Food Guide UK, 2017
Best Restaurant in the UK – Yelp! reviewers 2015 & 2016
Best Casual Dining, British Curry Awards – winner, 2014 & 2016
Charity
For every meal Dishoom serves, it donates "a meal to a child who would otherwise go hungry". They work with the charities Akshaya Patra (India) and Magic Breakfast (UK), founded by Carmel McConnell. "Collectively, Magic Breakfast and Akshaya Patra serve 21.8 million children in England, Scotland and India." As of January 2025, Dishoom claims to have donated more than 20 million meals.