Like their other restaurants, this newest member of the Dishoom family will pay loving homage to the old Irani cafés of Bombay, and will be open every day from early until late, serving Executive Chef Naved Nasir’s breakfast menu (with the renowned Bacon Naan Roll), followed by the all-day sharing menu of Bombay comfort food – small plates, grills, biryanis, salad plates, rolls and curries.
Dishoom Manchester will also feature a Permit Room bar, serving Daru-walla1 Carl Brown’s brilliant list of delicious and sincere tipples, as well as some brand-new cocktails and a range of excellent non-alcoholic cocktails, known as ‘copy tipples’.
Irani cafés Irani cafés were once part of the fabric of life in Bombay. Opened early last century by Zoroastrian immigrants from Iran, there were almost four hundred of these cafés at their peak in the 1960s. Now fewer than thirty remain.
Their faded elegance welcomed all: courting couples, sweaty taxi-wallas, students, artists and lawyers. The cafés broke down barriers by bringing people together over food and drink. Bombay was more open and welcoming for their existence. Dishoom pays homage to these Irani cafés and the food of all Bombay.
The Dishoom team loves exploring the connections between their restaurant locales and Bombay, and immersing themselves in the past. So, in Dishoom Manchester, they saw an opportunity to explore the unexpected links between Manchester, Bombay and Freemasonry.
As always, the team spent much time in the remaining Irani cafés, as well as sourcing original furniture and artefacts, which will be lovingly restored and put to good use in Dishoom Manchester.
The creative team behind Dishoom always write a story – a founding myth – for each restaurant. This founding myth provides the basis for every design decision and is always deeply rooted in an aspect of Bombay history.
And so, while exploring Bombay-Manchester links, the team were delighted to discover a novel called ‘The Tower of Silence’ (from a lost manuscript, recovered and published by historian and good friend of Dishoom, Gyan Prakash,).
It was written by a little-known author named Phiroshaw Jamsetjee Chevalier, and originally published in 1927, (at the same time that Manchester Hall was under construction). The novel sees the fictional but famous British private eye Sexton Blake and an elusive Parsi vigilante known only as ‘Beram’ journey between London, Manchester and Bombay.
The team were absorbed by this boisterous (and at times barmy) 1920s pulp fiction narrative, and it is this which they have drawn inspiration from for the interior of the restaurant.
Dishoom Manchester is set to open in winter 2018, and it safe to say that we are giddy with excitement to see what they have in store for us.
