Last night, Manchester’s newest addition to the dining scene opened its doors and revealed a seriously stunning interior at Dishoom Manchester.
If you haven’t already been in to take advantage of the 50% off soft-launch period, we’d highly recommend booking yourselves in as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
The grade II listed grandeur of Manchester Hall (formerly the Freemason’s Lodge of Bridge Street) makes a fitting setting for the restaurant which comes ‘from Bombay, with love’. Designed to evoke the vintage elegance and simplicity of the old Irani cafes of Bombay, Dishoom Manchester transports guests to another world.
With the soft scent of Indian incense drifting from the entrance through to the entire space, Dishoom Manchester is littered with carefully considered furnishings, along with trinkets sourced from the ‘thieves’ markets’ of Mumbai. With antique light fixtures and prints, the space is inspired by history and heritage, whilst being cleverly split with staircases and Irani-café style wooden room dividers and glass partitions. This helps to create a faraway feel, and you could be forgiven for forgetting the rainy city outside.
Specially commissioned replica portraits of the Indian Mason’s Grand Masters hang around the room, marrying the new fixtures with the original features on the historical backdrop, including the spectacularly colourful stained glass windows (which are particularly stunning behind the bar).
The restaurant is now open from 8am on weekdays and 9am at weekends, with a delicious breakfast menu, including kerjriwa (cheese on toast, topped with eggs) and akuri (spiced scrambled eggs with grilled tomatoes) along with brunch cocktails, coffee, tea, chai and fresh juices.
Later, guests can enjoy moreish delicacies such as okra fries (thinly sliced vegetables seasoned with spices) and samosas, biryani and fish dishes. The Dishoom Manchester menu will also feature a slow-cooked lamb shank biryani dish, known as Nalli Nihari.
Guests at the launch event were invited to sample cocktails such as the ‘Viceroy’s Old-Fashioned’ and the ‘Bollybellini’ and canapes from the menu, such as spiced okra fries , paneer tikka (marinated cheese, gently charred with red and green peppers) chilli chicken (served crispy and bite-sized), biryani and chota vada pau (Bombay’s version of a chip butty).
Founded in Covent Garden in 2010, the Irani-Indian restaurant group now has five sites across London and one in Edinburgh. The Manchester site will join Mason’s Restaurant and bar and club Vanitas inside Manchester Hall, which underwent a major revamp last year.
Dishoom Manchester Reveals Open Date With 50% Soft Launch Offer
