As usual, there’s a queue outside Dishoom, despite the fact that it’s a quite unremarkable Tuesday evening in early October. Or is it? Because, we’re here to be some of the first people to try out what is a momentous occasion at this stalwart of Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square dining scene. A brand new menu awaits and as we’re whisked past the – in some places nonplussed and in others downright grumpy – queue to sample some of the Bombay-inspired restaurant’s latest creations, we can’t wait to discover the first evolution of the menu since the group’s 2010 launch.
It’s a menu that has been crafted after several food research trips abroad, where Dishoom’s chefs tasted an extraordinary 100 dishes a day to ensure that only the best flavour combinations came home with them. We’re ensconced beneath the spinning celling fans, sipping a chai and enjoying the bustling atmosphere when the first wave of newness appears. We’re sharing everything, which is a blessing when we realise just how much food we’re going to be presented with.
We get enthusiastically stuck into a platter of chota papads, hexagonal prism-shaped spiced poppadom puffs dipped in Dishoom’s very own house mango chutney. It’s a great start, and my colleague Rosie quickly vows to take her spice-loving family members for a Dishoom visit on the back of that chutney alone. Then there’s up-to-date pau, aromatic spiced lamb mince with a pleasant kick and a gentle warmth from the lindi pepper s.
