We have been here in London for the last 3 days and staying at an Airbnb in Covent Garden. We have been trying to dine at @Dishoom (a popular Indian/ Irani fusion cuisine restaurant). Everyday we walk by the restaurant 3-4 times a day on our way to the Tube station or back home. There is huge line of people waiting to go in and get a table. We tried to get in a few times and were told that the wait is atleast 90 min. We tried to email them ahead of time, but were informed that they can not accommodate large groups (we are a group of 17). It is just crazy and we are unable to fathom why it is so difficult to get a table here… This is true of all their locations in London. There are some wild theories that have been discussed about why it is so difficult to get a table here…. here’s a few of them;

– their service is soooo slow that it takes forever for people to get done with their meals. By the time you finish breakfast, it is time for lunch and so on….

– all the food on their menu is prepared fresh with the best ingredients , that it takes them very long to complete each item on the order

– the food is so expensive that people take a long time to finish their meal, enjoying every morsel of their meal.

– Dishoom has actually paid people to stand in line outside the restaurant all day (they serve tea for everyone in line)

– the seating capacity at each of their restaurant location is only 12…

– food is free and people don’t want to leave.

– the portion are so small, that you have order a lot of food to finish your meal, you never get done

– this is an owner operated restaurant… there is only person inside who does everything – cook, serve, clean, charge etc…

– people waiting in line outside the restaurant are not real people, they are mannequins borrowed from Madame Tussaud’s

OR

THE FOOD IS AWESOME and everyone wants to eat here..

Did I mention that Dishoom has been rated Michelin Star since 2012 and was voted the best restaurant in UK.

Today is our last day here in London. We decided that we  would  go in early  and try Dishoom for breakfast. We are now a smaller group since. some folks have already left. for the US. We went in early at 8.45 am.. there was already one family waiting there. Very quickly 3 or 4  families showed up. The doors opened at 9 and the restaurant was full by 9.15 am.

We ordered Irani Chai,  Parsi Omlette, Chicken Keema Per Eedu and a few. other items on the menu. All of them were excellent. The chai brought back memories of Irani chai in Mumbai or Hyderabad. Chicken Keema with pav was fantastic… The sweet uttapam stack was 2 stars… Service is efficient, food very good. (mostly) and ambience very nice. Overall, a fantastic experience at Dishoom. Getting in is the challenge…