16 February,2015 07:47 AM IST | | The Guide Team
London chain Dishoom, an eatery themed on Mumbai's Irani cafés, has taken the top spot in a survey of the 100 best eating out places in the United Kingdom. Co-founder Shamil Thakrar hopes the win will inspire more to drop by the iconic Irani cafés
The Keema Pau at Dishoom
In a tribute to Mumbai and India, Dishoom by Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, and Amar and Adarsh Radia, beat big-ticket Michelin-starred restaurants including Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and 98 others to take the top spot in a survey conducted by Yelp! to select the 100 best eating out places in the United Kingdom.
The team behind Dishoom: (from left) co-founder Shamil Thakrar, head chef Naved Nasir and co-founder Kavi Thakrar
Unlike other restaurant ratings, the Yelp! list is collated by sourcing feedback from places that were most popular among regular eaters who visited the website. In an email chat with the guide recently, co-founder of Dishoom, Shamil Thakrar credited his entire team for the win: "Honestly, all of the credit goes to our team. Everyone at Dishoom works very hard to make sure every dish and drink is made with love and served to our guests with warmth. Without them, there would really be nothing."
The Keema Pau at Dishoom
The brand now runs three restaurants across London, having founded the first back in 2010 in Shoreditch, followed by Covent Garden and most recently, in King's Cross.
When asked if this was a good sign for Irani cafés back home, he said, "I'm not sure it will have much impact, but it would be nice to think that, in a small way, we might inspire people to pay a visit to the original Irani cafés and share their own stories, and thus help to preserve them."
The dish Kejriwal on their menu
He suggested that perhaps Yelp! could carry out a similar exercise in Mumbai. "I've no doubt some top spots would be filled with the likes of B Merwan, Yazdani, Kyani, Britannia and the rest!" he added. We can't wait.
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