DISHOOM to open in Shoreditch

29 July 2012

An eccentric old Irani Café recently arrived, EastLondon.

“One day, an old Irani Café, creaking slightly atthe seams, made the long trip from Bombay c.1970 to London in 2012. Tired from the long journey, it shuffled into an empty space in Shoreditch and made itself comfortable. This old Café had for some time been corresponding with its slightly more showy cousin who had made a similar trip and had found a home in CoventGarden.”

The team behind the well-loved Bombay café DISHOOM in Covent Garden is delighted to announce that they will open DISHOOM SHOREDITCH in October 2012.Tucked away on Boundary Street in the heart of Shoreditch, the space will include a bar, café, kitchen dining room and courtyard.

Dishoom pays loving homage to the Irani cafés that were once part of the fabric of life in Bombay. Opened early last century by Persian immigrants, there were almost four hundred of these cafés at their peak in the 1960s. Now fewer than thirty remain.

Dishoom Shoreditch will show a deeply felt reverence for these old cafés through its design by Russell Sage Studio. The design team and Dishoom founders spent many days in the remaining cafés (too much eating, too much chai) listening to the stories of the owners, seeking inspiration from the original designs, fixtures and fittings and trying to understand the eccentric personality of each café.

The space in Shoreditch will remain true to its existing architecture, but will act as stage set for the café, bar and kitchen dining room. Those familiar with the Irani cafés will recognise myriad references to specific cafés. The overall atmosphere is intended to feel true to the comfortable and lived-in old cafés, which – if they were to somehow make the long journey – might even feel at home in East London. 

Outside, there will be a courtyard with tables and chairs leading to an airy bar space, bakery and café seating, and a kitchen dining room on the lower ground floor. As ever,the Dishoom kitchen will be open all day from breakfast through to dinner serving Head Chef Naved Nasir’s much enjoyed Dishoom menu, taking its inspiration from the Irani cafes, Bombay street grills and food of south Bombay. The bar will serve the kinds of cocktails that would have had currency in a pre-independence Bombay – Flips, Gimlets, Sours, Old Fashioneds and Juleps, their herbs and botanics nodding to journeys between the continents.

Dishoom Shoreditch is looking forward to settling in to its new home and welcoming you there!

"United Cakes of America" - Outsider Tart reveal the secrets to a perfect Cheesecake

4 July 2012

To celebrate Independence Day the two Davids from American bakery Outsider Tart in Chiswick cook the perfect cheesecake for Metro, with a bit of Britishness thrown in via clotted cream! Chloe Scott gives a bit of history into the cheesecake and the Davids give their recipe for a classic, and wow does it look tasty!

Here's a link to the online version on MetroUK - http://bit.ly/LRHsI1

NOPI's Head Chef Ramael Scully launches new A La Carte

3 July 2012

NOPIrestaurant opened over a year ago just north of Piccadilly, its perfectlyformed bold and colourful small dishes reflecting contemporary London withingredients from around Britain and flavours from the Mediterranean, MiddleEast and Asia. NOPI’s surprising ingredient combinations conjure comfort,elegance and ultimately taste sensations, served in their brasserie-styledining room of marble, brass, tiles and wood or in front of the buzzing kitchenon the lower level.

Overone year on and NOPI’s Head Chef Ramael Scully has launched a new menu for lunch and dinner. The menuhas been reconstructed to offer, in addition to the existing ‘Vegetables’,‘Fish’ and ‘Meat’ dishes to share, Nibbles, new Main course and side dishes. Amonth on and this combination has proved to be hugely popular.

Sample new menu

Nibbles – vegetable crudités,avocado and yoghurt dip / Ottolenghi roasted spicy nuts / Lavosh crackers,butter bean and lemon puree.

Mains – Seared 30 day dry agedScottish rib-eye steak, asparagus, pickled ginger / Cornish lemon sole, burntbutter, nori and ginger / Smoked ricotta rotolo, Swiss chard, pumpkin seeds /Lamb rump, vanilla endive, sorrel pesto.

Sides – Organic red quinoa,tropea and watercress salad / Sautéed spring greens / Herb salad / CrushedNoirmoutier potatoes, caperberries, roasted garlic

Dishes to Share or Starters– Burrata,flat white peach, coriander seeds / Roasted aubergine, black garlic, harissa,pine nuts / Fried courgette flowers, ricotta, schneeflockli cheese, datemolasses / Mackerel, nettle vichyssoise, green apple, wasabi fish roe / PresaIberica, peanut mango acar, pickled pomelo.

Puddings – Chocolate and almondcake, apricot kernel cream / Lavender labneh, roasted rhubarb, pine nutbiscotti / Farro pudding, orange blossom, sesame brittle / Apricot and pandanfinanciers, coconut passion fruit cream / Caramel and roasted peanut ice cream,chocolate sauce.

Pre-theatre menu

NOPIalso serves a pre-theatre menu, a great success given its enviable theatredistrict position. The set menu of sharing plates is priced at £21.50 perperson or £24.50 including dessert. Sample dishes from this menu includeRoasted cauliflower, ricotta, golden raisins, capers / Crispy baby squid,almond tarator, lime relish / Slow cooked pork belly, coco bean cassoulet,salsa verde / Chargrilled broccolini, skordalia, chilli oil / Caramel androasted peanut ice cream, chocolate sauce.

Breakfast

Breakfast isserved every day at NOPI, serving exquisite food such as Borlotti bean stew,chorizo, fried Italian egg / French toast, star anise sugar, berry compote,orange yoghurt / Black rice, coconut milk, banana, mango / Shakshuka (braisedItalian eggs, piquante tomato sauce, smoked labneh) / Courgette and manourifritters, lime yoghurt.  With its elegant, light and airysurroundings matched with attentive service, a varied and enticing menu and abuzzing atmosphere, but still quiet enough to conduct a fruitful meeting, NOPIis the ideal setting for the business breakfast.