Dishoom , Manchester

Having been all the way to that there London on a Samosa hunt and missed out on going to Dishoom (which was very much recomended for Samosas) - due to a long queue for a table and a train that refused to wait, I was pretty giddy to find that "The North" had now been Dishoomed.

Accompanied with the junior team of Samosa munchers, we headed West to Lancashire to see if the internet fuss could be justified.

First impressions were very good, despite impending virus lockdown and it being a Sunday morning and also in the middle of the St Patricks Day parade, there were a lot of staff on and it was quite busy. The reception was lovely and it felt more like arriving at the Ritz than a mid-priced restaurant. We were shown to an area where we could choose a table - which took a while as the restaurant is so huge we had quite a walk. Each area we walked through was lovely though, and had its own personality, all good so far. I don't think I would ever get bored of the location.

The menu was quirky and "streetfoody" with a chunk of it tricky to pronounce and not very recognisable (in a good way). The waiter was friendly and very helpful at explaining what was what. The prices were not "streetfoody" though, these are not cheap eats. Some of the "small plates" are over a tenner.

We ordered a wide range of bits and bobs, some that we thought were "mains" and some , that we thought were "starters". There were four of us and we were hungry. We felt we may have over ordered but the waiter , perhaps sensing that I could shift a lot of food, reassured us. The food all comes out when it comes out - which I like. We were sharing everything so this works well in that situation.

The samosas come in two flavours, lamb and veg, we only do non-meat samosas so naturally enough....

When they arrived, they were medium in size and looked lovely. £4.25 for the three isn't an outrage in such a lovely setting (and compared to some other dishes on the menu that we had, they were more reasonably priced). But oh, they could have been crispy. We all sighed as soon as we handled them, I think maybe they were warmed through again before serving - possibly even microwaved? Such a shame, as they were clearly hand made and the original cooking had been perfect - look at the golden colour! We were a bit deflated. 

The filling was lovely though, tasty and full of flavour without being overly fiery - anyone could have enjoyed them. I would have liked a better filling to pastry ratio myself, but my eldest taster said "they are perfect because I love pastry". Each to their own. 

The chutney was very tasty but really rather modest in proportions. Beautifully presented in tiny pots, but they were VERY tiny and only 1/4 filled. We had chilli (red) , coriander (green) and tamarind (brown) - the latter being a personal favourite. The samosas didn't need drowning as they were moist and full of flavour but I would have liked a bit more dip. 

All in all, good samosas, not fantastic, but really good. I think a 7.5 is fair. Had they been slightly better, with more chutney and freshly cooked/crispy it would have been a winning score, but no medals today. 

Do pay a visit though, our foursome had a lovely time, with 4 soft drinks and a small tip the £80+ bill was a bit of a surprise (I should have more attention to the pricey dishes), but I haven't had such variety in Indian food for a while and we had a great time trying new things that were beautifully presented and innovative. The "mains" weren't big though (more like a side dish in a typical restaurant), so you do need to order like greedy people if you want to be full up at the exit.  

Dishoom

32 Bridge St, Manchester M3 3BT

0161 537 3737

www.dishoom.com