Bombay Breakfast Club - a review of Dishoom Manchester breakfast menu
Nope, this isn't a review of a tribute band to Bombay Bicycle Club but a review of the excellent Dishoom restaurant's breakfast offering at their Manchester branch. It's rare to find restaurants offering alternatives to the standard fare of food, think full English breakfast or pastries, usually available in the morning - it's even rarer to easily access Indian-style breakfast in the UK. Dishoom are changing this.
Based at 32 Bridge Street in Manchester, Dishoom offers different dishes throughout the day that are perfect accompaniments to that point of time. To my surprise, Dishoom offered breakfast at their branch in Manchester with Indian cuisine being one I've wanted to try for breakfast for a long time. The design of their restaurant is inspired by the Iranian cafes that are slowly disappearing in Mumbai (Bombay) creating a charming and unique atmosphere that I am sure is emulated across all of their branches.
Upon arrival, we were shown to our four seater table for the two of us allowing for plenty of room for us to spread out and enjoy the meal. The menu is not ultra-extensive but offers a fair selection of good quality dishes that are not found in many other places.
We opted for:
- Keema Per Eedu - chicken mince with fragrant spices and small pieces of liver topped with two fried eggs and served with a side of brioche style buns. I ordered with an extra plan naan bread.
- Wrestler's Naan Roll - a hybrid dish combining fluffy naan bread with the British breakfast classics of egg, sausages and bacon
The Naan Roll was the more traditional option for breakfast - very much like a full English wrapped in naan bread as opposed to served with toast. The taste was as you would expect and, in my opinion, did not set the world on fire - it was good but not the best. The Keema Per Eedu, however, was unique and far more different to the usual breakfast options. I loved the flavour and taste despite not being the biggest fan of kidneys, which were not overly strong most likely because of the stronger flavour of the spices. Topped with the runny eggs to add more liquidity to the dish and slightly sweet brioche buns make the dish even better.
On the side I opted for a filter coffee which was enough to perk you up in the morning but the flavour didn't work well alongside the spices of the main breakfast dish. Instead, I recommend going for the chai - tea brewed in hot water, milk and with spices - which compliment the dishes perfectly. Even better, the chai is bottomless and you can have as much as you want - they will just keep coming with it!
I loved visiting Dishoom for breakfast, and even though my partner enjoyed it too - he said he wouldn't want it too often as it is quite a heavy meal for first thing in the day. Most would probably agree with this and it probably shows that this type of breakfast offering is unlikely to go ultra-mainstream in the UK any time soon. That is a shame because what Dishoom offers is something different and is something that I haven't had before. I will definitely try it again soon in London and hopefully give genuine Iranian café culture in Mumbai a go some day.
Dishoom is on 32 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BT and is open on weekdays between 08h and 23h as well as 09h to 23h on weekends. Other branches of Dishoom can be found in London (Kensington, Covent Garden, Carnaby, Shoreditch & King's Cross), Birmingham and Edinburgh. Booking a table is highly advised.