Aaron S.
Yelp
Dishoom in Edinburgh is one of the most highly reviewed restaurants on Yelp in the city, as of March 2023, they have a 5-star average rating from 182 reviews, and based on my experience here, it's easy to tell why. The quality of food and service is exceptional. It was so good I had to make sure to visit multiple times during my short trip to Edinburgh!
Dishoom is a small Bombay/Mumbai-inspired chain of restaurants with many restaurants in London and a few others dotted around the UK, including locations in Birmingham, Manchester and of course this one here in Edinburgh.
The restaurant is very large and is over three floors, with the kitchen on the ground level, the main restaurant area on the upper level, and the bar area on the lower floor.
They do not accept reservations after 17:45 unless you are a party of six or greater, but the wait for a table generally doesn't tend to be too bad, you will be given a pager, to come back when a table is ready. I do find the fact they turn their phone lines off at this time, to be a little frustrating, as it means you're unable to call ahead and get a rough idea of the wait time.
The menu and concept are pretty much the same as any Dishoom, on both occasions, I opted for my regular order. Chicken Ruby with Gunpowder Potatoes and Basmati Rice, the food is of course a little pricey but considering the quality of both the food and the service, it is something worth splurging on as a treat or special occasion.
The potatoes had a slight kick and were cooked well, and the chicken ruby was spiced well and had large and generous chunks of chicken with spices, while the rice had a perfect consistency and fluffiness and was excellent when soaking up the sauce of my chicken ruby.
PRO TIP: The chai is refillable until the evening, and it's always hot the combination of spices makes it great to have a couple of glasses before and after your meal, combine it with some tap water, and you'll never be thirsty.
The allergen knowledge from the staff is very impressive, they have a gluten-free menu as well as an allergen folder to advise of any dishes that may be listed as a may contain.
Every single staff member here works really hard and is super friendly, on my first night here, I had a wonderful lady called Gabby, we ended up chatting about my local Dishoom in Manchester, and she told me my regular server back home actually used to work in Edinburgh and they were friends - small world! On my second night, I had a male server who was also super friendly. On both occasions, nothing was too much trouble for the servers, and my water and chai were never empty.
The fact they're open until 11 pm, which is later than other restaurants nearby which close between 9 pm and 10 pm is also useful for night owls like myself, my server told me they have last orders around 15-20 minutes before they close, and the staff leave when the last customers leave.
There is an optional service charge, which I normally disagree with, but the service is so good here, I just couldn't take it off as they work their socks off and deserve every penny of it.
It's hard to fault this place, with excellent food and excellent service, as well as a comfortable and unique interior, it is one of my favourite places to eat in Edinburgh, and this place would be first on my list when returning to Scotland and that's a five out of five in my book.