DUM Biryani House

DUM Biryani House - open now in the heart of Soho. Monday-Saturday: 12 - 3pm and 6 - 11pm. Sunday and Public Holidays: 12 - 3pm and 6 - 10:30pm

DUM Biryani House - An Indian restaurant in the heart of Soho

http://www.dumlondon.co.uk

Halal Gems › Review : DUM Biryani House

Shortly after Eid, we visited DUM Biryani House – an Indian restaurant in the heart of Soho specialising in Biryani from Le Cordon Bleu alumnus Dhruv Mittal.

According to the DUM Biryani House website ‘DUM refers to the cooking method of Biryani where meat or vegetables are layered with rice and steamed together until they are both cooked to perfection’.

DUM Biryani House has a small but sufficient menu and we started off with the Kopi Vepudu Wings and Mutton Fry, washed down with a bottle of Thums Up.

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Dum Biryani House Soho restaurant review

The buzzEx Fat Duck and Hibiscus alumni Dhruv Mittal opened his first restaurant in Soho late last year – a biryani house specialising in Telugu cuisine, used in the southern areas of Indian of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

This style of cooking is known for its rich spicy flavours, characterised by chilli and rice-based dishes which are kept on 'dum' – which means pots of food are steamed on a low heat for hours until the rice, meat and vegetables are artfully cooked.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The lowdownDUM Biryani House is unassuming from the outside; in fact you may well have walked past the discreet door that leads down to its basement restaurant.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Menu highlightsThe menu at Dum is small yet considered – this is a team who know what they're good at and play to those strengths.

Perfect for…Dinner with friends or colleagues, where you can while away the evening in one of Dum's colourful vaults while eating some of the best Indian food London has to offer.187B Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZB; 020 3638 0974, dumlondon.com...

DUM Biryani House, Wardour Street, London: Restaurant Review ...

One of the latest restaurants to grace London’s Wardour Street is DUM, a biryani house opened by Dhruv Mittal (formerly of The Fat Duck and Hibiscus).

Starters, or small plates, on the menu include kodi veppudu (chicken wings in a spicy, sour masala); gurda kapura (dry masala lamb kidneys) – which is a roadside ‘dhaba’ classic usually eaten after work; and andhra fried shrimp with coconut and chilli, all at around the £5 mark.

Spiced nuts, kala channa (spiced black chickpeas), dahi kebab (fried yogurt patties), kodi vepudu (chicken wings) and Andhra king prawn fry each demonstrate the kitchen’s understanding of spicing; all are gloriously aromatic and distinguished by subtly different masala blends.

As well as curry leaves, a lick of coconut milk and grated coconut on the prawn fry softens the kick of a red chilli paste; the chicken wings – coated in masala – are tempered by a squeeze of Indian lemon.

Any restaurant, like DUM biryani house, with a menu limited to five starters and two main courses has the opportunity to ensure that its handful of ingredients are impeccably sourced.

DUM Biryani House | Basement Biryani Den In The Heart Of Soho ...

DUM Biryani House | Soho Indian Restaurant India is a vast nation, filled with dozens of rich regional traditions – but all too often, Indian restaurants here in the UK try to be the jack of all culinary trades, and the master of naan.

Coming to us from Dhruv Mittal (ex-Fat Duck), it specializes in Hyderabadi biryani, and more or less only Hyderabadi biryani.

For those who haven’t butched up on their regional dishes of the Asian subcontinent before coming here, a biryani is a dish in which meat, spices, and rice are all cooked served in the same pot (here topped with a light, airy pie-like crust) creating a layered, infused flavour.

The star of the show is irrefutably the lamb shank biryani; presented as a generously portioned thali platter this comes accompanied by curry with green chilli, a half boiled egg, fried okra raita, and two varieties of papadom.

DUM Biryani House | 187b Wardour Street, W1F 8ZB   Like being in the loop about London’s newest bar and restaurant openings?

Dum Biryani House Soho restaurant review

The buzzEx Fat Duck and Hibiscus alumni Dhruv Mittal opened his first restaurant in Soho late last year – a biryani house specialising in Telugu cuisine, used in the southern areas of Indian of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

This style of cooking is known for its rich spicy flavours, characterised by chilli and rice-based dishes which are kept on 'dum' – which means pots of food are steamed on a low heat for hours until the rice, meat and vegetables are artfully cooked.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The lowdownDUM Biryani House is unassuming from the outside; in fact you may well have walked past the discreet door that leads down to its basement restaurant.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Menu highlightsThe menu at Dum is small yet considered – this is a team who know what they're good at and play to those strengths.

Perfect for…Dinner with friends or colleagues, where you can while away the evening in one of Dum's colourful vaults while eating some of the best Indian food London has to offer.187B Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZB; 020 3638 0974, dumlondon.com...

Dum Biryani House, Indian Biryani Soho,Dum Biryani House Review

I was really excited to be invited to review Dum Biryani House, a new casual Indian restaurant in the heart of Soho focusing both on Hyderabadi Biryani as well as snacks, and starters from the Andhra Pradesh region.

I’m not a specialist in Indian gastronomy but was aware that many of the country’s regions have their own take on the Biryani and that it is an important dish in Indian food culture.

The meat is spiced overnight, then soaked in yoghurt, layered with the rice in a pot which is then sealed with pastry and cooked over hot coals (dum).

We tried a range of starters including Kodi Vepudu (moreish chicken wings in a spicy and sour masala), a light and crisp Dahi Kebab (spiced fried yoghurt patties with a sweet Andhra tomato chutney) and a hot and tangy Andhra Prawn Fry (King Prawns cooked in coconut and red chillies).

Despite being very full it got finished… If you want to eat Biryani in London without going out east or west in a hip Soho space then DUM Biryani House is a great choice.

DUM Biryani House, Wardour Street, London: Restaurant Review ...

One of the latest restaurants to grace London’s Wardour Street is DUM, a biryani house opened by Dhruv Mittal (formerly of The Fat Duck and Hibiscus).

Starters, or small plates, on the menu include kodi veppudu (chicken wings in a spicy, sour masala); gurda kapura (dry masala lamb kidneys) – which is a roadside ‘dhaba’ classic usually eaten after work; and andhra fried shrimp with coconut and chilli, all at around the £5 mark.

Spiced nuts, kala channa (spiced black chickpeas), dahi kebab (fried yogurt patties), kodi vepudu (chicken wings) and Andhra king prawn fry each demonstrate the kitchen’s understanding of spicing; all are gloriously aromatic and distinguished by subtly different masala blends.

As well as curry leaves, a lick of coconut milk and grated coconut on the prawn fry softens the kick of a red chilli paste; the chicken wings – coated in masala – are tempered by a squeeze of Indian lemon.

Any restaurant, like DUM biryani house, with a menu limited to five starters and two main courses has the opportunity to ensure that its handful of ingredients are impeccably sourced.

Dum Biryani House | Restaurants in Soho, London

Well lit and spacious, with edgy concrete flooring, the vibe at Dum Biryani is brilliantly quirky: think vintage-style posters with taglines like ‘Oops, I burnt the rotis!’

Cool yoghurt patties were followed by sticky, fiercely-spiced, ginger-strewn chicken wings and, my personal favourite, a creamy prawn ‘fry’ curry, topped with grated fresh coconut.

A ‘dum’ biryani is one cooked, Hyderabadi-style, in a pot sealed with dough, so the meat and rice steam together very slowly, making it moist and more flavourful.

Yet my one-pot-wonder – the chicken drumstick version – came unpleasantly dry, with a peculiar sour edge.

Hell, I’d go for that playlist.