WHEN is an Old Fashioned ‘new fashioned’? Look no further than Dishoom, whose cocktail list refuses to play second fiddle to its Indian comfort food modelled on the Irani cafes of old Mumbai (or Bombay as it was known in the days of the Raj).
So much of that imperial influence filters through in the restaurant’s glorious conversion of a prime bit of Manchester Hall. Not least in the spirited potions and concoctions of the bar staff. Who could resist a Viceroy’s Old-Fashioned, a bottle-aged muddle of Woodford Reserve bourbon, bayleaf reduction, green tea and a raft of other spirit hints?
Well obviously those determined adherents to Dry January or even the abstemious life year round. So Dishoom policy, ably administered by head barman Ryan Hill and his Permit Room bar staff, is to cater for that clientele with their 'V for Virtue: Sober Menu for Sober Patrons' roster of ‘Dry Tipples’. Even, whisper it softly, a Dry Old-Fashioned, consisting of smoked demerara sugar, orange bitters, applewood, cayenne and orange peel for £6.50.
Did it fool the ToM team, who drank solidly throughout January and are only reining in now it’s Frugal February? Well, no. It didn’t have the true, belly-warming kick of bourbon, but it was smooth and tasty.
Even better was a whisky-free whisky sour, called the Virtuous Tulsi Sour (again £6.50, teetotal comes cheaper). Tulsi is the aromatic, almost narcotic herb the Thais call holy basil. Here blended with ginger, lemon and those old ‘secret botanicals’ it has a moreish pisco sour kind of attraction.
So far, so good, but a martini without booze? Sacrilege and so it proved. We didn’t order the espresso-led Dry Monsoon Martini (£6.50), pictured above, but went for the Dry Tipples take on the classic version. Ginger and gentian root in grape and cucumber waters aim to ape the presence of gin but we found it insipid.
In true Mumbai fashion there are long ‘sharbats’ (sherberts), here replicating mojito or colada characteristics; our preference was for a more Indian experience that was tasty and refreshing that didn’t need any alcohol oomph. Kala Khatta Sharbat (£3.90) mixes kokum fruit juice, chilli, citrus and kala namak (black salt), stirred and left before being strained through ice cubes.
This was the best accompaniment of the four for snacks of bhel and prawn koliwada plus a more substantial dish of mata paneer with roti. By that time we had moved into the Bro Cursetjee Dining Hall, named after the first Indian Mason, the prime dining space with its own spectacular bar in front of the pick of the stained glass.
Lovely but the Permit Room is the place for serious drinking. Dishoom’s bar concept is named after the law brought in with the Bombay Prohibition Act in 1949 (and never officially repealed) that drinkers must have a licence to buy liquor. Here catch classic Indian-inspired cocktails sold in 'pegs' – the measures that alcohol would be prescribed in, in miniature glass bottles.
A dry month in the land of monsoons? We think probably not.
Dishoom, Manchester Hall, 32 Bridge St, Manchester M3 3BT. 0161 537 3737. Open from 8am on weekdays and 9am at weekends with a breakfast menu.
Dishoom to host ‘Too Many Critics’ charity dinner on March 18.