The History Of Iranian Cafes: Dishoom And Communal Eating

By Solomon Park

I’ll admit it, I’m a massive foodie. In fact, I am writing a 30-page philosophy thesis about the relation between food and philosophy; more on that later. Relatively recently, there has been a trend in dining that has become more mainstream. Restaurants are phasing out traditional threecourse menus for a notably different setup –tapas. Here’s how it works. Instead of ordering individually, the table orders a bunch of dishes to be shared. This format allows a group to try many different dishes and is a great way to eat more communally! While we were in London we got to try a popular restaurant called Dishoom that specializes in this format.

Dishoom takes its inspiration from the Iranian cafes of the 1900s. First created by Zoratrian immigrants, these old cafes were OG fast food spots where travelers could grab a quick bite before heading off with their day. At their nine locations across the UK, they have painstakingly attempted to recreate the same aesthetic in these old cafes. With its sleek mid-century modern furniture and tasteful homages to the past, the Covent Garden location blends the past with the present, bringing the essence of these traditions into the modern day.

As I mentioned above, Dishoom’s menu is composed of small dishes that are supposed to be ordered for the table. When eight other people and I went for lunch, I was tasked with ordering for half of the table. Given how hungry we all were, this was a heavy responsibility! After assessing interests, we decided on ordering: raita (a cold yogurt dish), three orders of garlic naan, two orders of vegetable samosas, two orders of rice, chicken ruby (a chicken curry), Daal (a lentil curry), a sheekh kebab, an order of chicken tikka, and plenty of chai. While this sounds like a lot of food, Dishoom is pretty affordable. We ended up spending only around 20 pounds each! Everything was delicious but, for me, the star of the show was the chicken ruby. A warm bowl of gentle spices and fall-off-the-bone chicken, I could have eaten the entire thing myself!

Returning to my thesis, my paper argues that the essence of food is language. The characteristic thing about food is that it shows stuff about the world by pointing to things, concepts, and histories beyond the plate of food at the table. Furthermore, food is a unique form of speech because of how it allows people to share different ideas. Our wonderful experience at Dishoom exemplifies the concept I have in mind. The food showed elements of the old Iranian cafes, and it did so by highlighting those histories and dishes. Additionally, because of that meal, we all now have some semblance of what Iranian cafes are all about and can communicate those ideas with other people.

Food in London is unfairly stereotyped as being boring and bland. All my experiences have shown that this is not the case. Dishoom was probably the best thing I ate while on the trip, and it was a place we tried to go to again before we left.