Dishoom eyes US for first overseas restaurant

Dishoom has brought in advisers ahead of plans to launch its first overseas restaurant in the US.

The Indian restaurant group is understood to see a strong opportunity for the brand after running a successful pop-up at New York’s Pastis restaurant over the summer.

Plans are at an early stage, but it is expected Dishoom will have identified a site, potentially in New York, and will be ready to go to market within the next 12 months.

The group is currently taking advice and may bring in an investor or partner to help fund the rollout.

Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of Dishoom, said: “We have a long-held ambition to bring Dishoom to the US. It’s an important step, and while we are not in any rush, we are taking the opportunity to take advice from people that can help.”

It comes amid a period of expansion for Dishoom, which hired nearly 300 new staff members last year as its sales passed £100m for the first time.

The Indian restaurant group reported pre-tax profits of £7.4m in 2023, up from £4.7m the previous financial year.

Sales were boosted by the opening of a 235-seat Dishoom restaurant in London’s Battersea Power Station in 2023, while spin-off Permit Room bars have opened in Brighton, Cambridge and Oxford over the past two years.

Dishoom, which is inspired by the old Irani cafés of Bombay, was founded by Shamil and Kavi Thakrar in London’s Covent Garden in 2010.

The group now runs seven Dishoom restaurants in London and one each in Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.

It is understood Dishoom continues to see opportunities for further growth in the UK market as well as overseas.