Dum Biryani House
Except no. Because it’s just a single door with a rather roughshod sign and a worn out doormat. There’s nothing stylish, chic, urban, alluring or hip about it. Tourists and out-of-towners would avoid it like the plague. Which is ace, because it means there’s a place we can always stop for a delicious meal just off Oxford Street without booking.
Downstairs in the basement it’s stripped-back Indian shabby chic, fun and well done – I can’t tell whether by accident or design. Fun art decks the walls. The menu is pretty stripped-back as well, with three of the eponymous biryanis and maybe a dozen other things in different categories (looks like this is just the Sunday brunch menu though, there’s more on evenings). We pick a street snack of battered giant banana chilli stuffed with delicious things with a splodge of tangy brown sauce on the side, which is very moreish, and then wait for our biryani to arrive.
Big yellow chilli
And there’s a whole lamb shank tucked away in there among the rice, cooked to absolute collapse and a deep pink colour. The spices build up to a warm glow like coals have been lit at the back of your mouth. You can soothe that with the sweet and radioactively purple beetroot yogurt sauce that comes with it. We absolutely loved it. One biryani definitely does two normal appetites, especially if you have a starter!
We just drank lassi with it. The mango one was epic, with a good hit of saffron to go with the fragrant fruit and the whole thing not oversweetened. The sweet lassi was just a tad too thick for my liking; with the salty taste and curdled texture it was a bit like eating… hmm. No, actually, not gonna go there. The chai is good.
Basically brilliant for under £20 a head. Just don’t tell too many people about it.
Biryani time!