International Eats! London edition - Indian Food

I was fortunate enough to be able to plan a 10 day vacation to London and Paris this month. I haven't traveled much outside of the U.S. Except for Mexico, Canada and one trip to Haiti. I was so excited to see Europe!

I couldn't wait to explore two completely different cities - the culture, history and of course FOOD!! 

London isn't really known for being an astounding food city but I received plenty of recommendations about their great Indian food from friends. I am not a big fan but my friend, Christiana, who I traveled with was so we checked it out. Several friends suggested a place called Dishoom so we went to their location in Covent Garden. 

We were warned that there would be a long wait to get a table so we weren't surprised to hear of a 45 minute wait. We were treated to spicy chai tea while in line then about 15 minutes later a few tables outside were free and we were able to sit there immediately. Apparently, the British don't enjoy eating outside like New Yorkers do. ;)

Dishoom had a completely separate gluten free menu that highlighted which dishes on their regular menu were gluten free. It was great - so easy to choose. 

We started with Bhel - a crunchy puffed rice dish with "Bombay mix," pomegranate, tomatoe, onion, lime, tamarind and mint. It was very refreshing and delicious. 

We both ordered our own main dish with plans of sharing. My friend got Chicken Ruby which was essentially Chicken Tiki Masala and I got their special which was coconut curry shrimp with rice. Dayyuummm! It was good. I love coconut flavored dishes. It also wasn't too spicy - which I hate so it was perfect. 

We loved the meal so much that when we returned to London on the last night of our trip we visited their Shoreditch location. This time we ordered fried okra to start along with Bhel. For our main course, Christiana got the Chicken Ruby again. 

Unfortunately for me, the specials are different between locations so I couldn't get coconut shrimp curry. :(  After about 800 questions to the server on what wasn't too spicy, I went with Chicken that was marinated in creamy red sauce for 24 hours, rice and Indian black beans. The chicken was delicious. I literally touched it with my fork and it fell apart. So tender and not spicy at all! 

If traveling to London, I highly recommend trying one of Dishooms many locations. Definitely prepare for a wait, but trust me it's worth it!