London’s Dishoom brings Bombay vibes to NYC: A new chapter for global Indian dining

The smoky aroma of a freshly grilled bacon naan, the clink of chai glasses, the warm glow of vintage Bollywood posters — Londoners know these pleasures well. By late 2026, New Yorkers could be queuing for them too. Dishoom, the cult London restaurant inspired by Bombay’s Irani cafés of the 1960s, has confirmed plans for its first US outpost, marking a milestone in the global rise of contemporary Indian dining. Dishoom’s leap across the Atlantic was seeded last summer during a week-long pop-up at Pastis, the fashionable French bistro in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The collaboration drew huge crowds, sold out early each day, and convinced Dishoom’s founders that the city was ready for their particular blend of nostalgia, theatre, and hospitality.

The move is being powered by a new partnership with L Catterton, the consumer-focused private equity firm backed by luxury group LVMH. The deal — Dishoom’s first outside investment — reportedly values the brand at around £300 million and will fund its international expansion. Co-founder Shamil Thakrar described the investment as both a growth opportunity and a reaffirmation of values. “We are thrilled to be partnering with L Catterton, and excited about the future of the business,” Thakrar said. “It is wonderful to be contemplating the international opportunities ahead of us… more important than growth … is keeping our focus strongly on deepening our hospitality—on providing guests with the most delicious food and the warmest service.”

CEO Brian Trollip was equally forthright about the next step, commenting, “I was in New York last week looking at the site, and we’re very much hoping to get an offer in pretty soon. I don’t think we’ll be opening until the end of next year, if we were to get it, but we’re really keen to do that… All of us really, really love New York.”

And in words that will resonate with any restaurateur conscious of brand dilution, he added: “We don’t grow for growth’s sake… we only open another restaurant where we feel like we’ve got a story to tell that’s better than the last one.” Dishoom is far from alone in plotting a Manhattan move. A wave of top-tier London Indian restaurants is looking west, fuelled by American curiosity and investor confidence. Among them is Gymkhana, the Michelin-starred Mayfair institution modelled on the elite colonial-era clubs of India. Known for its tandoor lamb chops and wild muntjac biryani, Gymkhana has already expanded within London and is now, according to industry insiders, reportedly exploring overseas opportunities with New York being the prime target.

Also in the mix are Ambassadors Clubhouse, a contemporary Indian brasserie in Mayfair; Ama Khan’s Darjeeling Express, famous for its predominantly all-female kitchen; and The Cinnamon Club, Westminster’s fine-dining Indian landmark known for its political clientele. Each offers a distinctive interpretation of Indian cuisine, yet all share a similar trajectory: honing their craft in London’s competitive dining scene before attempting the high-stakes US market. The timing is not accidental. Brexit-era labor shortages, rising UK energy costs, and inflation have put pressure on the restaurant sector, prompting some of Britain’s best-known operators to look abroad for growth. Meanwhile, New York’s dining public — already accustomed to regional Indian street food, South Indian dosa houses, and Punjabi dhabas — has shown an appetite for more upscale, narrative-driven Indian restaurants.

The US market also offers deeper pockets and a scale of investment rarely matched in the UK. In this context, L Catterton’s backing of Dishoom is both a financial injection and a vote of confidence that London-born Indian brands can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with America’s best. This is more than a commercial story; it's also a cultural one. Dishoom’s success in London has always rested on its ability to evoke a specific place and time — mid-20th century Bombay — while making it accessible to diners with no personal connection to the city. At its King’s Cross branch, one of the few restaurants in London where patient customers queuing outside are offered steaming cups of chai, the hospitality begins before anyone even reaches a table.

Staff may not be ethnic Indians, nor do they necessarily speak Indian languages, but they have imbibed the traditions of a gracious culture that stretches back thousands of years — welcoming strangers, offering refreshment, and treating service as an act of care. It’s a careful balancing act of authenticity and adaptation: a menu that runs from pau bhaji to black daal, and an interior design that feels as much like a lovingly curated film set as a functioning restaurant. As it crosses the Atlantic, Dishoom will be exporting not just recipes but an entire mood — a kind of curated nostalgia that New York’s cosmopolitan audience may find irresistible.

For Gymkhana and its peers, the challenge will be different: translating London’s high-end Indian fine dining for a US market where “Indian food” is often still associated with takeaway curry houses. For all the excitement, expansion carries risks. Manhattan’s restaurant scene is unforgiving, and even successful transplants have stumbled when faced with the city’s high rents, labour costs, and mercurial critics. Yet the rewards are equally high: a foothold in one of the world’s most influential dining capitals can transform a brand’s global profile. Dishoom’s leadership appears aware of the stakes. “We only open another restaurant where we feel like we’ve got a story to tell,” Trollip emphasised, a line that suggests the brand will not be rushed by investor timelines alone.

If the plan comes together, by the end of 2026 New Yorkers might be joining the serpentine queues that have long been a feature outside Dishoom’s Shoreditch and King’s Cross branches. Inside, they’ll find a restaurant that, while born in London, carries the soul of Bombay — and a story of how Indian cuisine continues to travel, adapt, and thrive. And perhaps, somewhere uptown, a new Gymkhana will be serving its signature tandoor dishes to diners who’ve never set foot in Mayfair, part of a growing London-New York corridor of Indian culinary ambition.