Dishoom plans ‘all-new offering’ for Brighton site
The Permit Room is expected to open at 31a and 32 East Street in The Lanes later this year and will mark the Indian restaurant group’s first regional opening in the south of the country.
Restaurant first reported back in March that Dishoom was preparing to launch a permanent outpost in the seaside city on the site previously occupied by all-day dining brand Socialite Restaurant and Bar.
It came after the group, which has operated a dark kitchen in the city since 2020, submitted a licensing application to Brighton City Council.
While details remain thin on the ground, it is understood the Permit Room will be conceptually closer to a bar than a restaurant.
The name is taken from the unofficial moniker given to rooms in Bombay where liquor can be sold and imbibed and relates to the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949, which is still in force today and requires people to carry a personal permit by law in order to purchase, possess, consume or serve liquor.
Dishoom currently uses the Permit Room name on its ready-to-drink cocktails that are sold via its website and on its restaurant's drinks menus.
The Indian restaurant group was founded in 2010 by cousins Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, and launched its first restaurant in Covent Garden. It now operates six restaurants across the capital, alongside regional locations in Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
The brand pays homage to the Irani cafés that were once part of the fabric of life in Bombay, offering an expansive menu of Indian dishes.
