Plans approved for future site of Dishoom Indian restaurant in Glasgow city centre

Dishoom is a wildly popular chain of restaurants inspired by Irani cafes that were popular in Mumbai in the 1960s. It first opened in London’s Covent Garden in 2010 and has grown from there. The menu combines elements of comfort food and street food. Their breakfast naan breads have a cult following.

If you already know all this, or have queued for a table at Dishoom in Edinburgh, then you will be excited to hear about plans for a new opening in Glasgow city centre.

Savills estate agents is currently handling the letting of the ground floor and basement units at 3/11 Nelson Mandela Place within the historic Glasgow Stock Exchange building. They have submitted proposals to Glasgow City Council on behalf of AECR UK Investment I Limited, with a registered address on Queen Street. The company ownership is connected to a string of London companies, including Alter Domus UK Ltd, a global private equity firm.

The planning documents submitted include a ground floor restaurant unit that is marked on the development plans as Dishoom. The unit at 3 Nelson Mandela Place was previously occupied by fried chicken restaurant chain Absurd Bird which closed suddenly in July 2022. It is currently vacant.

A cover letter for the planning application says: "The proposal would have a positive impact upon the wider environment by introducing an active use into a vacant unit and generating a substantial number of new jobs. It will also help reduce the vacancy rate within the city centre and will improve the prospects of leasing the remaining space for commercial use, which will become more attractive as the vacancy rate reduces. 

The planned changes to the Glasgow Stock Exchange building would combine the adjacent unit currently leased by Premier Newsagent, designated for retail use, to create a larger restaurant unit, including basement space. "Without the amalgamation of these units, it is predicted that the unit would remain vacant for a further period", the application says.

The architect drawings on the plan show how a new Dishoom would look in Glasgow. Planning permission has now been approved for the changes to the use of the building, combining both units for the future opening of the restaurant.

The majority of existing Dishoom Cafes are in London, at Battersea, Canary Wharf, Carnaby, Covent Garden, Kensington, King's Cross and Shoreditch. They currently also have locations in Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

The Scotman recently visited Dishoom in Edinburgh, which was busy diners ordering black daal, chai, mango lassis or their ruby murray curries. Lifestyle Editor Gaby Soutar was able to pre-empt Glasgow plan news while talking to Caroline Mair, area manager of th

“There is a queue forming outside. It seems ever popular, but nothing can stay exactly the same forever. After 14 years of offering the same food list, they’ve updated their menu across the ten UK cafes.

“The food list was designed in a process that took months and involved group research trips to Mumbai’s remaining Irani cafes - the swiftly disappearing venues that inspired the Thakrar cousins to create Dishoom in 2010.

“They’ve now got 22 new dishes on the a la carte menu, including an update on the popular pau bhaji, and the chole puri halwa is now available at breakfast, too. They also recently added 19 new cocktails, including non-alcoholic ones.

“This change comes at an exciting time for the restaurant, which is fresh from a New York all-day breakfast pop-up at Pastis that sold out within five minutes.

“Maybe they’re considering a US branch. However, I’m keener to know if they’re opening another in Scotland - Glasgow, perhaps?

“Mair won’t say, but it’s something they’ve been mulling over for a while. Until that happens, Dishoom will probably remain the most copied of chains.

“But that’s flattering,” says Mair, diplomatically.”