Big Ben and the London Eye to the west, St Paul’s to the east. Strolling along to Southbank Centre, you see sand, bunting and hundreds of Londoners young and old, enjoying the Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations.
But then you hear the enchanting sound of Hindi music. You notice the spicy aroma of fresh Pau Bhaji. Chilled Thums Up bottles clink. Children chase balloons across the sand. You see a colourful old fishing boat, full of green coconuts, ready to be cut open and sipped from. Naughty Gola Ices look cool and tempting. Where did the old grey portakabin go? And who put this crazy Indian beach shack up on the Southbank?
It can all get a bit serious and gloomy can’t it? The cuts, the unemployment, the earthquakes, climate change. There hardly seems to be any good news, and it’s not been an easy time for us Londoners.
But every now and again we have to let our collective hair down. Take a holiday. Lighten up. Do something we wouldn’t normally do. A little bit of fun and laughter makes all the difference in the world. It nourishes the soul.
In the summer of 2011, the Southbank celebrated the 60th anniversary of the original Festival of Britain, which was itself celebrated amidst the austerity of post-war reconstruction. There was a big beach along the promenade (really!) with lots of bunting and Tracy Emin doing her first show for years, Ray Davis of the Kinks doing the Meltdown Festival and Vintage Goodwood relocating to the South Bank.
And we wanted to do our bit as adopted Londoners. If an old Bombay Café strolled casually down to the beach (while perhaps on a mild acid trip), the result would be the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Bar.
From early May to the beginning of October in 2011, we took Londoners on a little summer holiday to kick off flip flops, tuck into tasty Bombay food and sip refreshing tipples on the South Bank
And we built it jugaad-style. Jugaad is a great word. It’s hindi for ‘making do’ or ‘reusing’ or ‘creative improvisation’. We made do with what we could find. (Apparently, this is also called up-cycling). Using old materials, furnishings and decorations – brightly coloured barrels for stools, reclaimed railway sleepers as bench seating on the alfresco terrace, a bar made from recycled plastic bottles and walls erected using old tightly-rolled newspapers. There were even old freight pallets cladding the outside of the building. We also jazzed up the soundtrack. Our resident DJ was asked to create music which took Dishoom on an acid trip on Chowpatty Beach in 1965. (We actually haven’t heard the result yet…)
The original Chowpatty beach in Bombay.
Chowpatty beach is where all Bombay comes to snack and stroll. Every Bombayite has nostalgic memories of magical evenings with family and friends, enjoying the view of the Arabian Sea at dusk and the lights of the skyline across the bay. The ramshackle food stalls that pepper the beach are revered for serving the tastiest Pau Bhaji in India. Everyone has their favourite Gola-walla, who shaves ice from huge blocks, packs it onto a stick and douses it in delicious syrup.
The Gola-wallas at Dishoom Chowpatty beach served authentic Gola flavours, alongside their playful (and naughty) twists. The rest of the drinks menu was also tempting – Bombay Pimm’s Summer Cup, Spiked Colaba Ice Tea, Classic Dishoom Chaijito, Beers, Wines, Prosecco and Pommery Pop Champagne served in baby bottles.
You could also treat yourself to classic Bombay food, including Pau Bhaji, the Dishoom Frankie (freshly baked naan filled with spicy lamb mince), and what is almost an obsession in Bombay – the naughty Vada Pau, fried potatoes in a bun with homemade chilli chutneys – you could call it an Indian chip butty. And, we couldn’t do a menu without the much-loved bacon naan roll – this time served all day. (Yes! All day!)
