BOMBAY, 1948.
It is a close and heavy monsoon night on Marine Lines. Despite the weather, there is a jostling of people outside the Bombay Roxy. Well-turned-out gentlemen and flirty-eyed women clad in Banarasi silk saris all crane to catch a glimpse of Bombay’s finest musicians. The heavy doors to the club swing open and closed. Hot jazz spills out into the street. The club didn’t always have this pull or indeed its current reputation. It is housed within a former cinema. The previous owner’s savings had been frittered away on the floors of marble, panelling of Burmese teak and four large chandeliers. It had been a beautiful but bankrupting experiment in Art Deco extravagance.
BEGIN YOUR DAY AT DISHOOM with breakfast, which might be a Bacon Naan Roll, a Kejriwal or a Big Bombay. Then lunch lightly on Roomali Rolls and Salad Plates, or linger with a feast. Refresh your afternoon with a drop of Chai and a small plate or two. Dine early or dine late. Or just join us for a tipple – perhaps an India Gimlet, a Permit Room Old-fashioned, or our very good Dishoom IPA?
Enter the decadent world of the Bombay Roxy, where the jazz is ‘hot’ and the atmosphere is heady…
Night at the Bombay Roxy was a rich, immersive, Indian noir born from our temporary union with Swamp Studios. Inspired by the glamorous Art Deco world of 1940s Bombay and its lively jazz scene (as recounted in our dear friend Naresh Fernandes' book Taj Mahal Foxtrot) Night at the Bombay Roxy played out in Dishoom Kensington from 27th - 14th December 2017.
With live jazz, drinks and dinner, guests were transported to the opening night of the Bombay Roxy, a café and jazz club housed within a former Art Deco cinema in Bombay, 1949, owned by the charismatic but wayward Cyrus Irani…