London's favourite all-day Indian cafe and bar has arrived in Oxford, adjacent to Westgate Shopping Centre. Is it worth the hype? Features editor Jo Aspin takes a bite.
Having relocated from London to Oxford a couple of years ago, I am well-versed with the Dishoom brand. The Shoreditch site is mine and my mother’s go-to for chai and (a) chaat so news of their sister brand Permit Room coming to Oxford was a pretty big deal for this modest-sized city.
The restaurant takes its name from the Bombay permit rooms which first originated in 1949 Bombay, when The Prohibition Act was passed and the sale of liquor was banned. The small late-night drinking dens still remain in Mumbai today.
Boy do these guys know how to throw a party! I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch where free-flowing cocktails*, lashings of prawn moilee, jackfruit berry pulao rice, dahl and naan were shared between guests, and the regularly topped-up wine kept us out far too late on school night.
*Permit Room Clover Club - coconut-cardamom foam, house raspberry-and-lychee liqueur, Beefeater dry gin and a dash of lemon oil highly recommended!
But to properly review this new fixture, I returned for lunch.
First up, the deco feels effortlessly cool. The bar is forefront when you enter the restaurant with plenty of space to have drinks and snacks bar side.
The interiors are retro with wood panelling and a 70s colour scheme alongside a vibrant mix of art, scattered across the walls a mix of work from Oxford artists to emerging South Asian painters and contemporary artists from Mumbai.
There’s a little DJ booth positioned opposite the bar and Thursday night’s live DJs spin some records at the weekly Vinyl Night.
To kick off, we chose Prawn Rechaedo – a bowl of big juicy prawns in a masala of red chillies, with garlic, ginger and spring onion. We also went for Crispy Spinach Chaat as recommended by our waitress. This was a really tasty starter of fried baby spinach with lashings of yoghurt, and sweet chutney drizzled on top with Indian spices and fresh pomegranate and coriander.
A great pairing with our Blushing Dawn Palomas – which were a mix of Kumquat super-juice, chilli-infused Altos Plata tequila, spice, pink salt, lime-oil sugar and a hint of Del Maguey mezcal. Spicier than your average Paloma with the mix of the mezcal and the fresh green chilli in the glass. Pow!
For mains, I sampled their Chicken Ruby curry – a rich, warming and mild on-the-spice makhani sauce, some classic Dishoom black dahl (never go here without ordering this) and some garlic naan. Just the sort of warm hug you need as you brave January.
I quite often skip dessert but phoaar, I am so glad I ordered Rum Gulab Jamun – this was part something sweet to finish and part ‘go one I’ll have one more drink’, in equal measures. The warm Gulab Jamun came swimming in rum and pistachios, with more hot rum oozing out as you bit into the dessert.
This restaurant is a crowd pleaser, whatever the occasion, from morning to night. Welcome Permit Room Oxford – we’re so pleased to have you.
Permit Room Oxford
Address: Permit Room Oxford, North Bailey House, New Inn Hall Street, OX1 2RP
Features Editor, Chatting Food: Jo Aspin
Jo Aspin is a freelance writer specialising in UK restaurants, travel, food and drink. She is also a Director at hospitality PR agency Amy Williams Consultancy, based in London.
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Instagram: @welovechilli
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