The team behind Dishoom will open Permit Room in November, an all-day bar-café taking its influence from the permit rooms of 1960s and 1970s Bombay.
The Permit Room will showcase an all-new food menu offering bar snacks, curries and some larger plates – plus a few favourites from the original Dishoom menu.
There will also be a new cocktail and drinks list, taking its cues from the colourful history of drinking in Bombay, including the exclusive Permit Room Pineapple and Black Pepper Crumble sour beer in partnership with local brewery, UnBarred Brewery.
The concept draws from the Bombay Prohibition Act 1949 which was passed by politicians – flush with post-independence Gandhian fervour – which banned the sale of all alcohol (including cough syrup, to begin with).
Enterprising Bombayites found ways to continue drinking; resourceful Goan Catholic Aunties even started serving liquor secretly in their front rooms, paying hafta (bribes) to the police as needed.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, the law was gradually relaxed to allow drinking, albeit only with a special permit – which created the Permit Room of Bombay.
Signature dishes from the menu include Aunty’s Makli Fry, marinated mini squid, and Anda Egg Curry -boiled eggs hidden in a rich dark tomato sauce, which are a tribute to the infamous bootlegging Aunty Bars across the city.
Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of Permit Room & Dishoom said: “We’ve been going to Bombay for decades now, and have had many a merry time in permit rooms whilst on our travels – hours have been spent with friends huddled over chakli and chilli chips (food is always at the centre of the table in permit rooms!), all washed down with ice cold beers or Old Monk and Thums Up. It was clearly about time we put those late nights to good use.”
Permit Room will open with a live music residency in partnership with Going South – a platform for thriving British South Asian talent, bringing the best of British brown excellence in music together, spearheaded by DJ and presenter Bobby Friction.
With sets occurring weekly on Thursday evenings, DJs will range from the very best rising talent to more established names, from across Brighton and beyond.
A programme of DJ appearances will be announced over the coming months.