More than a curry house: enjoy a journey of discovery at this award-winning Scottish Indian restaurant

Dhoom Streatery and Bar, an AA rosette-winning restaurant in Dunfermline, is run by chef patron Dhaneshwar Prasad and his team of experienced Indian chefs.

As the name suggests, its menu reflects the eclectic mix of street food from the Indian sub-continent. But Dhaneswhar Prasad has a unique way of sourcing ideas and inspiration for this changing menu – he visits a different part of India every six months and immerses himself in the food and the flavours before bringing back the best to diners in Scotland.

Chennai, formerly Madras, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu. The former colonial outpost was a military garrison and East India company trading post and lies at the gateway to the coast on the Bay of Bengal.

From the tantalizing gunpowder masala idli to the succulent coromandel lamb curry, every bite offers a glimpse into Chennai’s vibrant street food culture.

Dhoom is ‘not just another curry house’, explains Dhaneshwar, and taking diners at this 110-seater restaurant, on a culinary expedition is what Dhoom is all about.

AA Rosette

It is these weeks of travel and discovery, and meticulous attention to detail – not just in the food, spices and flavours but the presentation too – which has attracted the attention of not just diners, but reviewers too.

Last year Dhoom was awarded a prestigious AA Rosette by inspectors who were looking for "intense ambition, a passion for excellence, superb technical skills and remarkable consistency”.

Dhoom, which was praised for its “imaginative flavours and presentation which is putting the restaurant on the culinary map of Scotland”, becomes the only Indian restaurant in Fife to achieve Rosette recognition.

The restaurant, which sits amid a parade of shops in the city, a “high-flying neighbourhood hidden gem”.

On the menu

At Dhoom you can dine in or dine at home by ordering food to take away, and with tasting menus, a la carte dishes and a Tiffin menu, there is lots to choose from.

Dhaneshwar explained that, although Chennai lies on the coast, his latest menu includes not just fish dishes, but meat and vegetarian too and being 100% nut free and over 90% gluten and dairy free there are options for everyone.

The tasting menu, for example (which is just £16.95 for seven courses at lunchtime) includes Parsi chickpea cutlets, chicken 65 Chaat (crispy chicken tossed in a southern-style hot chilli garlic sauce) Kappa Vadai (tapioca vadas) or Crispy Punjabi Lamb (minced lamb rolls) for starters.

Cleanse your palate next with a coconut ladoo, before moving onto the main courses where you can choose a main course curry with pilau rice and Indian bread.

How about a chicken tikka masala roll or a dilli aloo tikki roll  (a potato dish with chill sauce and mint chutney), wrapped in tortilla bread and served with masala chips? Fish-lovers will be tempted by the mango fish and coconut curry whilst slow-cooked boneless chicken in a sweet and tangy onion tomato sauce awaits in the chicken masala desi dish. there’s a smoked aubergine curry, a mango chicken curry, melt-in-the-mouth slow cooked lamb curry or a sambar – a traditional home-cooked amma (mother) style curry of vegetables and lentils.

Local support

The restaurant was the culmination of a dream envisaged for over 20 years for Dhaneshwar. Having opened in 2019 – just before Covid – it proved to be a tough way to realise that dream. But the local people took him and the restaurant to their hearts.

“They offered me so much support. It was a brand new restaurant, we had just opened and had a baby, but the locals said if I opened for takeaways they would come, and they did,” he said.

He said around 50 per cent of his customers are local from the Fife area, but the rest come from all over Scotland to dine at Dhoom as its reputation spreads.

Now, he gives back to the community and has pledged to donate £750 every month to local charities, groups and community organisations that don’t have funding.

Awards winner

As well as the AA Rosette Dhoom has scooped “Most Wanted Restaurant in the Country” in the Scottish Curry Awards, and two Highly Commended awards in the Scottish Entertainment Awards held in Glasgow – Best Restaurant in Scotland, and Best Independent Bar in the Scottish Central Belt.

And it was one of three finalists in the Scotsman Scran Awards 2024 in June, in the Hidden Gem (Edinburgh, Fife & East) section.

Go on your own journey of discovery

Experience the tastes of Indian street food yourself at Dhoom, find out more on their website dhoomuk.co.uk  and explore the new menu here