Bombay inspires ‘soulful’ Dishoom setting

A Leeds restaurant has drawn on the architecture and interiors of 1950s and 1960s Bombay to create a distinctive new city centre setting.

Interior architecture and design studio Macaulay Sinclair has revealed the inspiration behind Dishoom Leeds, its latest collaboration with the restaurant brand.

The Vicar Lane venue, which opened in August, is based around the fictional Café Flamingo and a story linked to the real-life 1944 explosion of the SS Fort Stikine in Bombay’s docks.

Macaulay Sinclair used extensive research in Bombay to shape the restaurant, taking inspiration from the Art Deco apartment buildings of Marine Drive and The Oval.

A gloss pink timber shopfront leads to a ground-floor bar featuring pink marble, fluted detailing and polished sapele panelling.

Architectural references continue throughout, with geometric patterns, metalwork, timber panelling and stained-glass screens influenced by buildings and cafés studied by the design team in Bombay.

More than 40 pieces of vintage furniture and lighting were also sourced in the city and restored for the Leeds restaurant.

They sit alongside reclaimed mahogany, geometric terrazzo flooring, handmade rattan blinds and vintage bentwood chairs.

The project continues Macaulay Sinclair’s long-standing collaboration with Dishoom, with each restaurant built around its own fictional story and a particular period of Bombay history.

Research into the architecture, materials and objects of that period is then used to shape each venue’s individual character and design.

Ian Roome, director at Macaulay Sinclair, said: “The story gave us a really specific world to explore. 

“Café Flamingo sits at the base of this modern apartment building overlooking Back Bay, so we spent a lot of time looking at the residential architecture of Marine Drive and The Oval and the details that give those buildings their particular character.

“A lot of what you see in the restaurant came directly from time spent in Bombay, exploring and documenting those buildings and sourcing original pieces. 

“We’re never looking to recreate a historic interior. 

“The research gives us an architectural and material language to work with, which we can then reinterpret throughout the space.”

Shamil Thakrar, chief executive of Dishoom, added: "What makes our long-standing partnership with Macaulay Sinclair so special is their ability to take our whimsical stories, research them deeply, and turn them into beautiful spaces that speak our narratives. 

“For Leeds, they’ve distilled the architecture, textures, and everyday Deco details of Bombay's Oval and Marine Drive into a space that feels breezy, soulful, and beautifully lived-in.”

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