Dishoom and Hawksmoor on the cheap: the deals that actually exist

Same problem as the theatre piece — there's a small industry of articles claiming "secret Dishoom codes." There isn't one. There are real, publicly-advertised ways to eat at both Dishoom and Hawksmoor for substantially less than full price. Here they are.

Dishoom — the actual deals

The Bacon Naan Roll Breakfast is £6.90 in the bacon naan, which gets you in at the cheapest possible price point. Available every morning until 11.45am. You'll wait less than for dinner, and it's genuinly excellent. They also do an okra fries and a chai for under £15 if you're hungrier.

The Dishoom Express set lunch — varies by branch and season, but the formula is consistently around £18-£22 for two courses, including some of the bigger plates that cost more à la carte. Available weekday lunchtimes. Listed on the Dishoom website under "menus."

That's mostly it from the restaurant. There isn't a code. There isn't a third-party voucher that works. The companies running those affiliate sites would love you to think there is, but Dishoom doesn't do general discount codes.

Hawksmoor — the deals worth knowing

Hawksmoor's £6.50 happy hour is real, runs at every London branch, and is publicly advertised. Weekdays, 5pm-6.30pm. Cocktails are properly made, not the watered-down version a lot of places do for happy hour. Pints and house wine are also reduced. This is the single best way to drink in central London at a proper bar for under £10.

The Hawksmoor express lunch is £29 for two courses. Three at £35. Includes some of their better plates. Available weekdays at lunchtime. If you've been wanting to do Hawksmoor and don't want to spend £80, this is the route.

Sunday roast is famous for a reason but it's not a deal — full price, just worth it. Don't go expecting to spend less.

OpenTable points

Both Hawksmoor and several Dishoom branches participate in the OpenTable points scheme. 1,000-point bookings reduce £10 off the bill, which is real money. You earn points on every booking, including non-discounted ones. Worth running every restaurant booking through OpenTable just for the slow accumulation.

Tastecard, Gourmet Society, etc

Tastecard does not give you Dishoom or Hawksmoor discounts. Neither does Gourmet Society. Don't buy them on the basis that they would.

Tastecard does work at a few London chains where the discount is meaningful — Yo Sushi, Las Iguanas, Café Rouge — and if you eat at chains often the £35 a year pays back. But it's not a route into the better London restaurants.

What about big ones like Sexy Fish, Sushisamba, etc

Sushisamba does an early-bird menu Mon-Wed before 7pm that's a step down on price. Sexy Fish does similar. Both are publicly listed on their respective websites. These aren't cheap dinners — they're just less ridiculous than the full menu.

The honest take

The "voucher code" framing is wrong. The way to eat at the better London restaurants for less is to:

1. Go at lunch, not dinner. Most have a set menu that's genuinly good.
2. Use happy hour. Hawksmoor's is the gold standard but it's not the only one.
3. Run bookings through OpenTable for the points slowly piling up.
4. Eat at the breakfast spot, not the dinner spot, when there's an option.

I have not, and would not, link you to a third-party site claiming to have a Dishoom code. They don't. If you see one that says "RIFIO20" or anything similar, it's not from us — we don't do affiliate codes for restaurants.

For other interesting food nights in London — supper clubs, takeovers, restaurant pop-ups — the London events list on Rifio catches the ones that aren't just on Eventbrite.