New bar and café bringing historic Bombay drinking culture to Cambridge

A new all-day bar and café inspired by the historic underground bars of Bombay is opening in Cambridge. The venue is a salute to Bombay's permit rooms, beer bars and drinking holes from the 1960s and 1970s when alcohol was banned.

Following the success of its first opening in Brighton in November 2023, Dishoom has confirmed the opening of two new all-day Permit Rooms in Oxford and Cambridge.

Permit Room Cambridge will be opening its doors on Thursday, June 20. It is moving into 17 Trinity Street that was previously occupied by Italian restaurant chain Strada until it closed in 2019.

Read more: Enchanting woodland just outside Cambridge brought to life by beautiful blooming flowers

Read more: Idyllic riverside park with its own miniature railway and huge skate park

Shamil Thakrar, co-founder of Permit Room & Dishoom, said: "I've had quite a few friends living in Cambridge over the years. When I think back to my early twenties, Cambridge pub crawls and gate-crashing the odd college party are a happy feature.

"I have rosy memories of hanging out there, and I’m very excited for the chance to return with our own Permit Room. I'm also looking forward to hosting our own pub crawls this time around.”

The Permit Room is an all-day bar-café serving up delicious breakfasts, snacks, moreish curries, plates for sharing and cocktails to wash it all down with.

The bar/café is inspired by a rich part of Indian history. In 1949 Bombay, now called Mumbai, The Prohibition Act was passed and the sale of liquor was banned in the city. Yet amidst these restrictions, undeterred citizens found their haven late into the night, with the clink of ice in glasses and the constant refilling of snacks.

Enterprising Aunties secretly served drinks from their front rooms with a boiled egg vendor stationed outside as a sign for those who knew.

Dishoom said: "Aunties were the secret joy keepers, deftly serving up cocktails and ice-cold beers from the comfort of their living rooms, slipping the odd hafta (bribe) to a police officer."

Read more: Cambs village restaurant known for its locally-sourced ingredients named best in county

By the 1970s the law was loosened up, and permit holders could buy alcohol, this is where the name Permit Rooms come from.

The interior of the new venue in Cambridge will be a nod to this history with retro interiors that will feature artwork by Bombayites, artists local to both Cambridge and Oxford, plus emerging South Asian talent. The venue will have 156 seats in Cambridge, while Permit Room Oxford, will offer 126 cosy spots, on New Inn Hall Street.

The venue will also have weekly music sets featuring DJs, both local artists and seasoned ones with an eclectic playlist blending Bombay to New York through funk, punk, hip-hop, disco, and soul. A program of local vinyl DJs in partnership with a local Cambridge record store will be featured, with further details to come soon.

Do you want more of the latest Cambridgeshire news as it comes in? Sign up to our dedicated newsletter to make sure you never miss a big story from Cambridge or anywhere else in the county. You can also sign up to our dedicated Peterborough, Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in.