Outline
Dishoom Edinburgh is the first Dishoom to open outside of London, it is situated in a beautiful 1920s-era listed building which was originally built to be the offices and warehouse for Forsyth’s department store. The three-storey restaurant has an open kitchen on the ground floor, a first floor dining room with beautiful views across St. Andrew Square, and a basement bar and dining space. CGA Integration has designed and installed the audio throughout Dishoom Edinburgh. This needed to reflect the passion for food and culture delivered by the Dishoom team and the Dishoom ethos which is rooted in the original essence of the old Irani cafés of Bombay, which have now all but disappeared. Working with music provider Music Concierge, CGA Integration has ensured that the music tracks chosen to fully immerse customers in the Dishoom experience, can be heard at their very best.
Challenges
Technical
The audio was delivered throughout by installing EV Evid ceiling and ceiling mounted speakers, all generating sound quality with minimum visual impact to complement the Dishoom interior design. On the first floor the sound system was installed to work seamlessly with the sound absorbing equipment installed by the builders. This ensures minimum impact on the residential area above, whilst not compromising the audio experience for the Dishoom guests. In the basement a DJ console with both turntables for vinyl and CD players was installed with additional low frequency bass bins to give a solid bar sound. This system also has the flexibility to deliver audio suitable for dining during the day whilst having the capability to generate a full party ambience at night. CGA Integration installed a Netmax digital sound processor supported by EV multichannel amplifiers in the basement. This ensured that all nine areas of different speakers could work together to create a seamless audio experience throughout the venue; from the bar through to the bathrooms, upstairs to the open kitchen and onto the first floor restaurant.
Ease of staff control of the sound systems was delivered through wall mounted controls. These were the same as those installed by CGA in other Dishoom sites and were programmed using the same configuration, thus generating familiarity to any staff moving between Dishoom sites.
Response
Shamil Thakrar Head Babu at Dishoom said “It’s really important for us to create beautiful restaurants with unique stories for our customers. Sound is a critical part of ensuring that our customers are fully immersed in the Dishoom experience; complementing the deep love we have for Bombay’s culture, heritage and food. We have been delighted with the audio systems designed and installed by CGA Integration in Dishoom Carnaby and Dishoom King’s Cross so they were the natural choice for us when opening inEdinburgh and they didn’t disappoint.”