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If you’ve been feeling like dining out is missing an element of gameplay or gambling, Dishoom’s secret keyring could be the thing to fill that void.
Known as a Matka keyring – named after the Hindi word for pot or cup, and the slang for Bombay’s underground lotteries in the ‘60s –the token offers diners the chance to eat for free at the popular Indian restaurant.
If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a Matka, all you have to do is show it to a member of staff when you ask for the bill. In return, they’ll bring you a dice and ask you to roll it. If you land on a six, your entire table gets their meal – including drinks – comped. Unfortunately, even owning one of these exclusive mementoes doesn’t give you a roll of the dice every time you visit – the Matka’s powers only work before 6pm on weekdays.
Depending on which branch of Dishoom you get your Matka from, you’ll find a variation in design. The Carnaby Street spot has keyrings shaped like plectrums as a nod to the London music scene’s links with Bombay in the ‘60s, while the Covent Garden restaurant boasts copper coins with ‘ND’ engraved on them in recognition of the ‘New Dishoom’ space that first opened on the site in 2010.
Not everyone will be offered a Matka, though – like other restaurants’ exclusive black cards or member tokens, they’re only given to a small number of ‘friends’. You can ask for one when you next visit but, be warned, you might be turned away empty-handed.