Colonel Saab Mrs Doubtfire themed menu and show: Review

It comes as no surprise that two things many Brits love in equal measure are Indian cuisine and a night at the theatre.

If you’re in the market for an evening out with cocktails, Indian food, beautiful surroundings and one of London’s smash-hit new shows, then you may want to consider checking out a new collaboration between Colonel Saab and Mrs Doubtfire: The Musical.

This is a new collaboration between Colonel Saab and Mrs Doubtfire: The Musical. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

Colonel Saab first opened its Holborn restaurant in 2021 and offers a mix of authentic and contemporary Indian cuisine with beautiful interiors that really showcase the restaurant’s eclectic owners and past.

The restaurant was also one of three in London to be featured in the OpenTable top romantic restaurants list, and with its rich colours, interesting artwork and antique pieces it’s easy to see why.

The restaurant is just two minutes’ walk from the Shaftesbury Theatre, which is currently hosting Mrs Doubtfire, a musical take on this much-loved classic film.

The restaurant is just two minutes’ walk from the Shaftesbury Theatre, which is currently hosting Mrs Doubtfire. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

Colonel Saab has created a set menu inspired by the film featuring themed colour-changing cuisine and four courses for £80.

We first began with the cocktail, which is made up of two parts that you mix together to signify the gender swap that takes place, with the drink changing from blue to pink.

The drink consisted of Hoxton dry gin, butterfly pea tea, mint and vanilla served with a glass of lemon juice, and the flavours were a really interesting mix of sweet and fresh ingredients.

The cocktail is made up of two parts that you mix together to signify the gender swap that takes place. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

This was followed by an appetiser named “Help is On The Way, Dear” as an amuse-bouche, which was a roasted cumin and cheese bun with rose petals.

For starters there is a choice between four of the restaurant's most popular dishes, slightly reimagined and named after various quotes and scenes in the musical.

I went for the “Jumping Jehosafats! Jaipuri baby aloo”, consisting of spiced crispy baby potatoes with sour cream, these definitely packed a pleasant punch with a great mix of spices and a creamy sauce for dipping.

For starters there is a choice between four of the restaurant's most popular dishes, slightly reimagined and named after various quotes and scenes in the musical. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

My dad went with the “Matchmaker Noor Mahal chicken tikka”, which was their classic chicken tikka with a lime dip and he said it was the best chicken tikka he’d ever had.

For mains, there was again a choice between four of some of their most popular dishes, which come served with steamed rice and naan bread.

Their selection of main dishes come served with steamed rice and naan bread. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

We also had a bit of a surprise as waiters dressed in Mrs Doubtfire wigs and aprons burst in to serve our mains, which was definitely a highlight of the experience.

We both went with the “Dear's delight butter chicken”, a boneless chicken cooked in a tomato and cashew gravy, which was definitely what I’d call a “comfort dish” that went down well that rainy evening.

We both went with the “Dear's delight butter chicken”, a boneless chicken cooked in a tomato and cashew gravy. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

Finally, dessert was a two-part affair, consisting firstly of what was described as an “anti-climax” dessert with cheese ice cream, to symbolise the reveal of Mrs Doubtfire’s true identity.

But don’t worry, shortly after a sweet dessert of sweetened and flavoured yogurt came with Bengali lime & jaggery syrup, which was served to mark the end of the meal.

Dessert was a two-part affair, consisting firstly of what was described as an “anti-climax” dessert with cheese ice cream. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

Finally, the night ended with a brief walk to the Shaftesbury Theatre, where we watched Mrs Doubtfire: The Musical.

The show was incredibly entertaining, and with Gabriel Vick as Mrs Doubtfire and music from Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick this performance had so much of the film’s original humour and wit, but with a lot of new material to make it feel more modern for the times.

A personal highlight was watching Mrs Doubtfire enlist the help of Google to find a recipe for a notorious meal to feed the children on her first day as nanny.

The show was incredibly entertaining and had so much of the film’s original humour and wit. (Image: Cult Media Collective)

If you’re after a fun evening in London and love both theatre and food then this is well worth a visit, and the food packs as much of a punch for flavours as the punchlines do in the show.

Colonel Saab's new Mrs Doubtfire pre-dining menu can be booked for £60 a person and tickets to see Mrs Doubtfire start from £47.50 a person.