Bombay Brasserie

When you enter you walk into an impressive, sleek bar area with a warm glowing fire and pictures adorning the walls with Maharajahs and Maharinis as well as other notable people. As you walk through the saloon doors, you are greeted by an breathtakingly beautiful chandelier and main dining room with its own resident pianist – who was amazing to listen to! We then were guided into their conservatory for brunch. Loved the relaxed, bright airy feel and decor in the conservatory! We kicked off proceedings with a visit to the chaat stand – Bombay Brasserie’s take on the street food stalls in India serving quick bite-sized snacks. I had the full selection of: bhel puri, coconut prawns, pani puri with vegetable pakora and a tandoor cooked chicken in a dill marinade – a very colourful, and tasty, start to my brunch experience. We especially loved the coriander and cumin crust on the talapia, comfort of the soft, pillowy paneer and the spicy hit from the gunpowder potatoes. Now, as we have a sweet tooth, we had actually checked out the dessert selection even before visiting the chaat stand; can you fault us?! Amazing desserts on offer, including chikki (caramel brittle) and mango and fig kulfis, chocolate shrikhand (a strained yoghurt dessert), warm gulab jamun, and exotic fruit selection. Plus unusual dessert twists: Beetroot cake and tender coconut raisin kheer (rice pudding). As I said before, we are dessert people and always check out menus and buffets to save space for those sweet delights at the end, so we particularly loved the mango and fig kulfi, as it had such an intense flavour! We would recommend visiting for both the ambiance and also to enjoy refined Indian cuisine with traditional, warm Taj Hotels Group service. Recommend visiting, especially for celebrations!

The food was OK, very heavy and filling. There was nothing special about it but I did enjoy it slightly more than my husband did. He enjoyed the tilapia and papri chaat. The service at first was slow and wasn't great but towards the end it picked up. Our evening was disturbed by the noise of children knocking their chairs over which was a bit of a nuisance. All in all I think Bombay Brasserie could improve a lot more in many ways and I have to say I was disappointed as it was lacking that spark. I would like to go back maybe in a few years and hope to see a change.

Bombay Brasserie played venue to my birthday recently and what a treat it was. From the skilled cocktail in the bar to the succulent and tasty fish main, the venue scored on all fronts for a perfect yet opulent Friday night Indian. The vast and grand dining room really is impressive, as is the service. Staff are agreeably professional yet friendly and great at helping with dilemmas and difficult choices, which with the ample menu, is inevitable. Local or authentic Indian cuisine it isn't, but for those special occasions it is a good choice.

In all the years that I have lived in the neighbourhood, I have never been to Bombay Brasserie, but always wanted to. Finally had dinner there and my only disappointment was that I didn't eat there sooner. The dining room is vast with the opulence of a 5 star hotel ball room. Decadent, enormous chandeliers twinkle on the ceiling of the dimly lit room which is packed (oddly) with Texan business man. A few gallon-hats short of a scene from ‘Dallas’ with J.R. types chowing down on exotic looking dishes, definitely a world away from Texas. In one corner, a famous Hollywood actor tucks into a discreet meal as he hides behind his handle-bar moustache whilst fellow diner ogle him. The food is unique and the combinations are brave. Boldly spiced seared scallops with more than an inferno of chilli spice and turmeric, which surprisingly worked very well although was incredibly spicy. Tandoori Halibut on a bed of spicy prawns, crispy coated Tandoori chicken with curry leaves and dainty little potato cakes with a yogurt and sweet tamarind sauce, were all superb. The spicing was a little more subtle than the fiery scallop dish but every bit as enjoyable. More dishes came our way with a perfectly cooked chicken biryani, golden with saffron and turmeric spice, studded with tender chunks of flavoursome chicken. A pickled chicken tikka dishes with a tomato sauce and pickled baby red onions was beyond superb, a really great flavour sensation with the vinegar from the pickled onions really complimenting the spice layering of the dishes. Desserts are always my least favourite part of the meal in an Indian restaurant. Modern Indian desserts don't cut it for me and this was no exception. A trio of minature desserts including a creme brulee (of sorts) with some kind of spiced cake slices layered into it, reminded me of a bread and butter pudding and was rather enjoyable but the orange scented sticky pancake was not my cup of chai and the chocolate shell filled with some type of creamy, sweet curd with cardamoms did little for me also. But I am a savoury girl anyway and after so many starters and mains, I was perfectly happy with the meal and will definitely be coming back to try the famous weekend buffet lunch (which I'm told you have to book weeks in advance) Great restaurant overall, surpassed my expectations.