Bombay Brasserie

Bombay Brasserie is in the Bailey’s hotel in Gloucester Road, part of the huge Taj Hotel group of India, which has over a hundred hotel properties. It was the first really grand Indian restaurant in London, opening in 1982. I became a very regular customer here when I moved to London in 1983 after finishing university. The Bombay Brasserie, with its grand dining room and exotic regional dishes, was a far cry from the curry houses that I was familiar with at that time.

The room has a vaulting ceiling, a huge central chandelier and lots of space, and there is a further conservatory area used mainly at weekends. It is a vast place, able to seat 280 customers at once, and noise levels were pleasingly low due to the acoustics of the room, despite a quite busy dining room. The head chef tonight was Sudhir Sethumohan, who has worked here for over thirteen years; he formerly worked at Quilon.

The wine list had 87 labels and ranged in price from £38 to £593, with a median price of £74 and an average markup to retail price of a very hefty 3.9 times. Sample references were the Indian wine Grovers Sauvignon Blanc 2022 at £49 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £17, Thelema Sutherland Chardonnay 2021 at £69 compared to its retail price of £19, and Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2022 at £88 for a wine that will set you back £26 in the high street. For those with the means, there was the excellent Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2020 at £154 compared to its retail price of £65, and Chateau Belair-Monange 1er Grand Cru Classe St-Emilion 2014 at £234 for a wine whose current market value is £84. Beer was ambitiously priced, with a small bottle of Cobra at £9 for a bottle that can be found for £1.59 retail.

The meal began with a tray of mini popadoms and a selection of chutneys. I started with achari lamb chops, a pair of generous lamb chops that had been marinated with spices and ginger before being cooked in the tandoor. These were top notch, cooked pink and with plenty of flavour, the spices nicely enriching the natural flavour of the meat without dominating it (15/20). Also good was a mini masala dosa, the South Indian rice flour crisp pancake, usually a breakfast dish in places like Goa. The outside was crisp, and the filling was a mixed vegetable one, including chopped potatoes and mung beans, with quite a lively spice level (14/20).  

Chicken biryani did not come served with a sealed pastry lid, but nonetheless had quite aromatic rice and chicken pieces that were tender and avoided dryness (14/20). The only relative dud of the meal was kingfish wrapped in leaves, the fish a touch dried than ideal and rather bony (12/20). The side dishes we tried were very good, with a black dhal retaining some bite and texture, nicely spiced and with deep flavour (14/20). Also enjoyable were potatoes with peas, the peas fresh rather than frozen, the potatoes retaining their texture well, the spicing lively. Garlic naan was also of a high standard, served hot and with soft texture and plenty of garlic flavour (14/20).

Our waiter Siraj has worked here for decades, and I recognised him from a previous visit. He was charming and friendly. The bill, with a bottle of champagne between us, was £168 each. Even if you drank beer then you would still end up with a fairly chunky bill of perhaps £120 each, the cost being the main drawback of the restaurant.

Further reviews: 22nd Dec 2015 | 16th Sep 2014 | 28th Nov 2012 | 01st Jul 2008