Brigadiers

Brigadiers opened in 2018, part of the burgeoning JSK Restaurant group. Its sister restaurants in the group include Trishna, Gymkhana, Bibi, Hoppers, and Sabor. Located near Mansion House, Brigadiers has outside terrace tables and a main dining room laid out around a bar. However, there are several further rooms including private dining, and the place can seat 200 people at one time, so this is a huge operation. There was a £30 menu on Mondays, a three-course lunch menu at £32.50, and tasting menus at £90 and £110 as well as a la carte. Overseeing the food operations is chef Shantibhushan Lal.

Wine offerings included Middlepost Chenin Blanc 2024 at £44 for a wine that you can find in the high street for £17, Jean-Marie Haag Gewurztraminer 2019 at £60 compared to its retail price of £18, and Leeuwin Riesling Art Series 2022 at £78 for a wine that will set you back £25 in a shop. There were grander wines too, such as Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2004 at £378 compared to its retail price of £139, and Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido 2013 at £700 for a bottle whose market price is currently £271.

A pair of Konkani Coast (west coast of India) masala scallops (£16) were pan-seared and served in their shell. They were nicely cooked, but the accompanying garnishes of wild garlic chutney and peanut masala were quite strong in flavour, and slightly distracted from the delicate flavour of the scallop (14/20). 

Guinea fowl tikka puffs were particularly good. The guinea fowl meat was marinated with cream cheese and spices, and the pastry was delicate, the spicing lively (15/20). Lamb chops (£37) were served on a bed of assorted vegetables including tandoori onions and had good flavour, perhaps cooked through just a touch longer than ideal, but still with a tinge of pinkness (14/20).

Butter chicken tikka (£30) was a classic rendition of the dish, the chicken itself perhaps beginning to dry out a little, but the rich butter sauce lifting the flavour of the meat (14/20). A bread basket (£12) included good naan bread with soft, supple texture (14/20). A house dal was a touch on the watery side to my taste, but was pleasant enough (13/20). Rice was also fine.

For dessert we tried an unusual take on gulab jamun with cardamom brulee (£12). For me this was trying a bit too hard for its own good to be innovative, with the cardamom flavour rather dominant. It was fine, but I would have preferred a classic gulab jamun (13/20). Better was saffron kulfi (£12) with mango kheer (porridge), badam chikki (a crisp, sweet candy made with almonds, jaggery and ghee) and fresh mango. This worked well together, and the mango itself was excellent (14/20). 

Service was very good and the bill came to £87 per person. Even on a hot Monday night in July, the restaurant was packed out. Apparently on a busy day like a Thursday they can do 700 covers here, so the scale of the operation is vast, reportedly generating over £12 million a year in revenue. It was all the more impressive that the cooking was consistent and the pace of the dishes was uniform, despite this massive scale.