Brilliant Gastro by Dipna Anand

This was my second visit to the reincarnation of The Brilliant, now in a new development of flats not far from Southall station. I have written previously about its background.

Jeera chicken was a classic dish from the old Brilliant, and it was very much the same level here, served on a sizzling iron tray. The chicken pieces, served on the bone, had plenty of cumin flavour, the meat tender (14/20). This was better than the papdi chaat, which had a pleasant tamarind chutney and tender chickpeas, but where the crisp fried puris were not as crisp as they might have been (barely 13/20). I also tasted bhatura chollay, which paired the fried bhatura bread with a dish of chickpea masala. The bhatura had excellent texture, and the chickpeas were good (13/20). Masala fish was less good, the tilapia a little overcooked, though the sauce was enjoyably rich (12/20).

Chicken masala was fine, the curry sauce rich and mildly spicy, the chicken pieces cooked well enough, though the chicken itself did not have particularly great inherent flavour (13/20). Desi saag was quite good, the spinach flavour not coming through as deeply as it could have done, but the leafy greens worked well (13/20). The garlic naan was very good, piping hot, soft and supple (14/20).

Service was fine, if a little stretched on this busy evening. The bill came to £55 a person with beer to drink, compared to a typical per person of maybe £60.  The overall level of the meal today was definitely raised by the excellent desserts, with some inconsistency in the savoury dishes that I didn’t find at my first visit here. The restaurant was rammed on this Friday night, with tables being turned and every outside table taken.

Further reviews: 21st May 2025