If you’re looking for a truly smart and sophisticated restaurant, where you can sample some of the most innovative food to be had anywhere in London, Kensington’s Bombay Brasserie is a shoo-in for a top choice. It’s an Indian restaurant with style and exceptional food, where the clientele return time and time again for an extraordinary experience.
You certainly won’t find the usual curry house staples here. Instead, expect a splendid mix of inventive cooking and luxuriously constructed dishes from Executive Chef Prahlad Hegde. Then there’s the genuinely friendly and attentive service, making everything that much more enjoyable.
A stone’s throw from Gloucester Road, the first impression you get on walking through the bar is faint surprise at how low-key it all appears. This fleeting thought is soon replaced by the opulence of the main dining room – a grandiose high-ceilinged space where you might imagine a Raj prince holding court. This magnificence is nicely offset by the conservatory next door – more intimate in nature – and an open kitchen.
The cuisine is special from the get-go; appetisers might include Tandoori Salmon, which is simultaneously delicately flavoured and subtly powerful, or ‘khurmani ki tikki’ – apricot and potato cakes with yoghurt and tamarind chutney, a dish that might even double as dessert if you feel so inclined. Main courses are the big draw here, and certainly don’t disappoint; whether you choose the mint and coriander spiced lobster – a magnificently decadent and delicious spin on an old favourite – or finely cooked and beautifully presented lamb chops with ginger and green herbs. The wine list offers an extensive range to accompany the range of dishes on off. My guest and I opted for an excellent Louis Jadot Pinot Noir, proving a very fitting complement to the meal.
Forthcoming highlights at the restaurant (from November to March) include a series of ‘Flavour Masterclasses’, including Flavours of Divali on 5th November; the sort of food you would expect to eat inside the Royal Palaces of India (18th March) and perhaps, most enticing of all, a ‘Chilli Celebration Dinner Season’ in the second half of January, where a menu will be devoted to showcasing the ways in which chilli can add both fire and subtlety to a dish.
Courtfield Road, London SW7 www.bombaybrasserielondon.com
