One of London’s oldest fine dining ‘Indians’. the BB still has charm a plenty and food that keeps to the original high standards
I’ve never been to India. Whilst most of my peers packed their anti-dysentry tablets and headed there en masse before university I went to tour the USA in my gap yah. My stories of remote gas stations, crazy hillbillies and the excesses of California never competed with their tales of near death, top drugs and spiritual enlightenment.
I saw India in my mind as the India of the Raj, of E.M.Forster and Biggles and last week I went to that India, I went to the Bombay Brasserie.
Just a few feet from Gloucester Road tube, it’s a world away inside. The bar is hung with glorious photographs of the days of Empire, not in a coloniser way but as a fond memory of a time that has passed. The furniture speaks of humidity, heat, rain and the close presence of a servant ever ready to bring a cooling drink. London disappears, there could be elephants outside.
BB was started in 1982, about the time I started work in London. It was originally part of the hotel next door, the area’s first purpose-built hotel built in the 1870s, but not any longer as Taj no longer owns the hotel, just the restaurant..
You can see the hotel antecedents in the dining room which is enormous, it may once have been the hotel’s ballroom. Its size is a little daunting on a quiet lunchtime visit, although it is beautifully laid out and continues the ‘Days of the Raj’ theme with pride. A large sunlit conservatory has even more tables but, we’re told, does a sumptuous and well-attended weekend buffet when not being used for weddings, which it is a lot.
When it began BB was something of a Unicorn in Indian dining, as it was ‘fine’. Very different to the suburban ‘curry houses’ largely run by Bangladeshis, BB offered elevated and expensive dining based on the cuisine of Mumbai (formerly Bombay, but Mumbai Brasserie does not roll off the tongue as easily).
Today elevated ‘Indian’ is everywhere in London, and possibly even outside the M25, I haven’t looked, so BB no longer has uniqueness on its side. The menu is large, the choice almost overpowering, so we went for a set menu which ultimately defeated us in quantity, but each dish was individually excellent with some stand outs along the way
Two pre starters of crispy baby spinach chaat and Aloo tuk chaat Jersey potato chaat (along with papadoms, of course) were good curtain-raisers, I love the sweet, spicy, salty, and tongue tickling taste of chaat
The Chicken Thyme Kebabs up next featured soft moist thigh meat, kebabs can all too often dry out especially if breast meat is used, and a gentle spicy,herby kick. Adraki lamb chops were even better, a fierce chilli kick, lots of fresh ginger and excellent quality meat.
Soft shell crabs I am never keen on, these were tasty but I just never like the look of them on the plate but that’s not BB’s fault. I was far more comfortable with the Tandoori KIng Prawns which were approaching lobster size. Beautifully charred, absolutely delicious.
The main courses come out in a table filling mass. We exchange glances, this going to be a lunch that could incapacitate us. As professionals,we sit up straight and make ready.
Kingfish in banana leaf was light and tasty, the banana leaf adding a sweet note to the spicing around the meaty fish and the bhuna roast lamb was melting tender with the spicing balanced perfectly with the slow cooked lamb. With this dish we mopped up with the Malabar Paratha, beautifully multi layered. crisp and flaky and not at all oily as can often be the case.
Chicken Tikka Makhani ( Makhanu means butter) was a bit too creamy and buttery for me. It’s a popular dish across the UK now, but I find it rather bland overall. On the other hand,the Dal Makhain, black lentils slowly cooked with butter and cream, was wonderful. It’s a dish that is not supposed to be over spiced, just onion, ginger, garlic, tomato puree, and the natural flavour of the very slow cooked lentils. It went well with the roti bread and saffron rice.
On the side we also had Lassoni palak, basically a spinach curry heavily laced with garlic which was great scooped up with the nan. Neither of us liked the Jackfruit and Carrot Sukhe much though. I never got on the jackfruit craze a while back when it was promoted as a good meat substitute. It isn’t.
Desserts of Coconut coated Rasmalai ( a kind of cottage cheese), Macadamia saffron slice, Ajmeeri coconut mousse burfi and Chocolate kulfi were all very good. Desserts don’t tend to be great in Indian restaurants, but these were excellent.
We didn’t so much walk out as roll out, we ate far too much but the food was irresistible. There were no elephants outside but we trumpeted our happiness.
bombayb.co.uk
Opposite Gloucester Road Tube, Courtfield Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 4QH