Do you like your curries hot? The Bombay Brasserie, in The Taj Hotel in Cape Town, is happy to oblige.
But they’ll also do a medium, or even a mild, if you ask nicely. What all of these contain, though, is a symphony of flavours that take you straight to the sub-continent.
To get there, you are led down an unremarkable tiled corridor. This, it seems, is get the full effect as you enter the restaurant. It is sumptuous, colourful, exotic; jewel colours in the décor and soft furnishings shot through with gold.
There is wooden lattice work on the windows, and lighting is courtesy of the original chandeliers – the hotel is housed in what was once the South Africa Reserve Bank.
It is a quiet dining experience, even when it is full. Tones are hushed, the background music low. All the better for the explosions in your mouth.
Executive Chef Surendra Kumar is the man of the hour. He hails from Rajasthan and arrived in Cape Town in January 2024; he has two decades of international experience under his belt that includes executive sous chef at the flagship Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. He has a passion for simplicity and the ancient Sanskrit philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava, or ‘the guest is equivalent to God’.
The menu is comprehensive, and is divided into vegetarian and non-vegetarian. There is a gourmet set menu for each that includes amuse bouche, tandoor se (from the tandoor clay oven), mains and dessert, priced at R860 per person.
There is also a starter, chaat and tandoor menu, as well as a good selection of mains, sides, naan and desserts. For our money, the only naan to have is the buttery, softly layered laccha paratha; it is heaven in the form of bread.
Chaat is Indian street food and the Bombay Chaat Tasting Plate comprises dahi puri and pani puri. These cunning little packages are loved by many; not so much by me. They’re just too big for my mouth to consume in one bite, and inevitably I get the mushy, liquid innards all over myself. It is so not a good look.
Prawns Balchão under tandoor se is a robust dish of prawns, coconut vinegar, tamarind and chilli, cooked in coconut vinegar and chilli sauce. Prawns were introduced to Goa by the colonising Portuguese, and they have become popular in the coastal regions.
We know that butter chicken is an institution, to be defended against all comers. My dad may not be bigger than your dad, but my mom’s butter chicken is better than your mom’s. We’re talking that level of allegiance.
Into the fray springs Bombay Brasserie Butter Chicken, made with tandoori chicken, creamy tomato gravy and fenugreek drizzle. You’ll have to order it to place it in your personal library of butter chicken brilliance.
If you’re all about fish, there’s Kerala Alleppey Fish Curry with kingklip, raw mango, coconut and shallots, inspired by Karavalli Restaurant at Taj Bangalore.
Confession time: I am somewhat obsessed with paneer. If it’s on a menu, I am ordering it. So it was an easy decision to go for the palak paneer, paneer smothered in tempered creamy spinach and garam masala. My dining companion feels the same way about aloo gobhi, a fusion of tempered cauliflower, potatoes and dry spices; no surprises when he ordered the Adraki Aloo Gobhi.
It is also no surprise that we were both delighted with our choices: each in their own way flavoursome, tender and all sorts of wonderful.
On the dessert front, there are the Indian staples of jalebi rabdi, warm gulab jamun and malai kulfi falooda, among others, as well as a couple of innovations: masala chai crème brûlée, a ginger, cinnamon and black tea concoction, and Spice Mess, a mess of gulab jamun, mango, cardamom meringue, passion fruit mousse and pistachio crumbs.
There is a lot of choice at Bombay Brasserie, and you could feasibly eat here several times and not have the same thing twice. And if spicy Indian food is on your radar, we suggest you do.
Business hours:
Bar: 4 pm-10.30 pm (daily)
Dining: 6 pm-10 pm (daily)
Contact:
021 819 2000
Website:
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Review written by Lorraine Kearney
Images: Lorraine Kearney
