Bombay Brasserie Singapore brings eclectic regional Indian cuisine and French joie de vivre to South Beach Avenue.
It looks like any fancy Parisian bistro. One that wouldn’t be out of place along, say, the famous food streets of Rue Montorgueil or Rue Cler in the French capital. But it doesn’t smell right. It smells heavenly, just in a different way. It smells of spices. Indian spices.
Welcome to Bombay Brasserie at South Beach Avenue.
Well travelled gastrophiles would have heard of Bombay Brasserie. First opened in London’s fashionable Kensington district back in 1982, it was among the first fine-dining Indian restaurants in London to offer authentic takes on regional Indian cuisines. It was then followed by offshoots in Cape Town and Dubai, bringing Mumbai’s eclectic cuisine – which combines Goa, Bengal, Gujarat, and imperial Mughal influences – to those cities.
Now it’s Singapore’s turn.
Not that Bombay Brasserie in Singapore is a direct transplant. Instead owners IHCL – South Asia’s largest hospitality group running anything from hotels and resorts to palaces and even jungle safaris – have wisely tweaked the concept to suit Singapore’s unique and very competitive dining scene. So rather than being stuffy fine-dining, it’s more of a smart casual bistro, clearly targeted at the office crowd working in the surrounding offices, as well as tourists putting up in the various hotels like InterContinental Singapore and Raffles Singapore across the road or JW Marriott South Beach right next door.
Look past the upscale bistro decor with its plush red seats, glitzy gold accents, and contemporary paintings and street photography and you’ll find a menu offering a myriad of Indian and French flavours, geared as much for sharing with colleagues as for dining alone.
And while Bombay Brasserie Singapore’s restaurant manager insists that theirs is not fusion food, there are some elements that do cross over. The chaats, for example. While we enjoyed the more traditional potato based Aloo Papdi Chaat, there are versions that comes with a duck confit samosa or smoked salmon.
How about the Seafood Bisque Rasam that comes with crab ravioli? Or Camembert Spinach Kofta?
The comforting Indian flavours are on point. You’ll revel in the classic Our Butter Chicken, which comes creamier than most, or the very robust Kashmiri Rogan Josh which you’ll want some spiced jeera rice with. And while we normally order Dal Makhni or Dal Tadka, this time we went for the less common Punjabi Rajma Chawal, a curry of kidney beans.
We eyed too the Kerala Beef Pepper Fry, that famous dish from the southwest of India, or the mutton-based Rajasthani Laal Maas. But we simply had no space.
And as a beret tip to its French influence? There are a number of French bistro favourites that offer alternatives to those not too adventurous with their palates, such as Steak Au Poivre that comes as Australian beef tenderloin with a green peppercorn sauce, or even a cheese-encrusted Lobster Thermidor.
You’d do well to end your meal with some South Indian filter coffee or masala chai. You’ll need those to ward off food coma before heading back to your office.
Bombay Brasserie Singapore
Address 26 Beach Rd, B1-23/24/25 South Beach Avenue, Singapore 189768 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 12pm to 10pm daily
Tel (65) 6980 7163
Web www.tajhotels.com/en-in/singapore/bombay-brasserie
Facebook BombayBrasserieSingapore
Instagram @bombaybrasseriesingapore
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