Bombay Brasserie Cape Town to blend Indian flair with South African quality

Taj Cape Town’s Bombay Brasserie showcases the punchy flavours of India with a fine dining twist, balancing service and presentation excellence with honesty and authenticity.

Executive Chef David Tilly and his team have plans to bring more South African influence to Bombay Brasserie’smenu ahead of the summer season, with the addition of elements like a spiced Springbok Shank, Biryani with Ceps and tandoor-fired Crayfish. “Our food is rooted in Indian heritage, but our home is Cape Town and we want to reflect the culture and beautiful produce of the Western Cape,” says Tilly. “Many people think ‘curry’ when they think of Indian food, but there’s so much more to it – and we want to showcase its many facets, while finding a harmonious balance with the influence of quintessentially South African ingredients”.

Executive Chef David Tilly

The current Tasting Menu – available as a four- or six-course experience, with or without wine pairing and in vegetarian and non-vegetarian variations – is an essential experience, but Tilly and his team also plan to add as many as three additional alternatives, with weekly specials driving their composition, scale and pricing.

Elegant, but accessible; spiced but not spicy, and bold, rather than brash, Bombay Brasserie’s menu is a culinary roadmap of the sub-continent’s dazzling array of flavours and textures. Though Tilly has over 20 years’ experience in restaurants across the globe, he’s happy to rely on the homegrown talents of the Indian-born chefs who run the Bombay Brasserie kitchen and coax intense flavours from lamb, chicken and fish – and an array of vegetarian options – with their intensive knowledge of spices. Tilly’s role, then, is to add refinement without lapsing into pretention – bringing street food into the gourmet space and respectfully rendering traditional favourites, with novel twists.

Bombay Brasserie itself, which cossets just 42 diners within its richly-toned walls, reflects the nature of the food which is stylishly borne from its kitchen by passionate, engaged and knowledgeable wait staff: opulent and mysterious, without being stuffy or inaccessible. “Indian food is traditionally a welcoming, shared experience – and we work very hard to retain the ‘comfort food’ element of that experience,” says Tilly.

Bombay Brasserie currently offers a number of daily specials throughout the week for both guests at Taj Cape Town and walk-in customers, which showcase the ingenuity and scope of skills of the team behind the scenes, for a single price – R180 per person, including a glass of house wine. On Mondays, guests can enjoy the astounding Murgh “Khatta Pyaaz” (Chicken Masala with pickled shallots), while on Tuesdays, “Lucknow Gosht Biryani” (fragrant lamb morsels in pillowy basmati), is the star. Wednesdays are ‘Kerala Night’, with “Macchi Alleppey” (Kerala-style Kingklip curry with spiced coconut and green mango) and Thursdays are ‘Maharaja Night’, with “Kali Mirch Ka Murga” (Chicken Tikka, peppercorn and mint leaves). Capping off the week are Friday ‘Masala Nights’, with “Murgh Tariwala” (Home favourite chicken curry enhanced with fenugreek), the dish of the day.

Taj Cape Town is also home to two excellent bars, which are ideal post-work or pre-dinner stops. At The Twankey Bar, Head Mixologist Melrick Harrison and his experiment-obsessed team are always ready to dazzle visitors with their particular brand of smoke and mirrors, while the Lobby Bar is an ideal spot for cozying up with a classy whisky or fine wine while soaking up the cosmopolitan atmosphere.