Bombay Brasserie takes the culinary route to exhibit ‘one India’

A walk down the promenade at Orion Mall in Bengaluru’s Malleswaram almost transports you to a different world. 

With the tall standing World Trade Centre as its backdrop, and the large water fountain as the sit-out view, it almost feels like you are in a different Southeast Asian country—probably Malaysia’s KLCC. But as you walk down a couple steps, a whiff of chaats, kebabs and naans dominate the air, transporting you back to India. 

Towards the end, right after the amphitheatre lies Bombay Brasserie’s latest outlet in the city. 

First launched in November 2013, in Coimbatore, Bombay Brasserie made contemporary Indian cuisine popular much before the influx of fusion Indian cuisine restaurants across the country. 

Since then, the K-Hospitality restaurant—which also houses brands including Jossh, Curry House, The Irish House and Copper Chimney—has been expanding across Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata; enabling diners to rediscover India through a culinary journey. 

India on a table

Imagine sitting in the country’s Silicon Valley and relishing a Calcutta Club fish fry with kashundi (fermented mustard seed and dry mango paste); or breaking into a Kashmiri naan kebab and bursting into flavours of kebab chini (a spice with flavours that taste like a combination of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon)—that’s the exact experience that Bombay Brasserie aims to attain. 

Bombay Brasserie's recently launched food menu pays “homage to many of India’s distinctive ingredients, some of which are remote and sourced specially like the black stone flower and bhoot jolokia,” Rajan Chakraborty, Business Head at K Hospitality tells YS Life. 

The restaurant uses regionally sourced ingredients—aam papad from Amritsar, kashundi and panch phoran from West Bengal, shikaar masala from Rajasthan, doon chetin from Kashmir, and malwani masala from the Konkan belt, to give customers as authentic an experience as possible. 

Beyond its food, Bombay Brasserie goes the extra mile with its decor to recreate the experience of ‘one India’. The space, designed for an all-day dining experience, caters to all age groups and seamlessly weaves together art, crafts, and nostalgic elements in an immersive journey through the country’s diverse cultural tapestry. 

Gujarat's colourful kites form a chandelier above the rattan and wooden furniture that make up the dining room. The outer verandah offers more of a casual dining experience, suited best for lazy afternoons. 

Bombay Brasserie’s signature wooden dolls occupy the entire wall opposite to the entrance of its Orion Mall outlet, forming a key feature to the space design experience. “The dolls pay homage to a prolific heritage of a craft prevalent across several parts of India. Each wooden carved doll is crafted by a skilled artisan who spent hours hand-painting them with careful brushstrokes,”  Chakraborty explains.

Much like its menu, the dolls represent each part in the subcontinent—there’s a red and white saree-clad Bengali, burqa-clad Muslim woman, a Christian lady in a pink dress, and a Tamilian in a white veshti, among a bunch of others.  

A culinary affair 

The small plates feature a selection of appetisers with a side of nostalgia. But don’t get deceived by the name. You can expect tomato soup and breadsticks, inspired from Indian Railways favourite snack; hot samosa chaat topped with Jaipur’s kadhi and aloo bhujia; Amritsar’s aam papad paneer; and crispy gobi with Kolhapur’s red chilli thecha.

From the non-vegetarian assortment, there’s South India’s Guntur-podi chicken; spicy chicken wings flavoured with Nagaland’s bhoot jolokia; and prawns with Maharashtra’s mirch ka thecha. 

The highlight, however, is the hot plates and street grills segment that features street kebabs flashed on the humble tawa or open charcoal grills. 

If you are going out for a meal by yourself and you have to order just one dish, the Kashmiri Naan Kebab should be your go-to order. 

Also one of the signature dishes at Bombay Brasserie, the Kashmiri Naan Kebab—a long, hand-grounded mutton mince seekh infused with kebab chini, served on a bed of soft saffron-brushed naan, with a side of doon chetin, a Kashmiri creamy yoghurt dip, and seasoned onions, can make for a meal in itself. 

And if your preference is white meat, the Charminar Murg Boti with Butter Roomali makes for an equally appetising alternative. The rustic street-style succulent and creamy chicken boti kebabs are served on a crispy yet light, buttered roomali roti, and pickled onions on the side. 

The mains, if there is room for more, take one back to the time when Mumbai was still Bombay. The menu features the home-made specialities of Sunday afternoons—a simple yet hearty meal we all looked forward to while growing up, and one that had to be followed by an afternoon siesta. 

The large portions promise to please the heartiest of appetites and feature nostalgic delicacies like the chicken tikka butter masala, slow-cooked veg biryani, chatpata Punjabi cooker chicken, Goa’s ambotik masala prawns and coconut rice, Amritsari aloo kulcha and paneer sirka or vinegar-soaked pyaz—an accidental delicacy born around the time of partition in Punjab’s refugee camps. 

To end the meal on a sweet note, Bombay Brasserie offers contemporary twists to regional favorites. But beware, the sweet treats to end a rich meal here might just be too saccharine.

There’s the OG Amritsari kulfa; roshogolla and rabdi topped with alphonso aamras; and the usual chocolate brownie pull up cake.  

As you come to the end of your meal, revel in the yesteryears vibe—the days when the Indian Railways were our go-to travel partner, pressure-cooker chicken was yet to be swapped with the European-spiced steak, and chai was best accompanied by samosa. If time permits, go ahead and steal a siesta at the end.  

Cost for two: Rs 2,000 (excluding cocktails)

Timings: Monday to Sunday, 11 30 AM - 11 PM