Signature Tasting Menu at: Bombay Brasserie, Taj Dubai

The location

Bombay Brasserie is a fine dining Indian brand which offers the odd distinction of hosting precisely zero venues in India itself. Born in London’s affluent Kensington district back in 1982, after expanding to Cape Town, last year the concept launched in Business Bay’s towering Taj Dubai. It’s a fine spot on the edges of the emirate’s most affluent after hours hub, but there’s notable competition not far away.

The atmosphere

The most defining feature of the restaurant’s main dining space is the huge, on-trend open kitchen, and the ongoing hum of activity lends a distinctly casual vibe to proceedings. This helps overcome the stuffiness of the decor, which is defined by big, coloured armchairs, deep green furnishings and jarringly bright cushions and wall murals. Staff are friendly and efficient. Ask for a seat against the north-eastern window, which offers great, currently unobstructed views of the Burj Khalifa, from a refreshing fourth floor vantage.

The food

Recently revamped to reflect changes in the larger à la carte selection, Bombay Brasserie’s Signature Tasting Menu offers bite-sized portions of the restaurant’s proudest creations, without having to plough through the typical sharing-sized portions.

Things began with a selection of starters and tandoor which can best be described as a mixed bag. The roti pe boti — lamb and caramelised onion served on a wheat flatbread — was a delicious high-end spin on the humble kebab, while the chicken tikka, served green and seasoned with basil, was succulent and moreish. However the tawa scallops felt perhaps a tad underdone, while the lamb patty served on kumquat (gilawati kebab) had a squidgy, insubstantial texture. Best of all was the fahi bhalla, a street food classic of lentil dumplings, served tangy and crunchy with dry mango and melon seeds. This dish also appeared on my companion’s vegetarian selection, alongside highlights including bhatti ki subzi (spice rubbed grilled asparagus and avocado) and the excellent malai broccoli.

For the main, I was served two heavy meat curries — “grandma’s chicken curry”, in a light, tomato-based sauce, and a heavy, Mughal-style lamb dish — which both suffered from slightly tough meat — as well as a rich, classic earthy dal makhani.

I couldn’t repress a tinge of jealousy glimpsing the larger selection offered to my vegetarian companion, whose spread included the delicious, nutty malai kofta, tender lasooni palak paneer (spinach with cottage cheese) and baingan bharta, a smoked eggplant crush perhaps too smoky for our tastes.

Things closed with a sparkling trio of desserts, chenna payesh (sweet milk infused with saffron), bread and dig pudding (anjeer ka shahi tukra) and the omnipresent, thali-tastic gulab jamun (that’s a dumpling in syrup).

Who’s it best for?

Big on the classics but offering few surprises, the tasting menu would be best pitched at a newcomer to Indian cuisine eager to expand their palate. Also, it’s worth noting the strong vegetarian option may be ideal for a split veggie/carnivore couple, who might ordinarily find ordering sharing dishes a diplomatic disaster.

The verdict

In Dubai’s ultra-competitive climate of high-end Indian dining, Bombay Brasserie has its work cut out, but this new tasting menu offers fresh incentive to stop by.

The National was a guest of the venue.

• BB Experience menu from Dh275 per head. Bombay Brasserie is open daily from 6pm at the Taj Dubai, Business Bay, taj.tajhotels.com (04 438 3222).

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Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani

Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas

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Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

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- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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MATCH INFO

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Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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