Brilliant

Editor's note: the last service of the Brilliant is 4th April 2025.

The Brilliant opened way back in 1975, catering mostly to the Asian families that live in Southall. Now spread over two floors, the restaurant serves classic Punjabi dishes. Owner Gulu Anand is ever present, and the kitchen is highly consistent in what it produces across its quite large menu. Samosa chaat blast is a variation on the Bombay snack theme, here having crushed vegetable samosas in amongst the usual combination of tamarind chutney, yoghurt, Bombay mix and chickpeas. This was a lovely combination of flavours and textures (14/20). 

Methi murgh is a chicken curry flavoured with spices but in particular fenugreek, and here garnished with coriander. Fenugreek is a bold flavour and the curry sauce here was rich and complex, the meat tender (14/20). Aloo gobi, the classic combination of cauliflower and potato, here enhanced by garlic and fresh ginger. The vegetables had retained their texture well (14/20). Aloo chollay is a mix of chickpeas and potatoes in spices, enhanced by raw mango and pomegranate, which added some freshness to the tender chickpeas (14/20).  Dal makhani is the classic dish of creamed black lentils tempered and seasoned with mild spices, the texture good (14/20). Romali roti is a favourite of mine, a bread rolled very thin, tossed in the air and placed on a very hot steel hemisphere and quickly folded several times. It takes quite a lot of space for this device, and the skill to make the bread, so few London restaurants do it, but it is lovely here (14/20).

The bill came to £39 a head with plenty of beer, and there was enough food left over for a complete dinner as a takeaway. It would be easy to eat here for less even than the modest amount I paid. Service was excellent as always. The Brilliant has been a long-standing favourite of mine ever since I moved to west London in 1991.

Further reviews: 12th Feb 2023 | 18th Dec 2022 | 17th Sep 2022 | 17th Aug 2021 | 13th Sep 2020 | 05th May 2019 | 06th Aug 2017 | 05th Jun 2016