Wow all the waiters for Brilliant seem to be paid to write nice things about it!!
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Brilliant Restaurant
Southall, London
Star distribution
17 reviews
Indian Restaurants Southall | Indian Restaurants London | Indian Take-aways Southall | Indian Take-aways London
Voted as one of Ramsay’s Best Restaurant, The Brilliant in Southall is an Indian restaurant, specialising in North Indian Punjabi food. Owner Gulu Anand, has been running the business for 37 years ... show more
- Address:
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72-76 Western Road, Southall , London UB2 5DZ
- Contact us:
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020 8574 1928
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BRILLIANTRESTAURANT
- Opening hours:
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Mon-closed
Tue-12-3pm 6-11:00pm
Wed 12-3pm 6-11:00pm
Thurs 12-3pm 6-11:00pm
Fri-12-3pm 6-11:30pm
Sat and Sunday 6-12midnight
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62 Walham Grove, Fulham, London SW6 1QR
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17 reviews of Brilliant Restaurant in English
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I ate here for the first time after hearing the hype about this place being highly recommended by Gordon Ramsay. As an Indian I am obviously a good judge of Indian food. First off, we did not make a reservation as we did not realise that the place would be busy on a weeknight, so we had a significant wait for a table (but that was our fault). I noted that roughly more than half of the diners there were Caucasian. Usually, a sign of a good ethnic restaurant is a predominance of diners of the ethnicity of the restaurant. The waiters were very apologetic about the wait. Our starters consisted of seekh kebab and samosas, both of which were very good. The selection of chutneys and pickles is also generous and very good. The starters arrived promptly but once we finished them we had to wait about 45 minutes for our mains despite ordering everything at the same time. I ordered a bhatura which looked nothing like what it is supposed to; its taste was another story! It was half cooked and I had to send it back and request that it be replaced by a plain naan. What arrived was floury and not up to the standard of naan, even the Marks and Spencer version is better! The veg curry I ordered was adequate but not as good as what I have eaten in some of the other restaurants in Southall and Wembley. The mango lassi was watered down with lots of ice! All in all, this place is overhyped and the service slow. If Gordon Ramsay had to wait 45 minutes between courses, there is no doubt that he would be swearing at the chef and servers! I suggest that he visit a few more restaurants in Southall before making judgements about the "best" Indian restaurant as there are far better Indian eateries than this one.
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I can't believe this place only has 3 stars on Qype. What's wrong with you people? The food here is fantastic. The butter chicken is the best I've ever had and the rest of the menu is mouthwateringly good. In fact I want to go there right now and it's only quarter to 10 in the morning as I write this.
The only thing that lets Brilliant down is the pricing, as it's more expensive than other local haunts such as Mirch Masala or Gifto's Lahore Karahi.
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Comment 3 comments on this review show all
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JJohn123, 11 May 2012: -
dotmit, 11 May 2012:Not all the waiters have my Qype review credentials to their name. Check out my other reviews :)
And next year take your girlfriend somewhere romantic. A curry house is never going to be romantic. What were you thinking?? -
martin2343, 1 July 2012:dotmit i agree with you totally, the brilliant restaurant should have more stars, also i once got told you pay high prices for good food so i dont mind paying the price for the kind of quality you get at the brilliant
also i read up on an internet article that the BRILLIANT RESTAURANT sources its products locally whenever possible, therefore i can understand why they are priced slightly higher, better quality ingredients means a difference in price but i would rather pay this as you can trust the food is fresh and produce is good quality
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This has to be the worst Indian food ever. Went there last week for Valentines Day, and must say the food is bland and tasteless!!
Martin2343, either your tastebuds are not working or you have been paid for your comments (the same way I think Gordon Ramsay has been paid to say its the best Indian – lets not forget he was broke and must have welcomed any kind of money to promote a taste lacking restaurant). Or judging by other comments, if you have eaten here 150 times it must be the leftovers of other customers after you have finished your shift at the restaurant?!
Would not recommend this place to anyone, as service is slow and the food really is not proper Indian food. You would probably get much better at your local curry house.
Brilliant is SIMPLY NOT BRILLIANT!!!
Comment 2 comments on this review
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martin2343, 7 March 2012:
like i said i wish i was paid for my comments, but unfortunately not, i do do mystery dining which i am paid for but unfortunately not paid for writing comments
as for gordon ramsay, publicity stunts by newspapers and media show he is broke when you and i really know he is not at all, as for that ramsays best restaurant series, the end of the programme said it was a production company as opposed to ramsays holdings, so how much money he would have made is questionnable, surely the money would have gone to the production company!!! i was at the brilliant 3 nights ago yet again and it was extremely busy with people waiting for tables. Just goes to show that a restaurant of this calibre cannot be judged by a single person or if one person says its bad out of a million, their comments really dont count. Like i said although i know what good food is, probably better than a lot of people, i would still advise people, do not just take my word for it, go yourself and pay them a visit. Go and see the surroundings, standard of service and the excellent quality food the restaurant offers. The local environmental health inspectors, visit numerous restaurants and if standard were so bad, the restaurant probably would be non existent by now, but like i said i was there 3 nights ago and everything was super. As for the service, service at the brilliant is always excellent, also nice to same the same members of staff on numerous occasions. I can recommend all i like or go on and on, but i wont, best way, find out yourself, you wont be disappointed
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dotmit, 11 May 2012:
I think JJohn123 has reviewed the wrong place. There’s another restaurant called Madhu’s Brilliant which looks more like the kind of place you might want to spend Valentine’s day (though quite why anyone thinks a night in a curry house is an acceptable Valentine’s dinner is another matter). Madhu’s Brilliant is no good. Brilliant is brilliant :)
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i laughed when i read the review about the cockroach found in someones food, i think you have the wrong restaurant, this restaurant has a very famoius reputation and was selected as one of gordon ramsays best
it also has a 5 score (the highest) rating you can get from the health inspector for its cleanliness and hygiene standards, and thats proving their hygiene is very good
i think these reviews are probably written by customers who were looking for a freeby but didnt get one or customers who didnt get a table, why would someone make up silly things like this, fails me
anyhow i have visited brilliant 150 times in the last 5-6 years and its never disappointed me, my family nor my friends. Food is spectacular and by FAR THE BEST INDIAN FOOD IN THE COUNTRY. Dont take my word for it, anyone can write reviews, go and judge it yourself. SIMPLY BRILLIANT
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priyashah1979, 18 February 2012:Martin2343 unfortunately I wish I was making up my comment below. My sister booked her party there being sucked in by advertising tactics…who would not when such high end celebrity names are mentioned.We were a party of 15 people and not one of us left in the slightest bit impressed….The COCKROACH story is very true and party members left with INSECT BITES. As the owners paid no attention to our complaints we have had to get pest control, health and safety and undecover investigators into this place to checks it out…YOU ONLY NEED TO CALL THEM to find out the FACTS. I really feel sorry for you if you rate this restaurant highly at all. It does look nice downstairs but the upstairs and kitchen are an utter diabolical shambles….think this is where all the food gets made and comes out. I have tasted much better authentic indian food in the likes of many north london restaurants. This restaurant is only interested in fast turnover and RAKING PROFIT. It does not value food quality, hygiene or service. I urge anyone to genuinely check with southall pest control/health and safety regarding complaints, their findings and reports they have on brilliant restaurant southall. CHECK before you waste your quality time and money on this INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE RESTAURANT.
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priyashah1979, 18 February 2012:
Ps…definetely have the right restaurant! This is definetely not a restaurant worthy of a 1 on the hygiene scale…dusty window sills, uncleaned old carpets, a breeding ground for bugs, toilets virtually in the kitchen etc etc. Our party was not looking for any freebies…we came expecting service and quality expected to match what we had seen on advertising. We had prebooked a table which we got upstairs in the function area. By no means did we get any freebies, we were only given the BIG bill less the service charge and we also got NO APOLOGY. The only FREEBIES we got were the COCKROACH, INSECT BITES and the SHOCK that such a restaurant would be allowed to stay open serving innocent public members. We were told to do whatever we wanted by means of complaint and that it would not achieve anything….this was said to us by the owner! NONE OF WHAT I AM SAYING IS MADE UP UNFORTUNATELY. I am making the issues with this restaurant common knowledge to prevent further genuine customers like myself and my party members from being RIPPED OFF and made to SUFFER ILL HEALTH…it’s a week on since I dined at brilliant and am only just recovering fully from the insect bites. I would hate to wish this experience on anyone.
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martin2343, 7 March 2012:
i wish i was paid for my comments, would be very rich by now! unfortunately not, like i said have been a food lover for many years and dining at brilliant a long while, if you know what real indian food is, you too should understand. i was here again 3 nights ago, in fact they had a film crew in the restaurant film a food programme, so if this restaurant was so below standard then it would have been closed down by now. Anyhow the only way to judge i guess is for people to try for themselves, who are we to say whats good and whats not
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martin2343, 1 July 2012:
just been browsing the hygiene rating for this restaurant and they have a 4 which is an excellent rating, apparently they were only reviewed in the last 1 month so has to be a reliable rating, anyhow still one of my favourite places to eat by far
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Manikump, 10 August 2012:Just because Gordon Ramsay rates this restaurant highly doesn’t mean that it is the best. Since when did Gordon Ramsay become Indian to judge Indian food??!
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the food is not upto standard the place is cool and location gre at, staff are crap and they dont pay attention to the customers really this place is far from brilliant. I am not a rival restraunt owner I enjoy good food.
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Please, people, ignore the negative reviews of the Brilliant. Maybe people genuinely had bad experiences, or they're just used to high street rubbish - or, as I suspect, the low-starring reviews are planted by rival restaurateurs.
I'm as critical as you can be of any restaurants, but especially Indian / Pakistani places, and trust me the Brilliant .... IS. Utterly delicious, authentic food, fantastic ingredients, charming service, delightful ambiance. And, no, I wasn't influenced by Gordon Ramsay, either! I previously reviewed the Argentinian place in Battersea which he raved about in the same series, and it was dreadful.The Brilliant is now my joint No. 1 in London.
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naginshah
1 review
1 review
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Poor quality Foods and Not Value for Money.
Very Bad Service and when disresceptful.
When complained to the management, I was told waving his hand in Indian style GO! GO!.
Would advise no one to go there and waste their Money.
There are so many Good Quality Indian Resturants with good service.
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Alan108
2 reviews
2 reviews
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The food was good but not Brilliant. Above average though.
I was not that impressed with the service and found it difficult to get the attention of the waiter, which should have been easy being the only diners in the restaurant at the time (it was quite early in the evening). Maybe the waiter hadn't warmed up yet.
I found the large TV screens showing Bollwood movies with scantilly clad woman whirling around quite distracting whilst we ate.
The ambience was not my cup of tea as I prefer something a little more intimate, I can see many people may enjoy that sort of place though.
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spaw
1 review
1 review
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WORST INDIAN FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD...... the food was bland and overly salty, the passion fruit juice was not fresh instead the rubican stuff.
The veg food came out first and we had to wait for the non veg for 10 min, the chilli paneer tasted of nothing, the whole experience was terrible.....
CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS EVEN MADE IT TO T.V, so glad that they went out in the first round.
A total waste of money.
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hamster42
1 review
1 review
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This was the worse indian meal i've ever had, the poppadums wer straight from a packet, no attempt to disguise, the chicken tiikka & tandoori chicken starters arrived after every one else had finished theirs, the filo prawns were staright from iceland.
30 minutes after ordereuing the waitress came to make sure she had taken the order right for the mains
My partner and sister inlaw ordered thge same mains which were completely different in look and taste, my daughters chicken was dry, & tasteless, my sons massala chicken was like italian, made with Ragu, the only thing missing was the pasta.
When we complained to the waiter, he came back said he's spoken to chef, and the dishes were all as they were supposed to be, was quite obtuse, and stood glowering at my son and daughter for having the cheek to complain about sub standard food
If you want good indian food, this is not the place to go to, they obviously only perform when knobs like Ramsey and his crew are around, find yourself somewhere else to eat and give this place a wide berth
Comment 2 comments on this review
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spaw, 17 November 2010:i agree
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priyashah1979, 14 February 2012:
this restaurant has to be rated one of the worst indians in the uk
james1000
1 review
1 review
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Worst indian i have ever had, food tasted like italian, if you had not told me it was indian i would never have known.
When we told the staff we were'nt entirely happy they reacted quite rudely and even tried arguing with us. NOT IMPRESSED. I would never go back, and urge anybody to avoid this place like the plague.
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It is.
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The Brilliant has long been one of of my favourite Indian restaurants - I have been coming here for twenty years on a regular basis. These days it is very smart, with an upstairs room that can be hired for private dining.
The cooking is authentic Punjab,with a few twists from East Africa, which is where the owners grew up. Tandoori dishes are excellent, such as the butter chicken or jeera chicken, and the tandoori quaili is superb.
Curries are made using a specially made garam masala mix, and dishes such as methi chicken have a wonderful rich complexity highlighting fenugreek and a host of other spices.
Try the romali roti, a paper-thin bread that is tossed in the air and cooked briefly on a steel hemisphere. It is a bread that is common enough in India, but hardly any restaurant in the UK serves it.
Portions are very much designed for large Asian families, but they will happily pack any leftovers for you. Prices are very fair indeed (though high by Southall standards) - £25 a head including drinks will buy more food than anyone could reasonably eat at one sitting.
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I agree with everything the other reviewers have said about The Brilliant. It is easily one of the best Indian Restaurant in the area. You know it is good when even the local Indian Community eat there. Very light and airy. Modern decor - not a plastic Taj Mahal or roll of flock wallpaper in site. Very clean, great service. The only small grip I have is the massive plasma TV’s were on all the time. That might be OK for some but it ruined the 'atmos’ for me slightly. Food is really good. Not too spicy which is usually done so just for the 'British’ Pallet anyway (Goodness Gracious Me and the 'going for an English’ sketch springs to mind). The food comes in good size portions but don’t expect to find a healthy option anywhere on the menu.
I am a wheelchair user so also look at things from the wheelchair access point of view. It has level access but no disabled loo. Plenty of side streets to park down though.
The place gets very busy most weekends so you need to arrive early of be prepared for a wait for a table.
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nirajay
33 reviews
33 reviews
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Me & my wife decided to give Brilliant restaurant a visit after reading the reviews.
The ambience of the restaurant was good. Very few noises going around. Best treat was to watch a video of Gordon Ramsay’s visit to the restaurant for filming one of his cookery shows.
For the starters we ordered some spicy Mogo chips. The mogos were crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. It was a good start and looked quite positive. Then we ordered Panner Jalfrezi which was cottage cheese cooked with mixed vegetables. The appearance all the three green, red, yellow peppers made it looked quite appetising. It went very well with plain kulcha bread which was well done, hot and soft, just as we liked it.
At the end of the meal, we were given complimentary mint chocolates. Overall, the service was quick and they receive full marks for it.
The only letback was the ginger ale, compared to what you usually get in supermarkets, this one was pale in flavour.
I would look forward to visiting this restaurant again
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Great resturant, food is tastey and fairly priced. Staff are very friendly, and atmosphere is quite nice. They have great starters and their main courses are very good too, they make great milkshakes too.
I liek their lamb briyani it tastes just right, not too dry like some other places.
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laurangutan
37 reviews
37 reviews
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This is the Indian where Charles and Camilla eat! The food is Punjabi with an African influence and the starters are enormous and delicious; try the Nyama Choma (Lamb ribs barbequed in Kenyan spices). I find it best to pig out on the starters then share a few main course dishes between you. Plenty of vegetarian options, and also the menu has healthy options marked on it. Loads of different breads to try. The staff are friendly and attentive. Have a look at the website!
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