Bombay Brasserie, a high-end restaurant brand associated with Taj Hotels that has standalone locations in London, Cape Town, Singapore and Dubai, is readying to open a new location here in San Francisco's Union Square.
It's a bit more good news for beleaguered Union Square, with the luxury Taj Hotels brand — operator of the Taj Campton Place (340 Stockton Street) — getting ready to debut a new restaurant in the former space of Michelin-starred Campton Place. The public opening date is August 23, and it does not appear that reservations are yet available online.
The restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5 pm to 10 pm.
Launched in 1982 in London, Bombay Brasserie is currently the only restaurant brand of an Indian hotel with standalone presence abroad, as the Times of India noted last year. It expanded with locations at the Taj Cape Town and the Taj Dubai in 2010 and 2015, respectively, and last year with a new location in Singapore.
The restaurant is know for blending the influences from Parsi, Goan, Bengali, Gujarati, Portuguese and Raj cuisines, and was the first restaurant in London to offer refined takes on traditional Indian dishes.
Campton Place Restaurant, which most recently was led by Executive Chef Srijith Gopinathan, boasted two Michelin stars under his leadership, but closed at the start of the pandemic. The Taj Campton Place reopened its Bar & Bistro in 2021 to serve hotel guests, but it appears the former fine-dining restaurant was primarily only used for breakfast service, if anything, in recent years.
Gopinathan has gone on to open the acclaimed Ettan in Palo Alto, and Copra in San Francisco, which debuted last year.
That all changes next week with the debut of Bombay Brasserie. The official description says the restaurant will explore the "culture of Indian flavors, textures and fragrances, delivered with refined culinary accents, and presented with a contemporary aesthetic," and with "a French twist," and the executive chef is Thomas George, "a culinary visionary hailing from Kerala, South India."
The opening of a new restaurant property in the Union Square area is good news for the area, which is still dealing with a raft of empty storefronts, and the impending closure of Macy's, which may take place by early 2025.
The area recently saw the debut of Le Parc Bistrobar in the former Gaspar Brasserie space at the Galleria Park Hotel, which is the newest venture from former Baumé chef-owner Bruno Chemel.
Photo of the former Campton Place restaurant via Facebook
