Brasserie 25 Kuala Lumpur Review: Dining at Hotel Stripes

Brasserie 25 at Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur suited the hotel from the moment we walked in. The red-brick arches, dark wooden floor and open kitchen gave the restaurant personality, while the atmosphere remained relaxed enough for an unhurried lunch. It looked polished, but nobody appeared to be waiting for us to unfold a white napkin with military precision.

Our meal moved through smoked salmon salad, soups, a 200-day-aged rib-eye, a substantial salted beef sandwich and two comforting desserts. Some dishes were more convincing than others, yet friendly service, sensible prices and several memorable plates made our Brasserie 25 Kuala Lumpur review a positive one.

Inside Brasserie 25 Kuala Lumpur

Brasserie 25 occupies the ground floor of Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur. Its design follows the story of Jalan Kamunting, a neighborhood rebuilt in brick and tile after fire and flooding damaged many of its earlier wooden buildings. The connection never looked forced. Brick arches framed the open kitchen and bar, while black marble, dark timber and glass booths brought the room into the present.

The copper Sputnik chandeliers were the most playful detail. Ian naturally found several angles from which to photograph them, turning a light fixture into a small photo study before our food arrived. Despite the strong design, the dining room remained comfortable and easygoing. It suited hotel guests, business lunches and people from the surrounding neighborhood equally well.

Brasserie 25 Menu: A Snapshot From Our Visit

The menu we saw in 2019 mixed French brasserie references with a broader collection of familiar European dishes. Steak frites and onion soup sat comfortably beside a salted beef sandwich, meatball stew and British-style desserts. The selection was less strictly French than the restaurant’s name suggested, although that variety made it practical for a city hotel serving many different guests.

The official Hotel Stripes dining page now describes the menu as seasonal and shaped by visiting guest chefs, so the dishes in this review should be read as a record of our lunch, not a current menu. The beverage list during our visit covered wine, cocktails, digestifs, coffee and flavored lattes. Vegetarian choices were scarce at the time, but the present selection may be different.

Appetizers and Soups at Brasserie 25

Smoked Salmon Salad

I began with smoked salmon salad, poached egg and yogurt dressing. Capers gave the plate its sharpest note, while lettuce, Parmesan and croutons added freshness, salt and crunch. The poached egg was properly cooked and softened the stronger flavors once its yolk reached the dressing. It was a generous salad, closer to a complete light lunch than a token opening course.

Meatball Stew

Ian chose the meatball stew, a comforting dish built around a tomato sauce with moderate acidity and sweetness. The meatballs were tender and well seasoned, and the sauce invited the sort of slow eating that does not require much conversation. Truffle mashed potatoes accompanied the stew, although neither of us could find a convincing truffle aroma. Plain mashed potatoes would have been a more honest description.

Mushroom and Onion Soups

The creamy wild mushroom soup carried plenty of umami, with most of its aroma coming from truffle oil. I missed the deeper, earthier character that porcini or other strongly flavored forest mushrooms can bring. The result was respectable, although lighter and less earthy than I had imagined when reading the menu.

Our onion soup faced an unfair opponent: the memory of onion soup in Paris. Brasserie 25’s version had caramelized onion, croutons and a generous layer of cheddar, and the crisp, melted topping was easily its best part. The broth leaned too far toward fruity sweetness and needed more precise seasoning. Both soups had good foundations, but they were the least complete dishes of the lunch.

Main Courses at Brasserie 25

The 200-Day-Aged Rib-Eye

The centerpiece of Ian’s lunch was the rib-eye, described on our 2019 menu as aged for 200 days. That unusually long maturation was one reason we ordered it, and the kitchen treated the meat well. The steak arrived with a deep sear, a rosy center and enough tenderness to make the aging claim believable at the table.

A glossy beef jus supplied richness without becoming sticky or excessively thick, and the straightforward French fries left the steak in charge. This was the most expensive dish we ordered, but it was also the clearest expression of what Brasserie 25 did well: familiar food, confidently cooked and served without unnecessary decoration.

Salted Beef Sandwich

My salted beef sandwich brought together rye bread, sauerkraut, mustard and cornichons. The sharp, pickled elements kept the beef from becoming heavy, and the toasted bread held everything together without scraping the roof of my mouth. A little extra gravy for the fries would have completed the plate, but the sandwich itself delivered the hearty, cool-weather flavors I was craving in tropical Kuala Lumpur.

Desserts at Brasserie 25

Dessert has rescued more than one uneven meal for me, although Brasserie 25 did not need dramatic intervention. The final course simply moved a pleasant lunch further in the right direction. Both choices favored warmth, fruit and cream over intricate pastry work, which matched the restaurant’s relaxed character.

Sticky Date Pudding

The sticky date pudding was moist and dense, surrounded by caramel sauce with a faint bitterness that stopped the dessert from becoming too sweet. Clotted cream softened the warmth of the pudding and made the texture even more indulgent. The best spoonful contained all three, so naturally I spent the final minutes arranging the correct proportions.

Apple Cobbler

The apple cobbler was lighter and fruitier, with baked apple beneath a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a delicate vanilla cream. Juicy fruit kept the pastry from becoming dry, and the cold ice cream supplied the contrast Ian rarely refuses. Between the two desserts, I preferred the deeper flavor of the sticky date pudding, while the cobbler offered the fresher finish.

Service and Drinks

Service was professional and welcoming throughout our lunch. The team knew when to approach, allowed us time to photograph the dishes and never made the restaurant’s hotel setting seem formal. That approachable style was consistent with our wider experience at Hotel Stripes.

The drinks menu covered the expected wines, cocktails, digestifs and coffees, including vanilla and hazelnut lattes. It was broad enough for lunch without turning the meal into a study of the beverage list. The current official page continues to present the bar as a place for coffee and signature drinks, although individual choices and prices may have changed since our visit.

Is Brasserie 25 Worth Visiting?

Based on our lunch, Brasserie 25 was worth visiting for a relaxed meal in an attractive room. The aged rib-eye showed confident cooking, the salted beef sandwich was satisfying, and both desserts suited the easygoing brasserie mood. Service added warmth without becoming overly familiar, while the prices we paid represented good value for a restaurant inside an Autograph Collection hotel.

The weaker points were easy to identify. Both soups needed refinement, the truffle mashed potatoes promised an aroma they did not deliver, and the menu offered little for vegetarians during our visit. Brasserie 25 kept its ambitions close to comfortable neighborhood dining. We ate well, stayed longer than planned and left with the sticky date pudding still occupying my thoughts. For guests staying at Hotel Stripes, it made dinner pleasantly convenient; for other visitors, the interior and strongest dishes gave it an identity beyond the hotel lobby.

Brasserie 25 Review Card

• 8.4/10
  ATMOSPHERE – 8.4/10
• 8.8/10
  SERVICE – 8.8/10
• 8.7/10
  PRESENTATION – 8.7/10
• 8.5/10
  FOOD – 8.5/10
• 8.8/10
  DRINKS – 8.8/10
• 9/10
  VALUE – 9/10

Brasserie 25 Price, Location and Practical Details

Our 2019 lunch for two cost approximately USD65. The soups were RM30 each, desserts RM15 and the aged rib-eye RM90. Those historical prices help explain our value score, but they should not be used as a current menu. Hotel Stripes now describes Brasserie 25 as a seasonal restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with dishes influenced by visiting guest chefs.

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