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"I would say this spot is by far the best Indian in Hillcrest and possibly in SD in general. They have great Chai tea too. The wait staff is…" read more »
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OK so I am not the biggest Indian food fanatic but that doesn't mean I am giving up. I known Bombay has been in hillcrest for a while and I said I have to try it and hope that this place can step up to the plate. The naan was great, I loved the chicken masala and the bryianni was fantastic. Its really hard to find an Indian restaurant that has the ambiance and the food, Bombay delivered tonight.
The Critic
i went here today and was expecting some kind of good indian food,
before i went in, the guy in front gave me a free meal deal if i eat there, the catch is "maximum $12 value" so i asked him the menu and see if there is actually something that costs less than $12 on the menu, which wasn't available. finally, they made a $12 off out of the bill rather than giving me any free meal.
the place, decor, ambiance, mood lighting was great, typical high end restaurant. unfortunately the food wasn't any extraordinary and expensive. i have tasted better tikka masala and rogan josh in both san diego area and singapore and malaysia. and definitely cheaper as well.
so yeah... not gonna come back here
I LOVE Bombay!
I'd walked by the restaurant so many times, and always wanted to try it...the inside is amazing - I don't use this word much, but immediately what comes to mind is - opulent. High ceilings, beautiful statues, and a waterfall in the front that creates a very exotic feel. The sound of that paired with the swanky Indian music they play makes for a very nice soundtrack to your dinner.
Of course none of that matters unless the food is just as good, and it is. I've had the vegetarian tikka masala, the vegetable korma, and the garlic naan with...with...I forget the name - the yogurt with cucumber and mint - and everything was delicious; full of flavor. The entrees look a little small when they come out in the little silver bowls, but it's actually quite a lot of food - enough for dinner + leftovers the next day. You may need to ask for another serving of rice though (I think they generally give this to you at no charge). The only negative is that the place is a bit pricey - $15 for the entrees (even vegetarian).
Service was great both times I went. Extremely warm and attentive. And the best part - the second time we came in, he had an extra dessert (mistake by the kitchen I guess), and he gave it to us. It was a coconut mousse, and was delicious. I was too full from dinner though to eat all of it.
Great place, in every aspect!
Kheer Review
My gf & I stopped in last night for dessert. While the place has a very nice ambience, and zealous service, the Kheer was very disapointing.
To start with, there were 3 slices of unripe mango served along with the dish of kheer. Whomever cut it knew they were cutting through the hard seed and left it there anyway for me to chomp down upon... not indicative of professional kitchen help... However, the presentation was visually pleasing.
The Kheer itself was tasteless, institutional greul - probably from a can. Definately not a delicious hand crafted dessert I expected in such a visually-stunning restaurant. C'mon... Kheer is such a standard menu item. I used the word "institutional" because there was a funny flavor in it, itself. My gf thought it tasted like Cap'n Crunch. I thought Farina or Cream of Wheat. There was barely any cardamon and no cinnamon flavor, and the crushed nuts (pistachios, I think) on top were not fresh. If it wasn't for the nice time enjoying the atmosphere, it really wasn't worth the time it took us to eat it.
I have had good meals there long ago, but today I'd most likely go elsewhere. Very disappointing.
it's a shame that service has gone down at this beutifull place, me and my husband go there at least two times a week for the lunch buffet and the service was wonderfull, we always had the same server his name was saul he was wonderfull, he always greated us with a big smile and he knew exactly what we liked, three other couples that are our friends also used to go there just for the great service that saul gave us but now they told us that they havent gone back either I have nothing against indian people but the last 2 times we have been there wich was last week we were served by two different indian servers each time they seem like they didn;t even know what they where doing and both times they had to called their busser to traslate and to take our drink orders :( what a shame that service has gone down. I ask one of the guys what happened to our favorite server saul and he said he was on vacation, HOPEFULLY HE WILL RETURN SOON because we don't want to miss the opportunity to enjoy bombay's food because of lack of service.
Was my first time in this place last night and so glad i went. My friend who is a regular suggested we go and i had an amazing experience.
The decor was warm and hip, service great and the food was really excellent. I will be going back again !
Being that Bombay was my first experience with Indian cuisine, I figured that the buffet would be the best intro. A co-worker recommended Bombay and I was game.
I liked the overall options on the buffet bar. There were three salads, two soups, and several entree options to choose from. I tasted a good variety of the offerings and enjoyed all but one thing.
The decor here is exquisite. If you just come here for some drinks and to relax, you score. It's absolutely beautiful and takes you away from the hustle of the main road.
I want to go back and update my review as there were dishes that were not buffet that I'd like to try too. The reason I give it a 3-star rating is that it has been over one month and I have not had the urge to go back for a second and considering that, I think it's safe to say that the dishes were middle of the road.
I've been to Bombay twice and during the holidays. My first visit was on the evening of the "Taste n' Tinis" event and I was very disappointed with the service. I decided to have dinner here because the restaurant was clearly beautiful, so why not try it?
Well, after I was seated, I was left at my table for about 20 minutes without anyone asking for my order or acknowledgement.
Finally, I got the attention of one of the servers and ordered my drink and dinner. I was famished.
Dinner came 15-20 minutes late: cold, too late and the taste and quality of the food was okay at best.
On my second visit --and only because my friend wanted to eat here-- we waited a good 25 minutes to order our dinner. The food, again, was okay at best.
I rather go to any of the Indian restaurants on Miramar Road than to come back here, and I am terribly sorry because this restaurant is close to home. Miramar Road is a bit of a drive, but the food is very authentic at those restaurants.
Bombay gets the highest marks for décor and elegance. Zero stars for friendliness and attentiveness, one star for prices, and maybe two stars for the food: too expensive for the quality of the food and its portions.
Food is average. You are really paying for the ambiance and the flat screens in the bathrooms.
I'm not the biggest fan of Indian food, but I found this place to be pretty good. The naan was great and the vegetarian selections were delish.
Besides the food, I found the place to be well decorated with the exception of the overly done music videos playing on all the flat screen TVs that just made me laugh, they could have been playing something Bollywood, but it wasn't. It was just shiny shirt, tight pants wearing dudes with perfectly shaved thin line "beards" singing about a girl with too much makeup on and hair thats blowing in the wind whenever she was shown on screen.
Needless to say my date and I had a good time laughing about it.
I made the unfortunate mistake of patronizing this place tonight and am writing this to warn others off from a miserable waste of time and money.
The short of it: 50 degrees outside and the double wide front doors are open and I am seated next to them. Should have walked away then. Long wait to order. Sit for a half hour before my "Kashmiri" salad arrives. WTF is Kashmiri about a plate of wilted spring mix (had better out of a bag from Vons) with Kraft style gelatinous Italian dressing and 3 slivers of under ripe mango? Less than 2 minutes later my curry arrives. The rice is half cooked and the curry is mediocre with the only positive being the small portion. As it is clear that there is no happy ending to this experience I ask for the check 3 times and do not receive it. Finally, I flag down the guy in the Taj bellhop costume who is acting as host/busboy/waiter and ask him again for the check and he asks "you want the check?" as if hearing this request for the first time.
Clearly, the management of this substandard, overpriced restaurant couldn't care less about the customers and it is beyond me why anyone would give business to this place.
I have to write this review to fellow Yelpers and consumers to be wary of staff at Bombay...one of their servers made a fraudulent charge on my credit card. I'd gone there with a couple of friends, and our total bill came out to about $90. We split it down the middle, and my friend left a $20 tip (MORE than 20 percent). When my credit card statement came, I'd ALSO be charged an additional $20 - a $40 total! It took their management team SIX WEEKS to refund my money. I was passed from one manager to another, and I am amazed I had the patience to deal with it and not report the fraud to my credit card company. I was so relieved when the ordeal was finished over $20 freakin' dollars, I didn't even think to ask what they were going to do with their crook server. That was nearly two years ago, and I cannot bring myself to go back since.
I am very diligent about my finances and noticed the discrepency. I wonder how many people have been ripped off! What a shame! No food is worth that hassle!!!
:-)
BOMBAAAAAAAAAAAAY Calling Doctor BomBAAAAAAY!
No its not that kind of place.. Its SCHMANCY Indian. Not feather.. Dot.
My partner loves indian food.. and when people come to visit us in San Diego, we take them to Hillcrest, and to BOMBAY.
WHY?
Because we love this restaurant.. Inside the decor is eclectic and hip... the colors are rich and vibrant with a tasteful hint of far away India... it's got dramatic lighting that makes anyone look HOT (and exotic).. Water splashes down from the ceiling as their center piece creating a positive vibe... yes, I imagine myself underneath it nekked with nothing on but Naan Bread putting on a show for those eating.. (hoping they won't throw food at me) OR HOPING THEY WOULD!
MMMMMMM.
Stylishly done, with booths surrounding the inner perimeter of tables, Bombay is one of those "scene and be seen" kind of places.... On a Friday and Saturday night hotties abound currying my korma and getting my fennel all hot n bothered. It's cool, modern, hip and chik!
And have I mentioned the food? No? Well its good. Its better than good its TASTY! They tikka my sala really good.. and they keep the drinks moving and grooving.... I often order the sampler appetizer plate so my guests can experience indian cuisine. There's something here for everyone, mild to spicy, meat or vegetarian and It's always a good time. With exotic and tasty food, hip chik atmosphere, you can't lose..... and your sure to impress at BOMBAY.
But be careful, you can get them on an off night where your waiting.. waiting.. waiting for your meal..... Or your carrying on, like some liquored up hussy, only to find your boss and his wife are sitting just tables away... If you've found yourself in that situation, order another drink and then check out the bathroom... HIDE! It's cool in there. Another reason me likey.
Bombay is in Hillcrest where you can find things to see, and people to do. Can I just say Bombay makes eating indian sexy?
4 woofs. Yes, I'm a fan!
GO there on monday night buffet night... period
I've loved Bombay for years, and usually go there for special occasions or when I'm really craving great Indian food. I'll still order my favorite vindaloo to go, but I doubt I'll be in for an fancy, moderately priced meal again. Here's why:
1. We were approached to purchase a "VIP card" for $3 to receive 10% off our meal, while we were seated waiting for our food. I don't particularly like to be advertised to or upsold when I'm dining, so that was kind of odd (although we did buy the card, since it basically paid for itself). The card came packaged with a lot of other advertising, including a card urging people to post online reviews. So okay, I'm just doing what I was asked to do.
2. The woman sitting next to us was approached by someone who was trying to sell her jewelry, or bindis? In the restaurant? Odd, and I didn't like it.
3. The huge widescreen TVs everywhere provide a pretty crappy ambience. I avoid TV at home, why would I want to watch it in an upscale restaurant? Or worse still, in the restroom?
4. Garlic naan was burnt.
5. They changed their recipe for aloo pakora. These used to be phenomenally good and not at all greasy. The ones I got were a different shape (round medallions instead of squarish chunks), light on the batter, and heavy on the grease. Not delicious.
6. Our rice was mushy, overcooked, and seemed like it had been scraped from the bottom of the pan, since the individual grains were crushed up. When we boxed up our leftovers to go, I asked if she could pack in some extra fresh rice with. She said yes, but when I opened them up the next day, all we had was the leftover small amount of crappy rice.
7. I would have asked a server for fresher rice if a single person had come by the entire time we were eating. Not once were we asked if everything was okay (the answer would have been no, but here's how you can fix it).
8. My mango mojito was overly sweet, almost cloyingly so, and hardly had any booze in it. For $10, I at least want a little booze in my drink.
Their curries are fantastic, and I used to have a great time here. I think that by moving to this new, super big location, they may have overstepped their ability to manage things. That's too bad, because they have the best vegetarian options of any northern Indian food place in Southern California.
Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet... Lunch Buffet...
.. Have I mentioned that I like their lunch buffet?
I normally like Indian cuisine, but I was disappointed in my experience with Bombay for several reasons. The service was very slow, considering that the restaurant was relatively empty on a Monday night. We had to ask 3 times for menus. We finally had to flag down a server to order more wine because he wasn't paying attention to us. This would be understandable to me on a busy weekend night when staff is overloaded, but not on a Monday, when we could see staff hanging out and talking around the bar/kitchen. The servers seemed disappointed that we weren't doing the buffet, which in itself looked sad, as if they were trying to use up leftovers from the weekend. The food was served in smaller portions than I'm used to and was decent but not worth the extra cost, which is probably used to fund the fancy decorations.
I had no idea what this place was like, nor did I get a chance to read the reviews on yelp- had I read the reviews before going- I probably would have thought twice, but luckily I didn't check yelp first- this time. Thus, I lucked out, it was a stellar deal and delish food- incredible ambiance- wow.
After getting one of those Buy one, get one/Uptown magazines in the mail, I was drooling over new places to go and check out and that's when I found Bombay! What really sold me on going was the "Buy one, get one free (lunch buffet or entree) coupon" they had circulating- keep on a look out for it!
A friend and I grabbed lunch here and were thoroughly impressed. Their all you can eat lunch buffet has everything from salads & soup to main dishes and desserts! (and yummy naan of course!) Definitely veggie friendly- it was about half veggie dishes and half chicken dishes :) delish! I'm stuffed and the total bill with drinks and buffet for two = $20 (STEAL!)
I'd have to agree with others though. It does seem a bit pricey if you were not lucky enough to have a great coupon, but their regular priced lunch buffet is definitely a steal for all the variety of yummy dishes!
The service was excellent & again the scene is just stunning- water falling from the ceiling and blue lit hallways make for a really nice place to dine :)
Let it be said that I absolutely adore Indian food (coming from the daughter of a man who grew up there) and this place is my absolute favorite in San Diego...I relish every chance I have to go here. That being said, I can recognize a few details others may find not so fabulous.
Due to countless trips here I can recommend the dishes I cannot leave here without.
Drinks:I highly recommend starting with the Mumbai Mojito. It is mango infused and incredibly original and flavorful.
Appetizer: These days I usually just have garlic naan. But their coconut shrimp was incredible and their hummus/naan combo is yummy. Too much hummus though for the amount of naan they give you...
Curries: Absolute must have is the Chicken Korma. Best korma i've ever had. My next favorite is the Saag Paneer (spinach and indian cheese)...incredible, although I've had a few people that have joined me that weren't such a fan, so I suppose if you love spinach you'll love this! The Nariyar (coconut flavored) is also fantastic and a bit of a sweeter option (great for novice Indian eaters). Every other curry I've had there (tikka masala, etc) was very good but these are the standouts in my opinion. An important note: I'm more of a medium spice girl myself, but I've heard some complaints from friends that they don't get spicy enough here. If you're a hot tomale I recommend asking for SUPPPERRR spicy, or another place.
Service: I've seen some complaints from others on here so maybe it's fairly situational, but as a semi-regular here I've never once had poor service. Once they even went down the street to the store at 8pm just to get the mint to put in my mojito. We are always greeted with a smile and paid excellent attention.
Ambiance: Ambiance here is excellent in my opinion and a fun place to take either friends or a date. Beautifully decorated, it boasts dim lighting, extravagant details, a beautiful bar, and a spacious feel. The open air expansion of the front of the restaurant with the waterfall is very unique and draws off the vibe of 5th ave. I personally like the Bollywood films/music playing in the background, but some people may find it annoying/odd. I say pshhh, if you're having a boring date at least you can watch a movie at the same time, or at least use it as a conversation starter!
Price: A bit on the pricey side. Given the ambiance and quality of food I don't think its too overpriced, but I wouldn't recommend coming if you're on a tight budget...I AM on a tight budget and I still can't stay away from my mumbai mojitos and chicken korma! :)
MMMmmm... I love this place. We've been eating here long before they moved to their beautiful new location, and it's far and away the best Indian food I've had anywhere.
The atmosphere in the new location is stunning, vibrant colors mixing with soothing water features and eclectic Buddha-Bar music.
The food? Ah... the food. Rich, flavorful curries... savory meats, and a plethora of unique naan to mop it all up. You can't go wrong with Tikka Masala, but my favorite is the Korma with lamb. Sweet, yet spicy with a richness that will make you melt!
Service is always exceptional, and they have a nice selection of imported indian beers to complete the experience.
I really want to love this restaurant. But it has continued to disappoint. We've had the buffet a multitude of times. The more I have it, the more I am bored by it. It is a bland sampling of its most popular dishes created for the mass market.
If you are able to steer clear of the buffet, the core menu will not disappoint. The flavors are layered and complex. The selection is great with vegetarian, seafood, and meat dishes offered.
I do feel that the dinner menu is very over priced. Whenever the bill comes and I review what we have eaten, it never seems to correspond with its worth. Like I said, the food is amazing but over priced.
The ambiance is to be applauded yet the Bollywood rave music that is blasted throughout the dining room does become redundant and at times annoying.
This place is GORGEOUS! My friend and I sadly only ran in for take out to go home and watch a movie. Wish we would have stayed there to eat. We got the chicken tiki masala and sag paneer with the garlic naan. Standard dishes you cannot go wrong. They really got an extra star b/c the hostess was so sweet and brought us water a bread basket with paratha (i think that was what it was called. The really flat crisp cracker sometimes with sesame seeds or pepper) without us even asking. Best paratha (if that is what its called) i ever had. I heard the food runs hot so be careful!
I'm not Indian so taken with a grain of salt I think the food is very good. Great Naan, especially the Jalapeno one! The servers are polite and helpful and they have a very good selection of beers.
I had a weird experience though. Bear with me. I left my credit card there one night and after being promised on multiple occasions by multiple staff members, through numerous phone calls. I was given a different speel every time, which ironically enough was a very familiar experience from my numerous working trips to India.... so in that sense it was very authentic. I eventually gave up and cancelled my credit card after 10 days of to'ing and fro'ing. I'll definitely go back but next time I'll pay cash :-)
Pretty expensive considering the offering. I've been in SF for a little bit, and the Indian food is better and cheaper. This place is pretty solid; I've never been to the group's other establishments. Nice decor and atmosphere, but it felt a little empty due to the size of the place. Service was exceptional for my first time. Server let me try their Kingfisher on tap, then whipped out some random smokey beer as well. We even used a coupon to get $12 and I'm pretty sure there was no animosity over that because i left a good tip. I'd search for another Indian place in SD, but this one deserves a return trip.
The dishes are innovated with a modern twist, healthy and the service is friendly yet professional and always knowledgeable. If you are visiting or are a local I highly recommend this hidden jewel, be brave and adventurous, Indian food is extremely comforting and so very delicious.
Pros: Ambience, parking, healthy and delightful cuisine, first-rate knowledgeable service, price per person
Cons: No complaints, this restaurant is a gem!
My review is just based on the lunch buffet...which is good. It's about $12 a person and they have a good variety of good tasting Indian food. If you go toward the end of lunch, the food could be scarce...they don't seem to replenish toward the end...for good reason I guess....but unfortunate for latecomers. The quality and tasted of the food and the reasonable price is what I go for...I will say the service is lacking...but at least you get up and get your own food...be prepared to wait for refills/drinks or your check/change.
It's worth a visit and you'll be happy with your meal.
I'm no Indian cuisine aficionado... but I do love curry and Naan, and at the same time I'm a wus when it comes to spicy. That being said, we tried this place on a review saying this was a top 10 Indian food restaurant in the Nation... maybe my sights were set to high but I was highly disappointed.
The naan wasn't bad... although the jujube naan wasn't very good (prolly wasn't jujube candy but tasted like it). My friends and I ordered 4 different curries all with different levels of spice out of 10. My friends chose 6, 7, and 8... and me, being the big spicy wimp that I am, chose 2... When the food arrived, it was fairly bland and the spice level was awful. Even I in my wimpiness had no problem eating the "8" spice level curry. Maybe they ran out of "spicy" that night, but the importance of spicy in indian food is pretty paramount, even to the faint of spice
This place wasn't awful and on food alone prolly deserves 3 stars. On decor, it deserves 4 stars as it's very nice, but the Jewish side of me can't stand paying fine dining prices for average food. Hence the 2 star rating.
Bombay has been my favorite indian food restaurant in San Diego for a long time.. until recently. I've been eating there for years when they were across the street and in the new location. I love the restaurants decor and their lunch buffet was always our favorite. The food is good but lately it doesn't make up for their increasing prices and horrible customer service.
Tonight my fiance and I went there to have a nice dinner.. it's been a while since we've been on a real date so it was supposed to be special. Well it took ten minutes to find a parking spot (on a sunday night) then we had to wait a few minutes to be seated. Even though it was pretty empty, the hostess was nowhere to be seen. Then we waited what felt like forever to even be offered water! And when they did, he just said "We have sparkling or still bottled water". I said "Can we just have normal water" To which he walked away. No "yes of course". No smile.
Then five minutes later our server came. We ordered our favorites, vegtable tikka masala and dal. Each are $15 each for a small bowl. Rice is $2 per person extra. To add tofu to the masala, they charged us $3! I don't mind spending money on a good meal but talk about nickle and diming! Then naan is charged on top of that. I'd rather be charged $20 for the rice and a salad to be included!
Then we waited about fifteen to twenty minutes to get our food! That is a long time to be sitting waiting for food! The whole time no one was really friendly or accommodating. Then when I had a question about the bill our waiter HAD to prove his point by bringing over the menu and "explaining" it to me. What a prick! I'm not an idiot and I wasn't fighting with him over it. I was just wondering why he put a charge in a certain way.
We'll never eat here again. The food and decor isn't worth the horrible service and inflated price.
This restaurant was recommended in Fodor's - and proved to be a major disappointment. While the décor and the ambiance afford diners a rewarding experience, the food certainly does not. As an avid consumer of Indian fare, I can fairly state that the food lacked both flavor and heat. My friends and I requested that all four entrees be prepared "very spicy," but instead all four were prepared in a less than spicy way. We were just about finished with our entrees when our server returned and asked about our meal. We replied that nothing was prepared the way we had asked, so he apologized and dropped off some hot sauce on his way back. Thanks dude, but that's not going to do it and besides, we're pretty much finished eating at this point.
Went for the lunch buffet for 12 bux. You can't really beat it. Great food and variety. Always putting out new food to try. Service is AMAZING! They are on spot with everything.
Without elaboration: I will never go back to this place - their service is the problem. The service is very rude & very, very slow. If they think treating their customers like garbage makes them cool, then there are better places for me to go get overpriced indian food.
NO doubt about it, the interior of this place is very, very lovely. I enjoy watching the fountain as I gaze out onto 5th Avenue during lunch the other day. I am trying all the Indian Buffets to see which ones are the best. The scenery here makes up for the fact that the food is just very, very bland and "meh"... nothing to write home about nor is it enough to make me return to eat Buffet style. The masala was pretty good but not great. I am just not impressed with the food over all. 12.00 is not bad for all you can eat "meh" so I can't complain too much.
The service was pretty good and so was the big fly that landed in my spinach dish...so rich and plump and tasty....:-D just kidding.... maybe...
The food was excellent and my drink (an Indian take on a mojito) was quite good, but the service was slow and the prices were high for small portions. I really like the decor in this place, but found it irritating that a restaurant that charged those prices had televisions on. Yes, they were muted, but it's incredibly distracting and not something that ever enhances my dining experience. Unless I'm at, say, Friday's. It just doesn't go with a fine dining kind of place.
I did enjoy my meal. It was the kind of experience where I'd be happy to return if a friend wanted to go, but I won't go out of my way to return. Minus the bad service and the TV, it would have easily gotten four stars. But there has to be a cheaper Indian restaurant with good food and decent service in San Diego.
I don't know why this kitchen cannot turn out edible Indian food. The tandoori chicken was the driest I've ever been served. The ground lamb kebob was dry and tasteless. Even the garlic naan was bitter and a bit burned. The curry sauce was bland, not spicy as requested.
Even though I was hungry, I only ate part of wlhat I put on my plate. I took home the leftovers, and today I heated them up to try to give the food a second chance. Nope, it was still awful.
Sorry Bombay, I really wanted to like your restaurant, but our meals were a huge disappointment, even though your prices are higher than most other Indian restaurants in town. Your hip location and waterfall cannot make up for very expensive lousy food. I wouldn't even recommend dining here with a 2-for-1 coupon because even at half price, dinner is a disaster.
Pros:
From the outside it looks like some kind of hip indian restaurant
Pretty good food
Cons:
The lights- I felt like I had a F*cking searchlight on me while I was eating.
A bit Pricey for Indian food
I wouldn't come back to this place, it's about $30 bucks a person which isn't worth it for Indian food with a silly waterfall...
Interesting spot for sure. Expensive and very chic, the kind of place where everyone wears their fancypants and drinks fiji water and whatnot. Nice atmosphere for dining with a cool looking bar, decorative waterfalls and a bizzare indian version of MTV playing on the flatscreens.
While this place wins for having original ambiance, the food doesn't exactly match it's fine dining flair. It's good, but very standard american style buffet stuff. The portions are too small and expensive unless you come for the monday night buffet. Even then the curries are so mild and lacking in spice that they all kind of taste the same. Fresh naan, and the desserts, salads, and kormas are excellent at the buffet. I guess I just want more for what they charge than really good takeout food, which is what this stuff tastes like
Not a bad spot to take a lady friend or show off some money if that's your thing, and the service is very professional. In my mind the food is just too forgettable and needs to stand out a little more, in flavor or value (or both). Bartenders are super cute but be prepared to pay club prices for the swanky drinks they serve (good beers on tap though). Even with all that said I think it's an above average place in Hillcrest, if not a bit pricey.
Almost 4 stars
The first time I went here, for dinner, I thought the overall experience was just ok. The decor and ambiance were amazing and the food was slightly above par, the service definitely needed some work.
Well, I went back for the lunch buffet today and I must say it was A-MAZING! All of the food was very fresh and warm. They had delicious sauces, fresh naan, samosas and fruit mousse for dessert. It went well above my expectations for a $11.95 buffet! The only problems were that the tandoori chicken was a little dry and the service was still lacking. Overall, great experience.
My friend and I wanted to end her weekend visit with a bang. After some critical thinking, we ended up here. Why? Because we absolutely love Indian food. We'd eat it everyday if we could.
Yes, we got our bang here at Bombay, but not in the way you'd typically expect.
There was apparently some trouble going on in the kitchen because it took us about an hour to receive our dishes. I ordered the spicy lentil soup with a side of tandoori roti while my friend had the dal makhani (ordered spicy) with rice, chai, a side of raita, and chapati. We did not think it would take so long, and usually, I'm not too bothered by a long wait. This, however, was getting ridiculous.
The couple at our neighboring table received its food with excellent timing, despite the fact that we had ordered first.
After some fiery complaints from my friend, we finally received our main dishes. I was okay with my soup, although I was expecting something that was actually spicy like the menu had advertised. The flavor of the spice blend and the chunky beans and lentils were enjoyable, but I wanted to feel the heat. My friend sadly received her orders at different times, and when she finally got to try her dal makhani, she sent it back to the kitchen, outraged because it was not spicy. She grew up with an Indian family, what can I say?
The chapati and tandoori roti were excellent, but I couldn't eat mine fast enough. The second piece got cold and chewy before I finished my soup. Yes, it was still good even then. Yes, it was still good the next day when I pulled it and ate it cold from the fridge.
The second dal makhani blew us away. It was so spicy that our gums were still burning as we left the restaurant. That's what we were looking for. *applause*
I ordered lamb samosas to go, which were discounted from the bill (an apology? Thanks). It came up at about $40, excluding tip.
The food is good, there's no denying that. The prices, however, are exorbitant and borderline ridiculous. I'll give it another chance if I have the money, but I'd really rather take my money to Sitar in Sorrento Valley and have a feast there.
Final note: I am very grateful to our server, Meghan, for her patience and genuinely cheery attitude. We thoroughly enjoyed her service.
This is my first ever Indian restaurant so I don't have much to compare to but I thought it was very good. The restaurant is huge with a cute atmosphere.
My husband and I went on a Sunday evening and sat on the patio. We started with the chicken lettuce wraps. They were good and pretty big...I could have done this as my meal. For my entree I did the saffron vegetable dish and I really liked it. My husband got the mix grill or something (mine was better). I also ordered a chai. It was good but really sweet and I would have preferred it cold. My husband ordered some yogurt drink. The total for our meal was about $55.
I'd like to go back :-)
EVEN ELTON JOHN AGREES - BOMBAY'S NOT THE BEST.
OHHHHHH, but it's weird and it's wonderful,
Though the waiters weren't very keen,
We had some garlic naan,
Some bland korma,
And a salty, salty mango lassiiiiiii, oh, oh,
Bom bom bom Bombay's not the best!
But it's pretty good.
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Gaslamp
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Afghan
Neighborhood: Gaslamp
Category: Indian
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