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Categories: Tea Rooms, Desserts, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt [Edit]
Neighborhood: Candler Park"I visited Morelli's tonight for the 3rd time and they do not let a girl down in her time of need, need of ice cream that is. I ordered the…" read more »
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this place is fabously kitch!
great organtic coffee.
great quiche... but the best thing i've ever had is.... SHOE FLY PIE!
now, i dont think that this taste is for everyone, it is made from molasses and i love it... i am not a dessert person, but this pie is super good. They also have rosemery shortbread cookies that pair well with coffee or red wine for the adult who has upgraded from the days of cookies and milk after school to shortbread and wine after work.
With a name like that, how can you not check this place out?!
But don't drive by too quickly or you might miss the handle-bar mustache sign that let's you know you've found this little jewel of a coffee/tea shop around/in/near Candler Park. I often need a good bit of guidance when I head into the city (hence the "around/in/near" grammar), but have been to Dr. Bombay's twice now...once with a fella--to grab a post-dinner cupcake, and once on my own. Unfortunately I can't speak to the quality of the coffee or tea (which may cause some of you to immediately stop reading...), because I don't drink either, but I can say this for the atmosphere: nothing short of completely charming. We'll get to the cupcake in a minute.
I have never been to a place like Dr. Bombay's and I absolutely delighted in the unique elements of the shop itself: old books that lined the shelves-- ancient in their look and smell, vintage furniture--maybe not the most comfy yet homey and inviting, and the classic music that reminded me of that golden era of radio and records that my grandmother used to encourage me to listen to playing quietly in the background. Quaint and quirky!
Experiencing the overall atmosphere on that first visit made me immediately start plotting my next visit and the book that I would bring to accompany me. However, upon my second visit, I actually found it a little hard to concentrate BECAUSE of some of the elements that I had so liked before. It might just have been the time of day (a Sat afternoon verses a weekday evening), or that I have some attention issues, but b/c the place is so small (and quirky...naturally attracting quirky peeps perhaps...) it was hard to not get distracted when people were coming in and out and were not exactly using their "inside voices" for conversation. And after a while, the chairs that I initially thought were so cute and inviting, started to give me an uncomfy bum and back.
With that said--I think 3 stars is a good avg for this place. Atmosphere: totally unique and truly charming--making you really appreciate the idiocincracies of the city (if a city can have those...); but a great place to study/spend hours and hours? mmmmaybe not so much. (Ok, depending on the day/time and your purpose for going!)
I will also mention that it wasn't the greatest place for a cupcake--which I sampled on both occasions (1st: Red Velvet, 2nd: Cookies and Cream). They were both very pretty, but in the end...tasted like they had been out for a while--with gooey, old icing and dry, crumby cake. Sorry Dr. Bombay, I feel bad for dissing your cupcakes, but a girl's gotta Yelp the truth.
Anyways, I do want to emphasize that the charm of the place totally makes it worth checking out. It was a great post-date spot to chat for a few and enjoy good company--and really, I'm sure would be a great place to read a book on a Saturday afternoon to anyone that isn't quite as easily distracted as moi. If they just worked on those cupcakes, I'd give it a 4...after all, even the finest of jewels occassionally need some shining and dusting off...
: )
My first and only experience of Dr. Bombay's:
Clotted cream! Yes!
You can only have the clotted cream if you order high tea ($20, consists of 2 scones, a pot of tea, 5 mini cupcakes with hard icing, 2 mustardy egg salad sandwiches, 2 small chocolate cookie-looking things, 2 kinds of jam and the coveted clotted cream)! Sucks.
So we went with the high tea, obviously, because at least where I'm from, i.e., not England, clotted cream is a rarity. Something about the FDA I think.
Everything was delicious, although I think the baked goods may have been sitting out for a while (hence the hard icing), and the tea selection was great, not just Earl Grey and other Bigelow grocery store standards. And the girl who served us was extremeley nice--it was her boss who brought down the whip on the clotted cream issue. And of course the atmosphere from the squashy couches and dusty 50 cent used books were great. I came equipped with a book but didn't even read it as I sampled the ones there, within arm's reach from my table.
I saw a lot of kids there, too, and yes they were jumpy - but they're there to eat ice cream. Why would you expect something different? If you want to sit and blog on a laptop, go to an adult coffee shop, not a kids' ice cream place.
I don't have kids, but I didn't expect them to be quiet, as it was their turf, not mine!
It is unreasonable to expect a kids' ice cream place to be quiet for blogging.
I don't know why the female owner is so bitter, that being said. It could be a cheerful place. However, she was scowling, grumpy, sitting in a booth, and frowning. I was shocked to find out it was the owner. Her boyfriend is nice, and does the smiling/greeting she refuses to do.
Everything is waaay overpriced.
I got a drink, right at under $5. I went to pay with a debit card (it was all I had), and they boy said no, I could not use it. I then told him I didn't need the drink, since he wouldn't take my card. He said no, I HAD to purchase the drink, and I had to buy something with it, so my total would be more than $5! What??
I'm sad to say my favorite coffee shop is losing some of its charm. The last couple visits I've made here have been pretty awful. During the first, there were no small bills in the cash register, so the barista wasn't able to give any change. During the second time, not only was the music system having some strange problems, I also had to go across the street to find out what the current password was for the free-wifi because no one who was working could figure it out. I'll still go back here to see if things improve, but it's no longer my stand-by coffee place.
Oh, Dr. Bombay's! How could I get through graduate school without you? Is it your choice of… Read more »
I've only been here once and it was a nightmare. I went to study and there was no place to sit and no place to plug in my computer. Then, promptly when school got out, a whole pack of children came in for ice cream. Their parents did nothing to control them and they were knocking things on the ground (I swear!), running around, and touching things, including me, with their sticky ice cream hands.
My coffee wasn't bad though and I liked the used books.
Still, the experience was bad enough that I've never been back, and it is only 3 blocks from my house.
*Ok, so I went back last night, but only so my friend could buy a cupcake. Try the cupcakes. They're pretty tasty if they're fresh that day.
Based on the awesome name "Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party," I expected this establishment to blow me away and left rather underwhelmed. My friend and I sauntered over there on a lazy summer Sunday morning, excited to catch up while sipping piping tea.
The decor is what disappointed me when I entered; while the cool Candler Park location, shelves of 50-cent books (proceeds of which go to Mary Linn Elementary) and overall historic feel are perfect for a tea party locale, I expected to see tanks of fish reading Shakespeare, lifting their monocles while shaking their tails. I guess my expectations were rather high...but the name "Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party" DOES suggest that visitors will enter an ethereal realm.
Anyway, my friend and I skimmed the plastic containers of loose-leaf tea along the shelves behind the register; the one tea I was dying to try (something with violet petals, I believe) had been wiped out, so I opted for a basic black tea instead. Starving, I also ordered a soysage, egg and cheese biscuit--for fake meat, it was good.
The best part, though, was the girl working behind the counter. She had on THE shortest shorts ever, and when she bent over, or even slightly tilted her torso, she exposed her fanny cheeks. She just didn't care. My friend verified the waitress' bum exposure when she saw the girl bending over near the front door where we were sitting.
Anywho, overall, I think Dr. Bombay's offers typical cafe fare in a location that indeed is charming but doesn't live up to its name.
I love this little hole in the wall, local coffee/tea shop. The interior is really campy and weird, but it works with the whole vibe of the place. The place can get a bit cramped, but it's a small intimate type atmosphere anyway. Please don't expect to sit here, stretch out and study comfortably. Although you may be able to do that at times, if there are a handful of people inside, the place will get pretty tight. They've got a bunch of books for sale/exchange at super low prices, ice-cream for you and your doggie (yep!), in addition to the teas and coffees of course.
They've also got free WiFi.
I love stopping by Dr. Bombay's after i've left Lafonda or Fellini's and getting something to drink!
Great atmosphere and the owner is gorgeous
Coffee, teas, ice cream and a mustache xmas-tree ornament. That's what I've had at Dr. B's, and it's all been pretty swell. The place is musty, yet cozy. Germaphobes, you just stick to Starbucks or home-brew. BONUS: Free wifi early in the morning. Yay-work-from-home-days!
The cupcakes here are huge and delicious and only $3. There are a ton of used books here for sale for dirt cheap which is cool. The food I've gotten here besides desserts has been so so. They use recycled & recyclable to-go cups which I like as well. Most of the staff is very nice, only a couple of not so nice people. I don't enjoy really sitting here for long because the chairs & sofas are very old and dirty-feeling. but I guess that's what they consider part of the charm of the place.
This used to be my neighborhood coffee shop. I never came here for the coffee only the tea. In fact, I would say their coffee is pretty awful. Their espresso based drinks always had a weird after taste. Their baked goods were sometimes stale and other times amazing. The only food item I can endorse is their veggie chili on their winter menu.
They recently installed some cool booths towards the back. The booths are almost always occupied by a single person and a laptop. While I spent many a night here by myself studying for the LSAT, I always offered my extra space to people when the place got too crowded. The weekends are normally very busy with families getting ice cream.
Now, that I no longer live in the neighborhood, I doubt that I'll be back. It's just not worth it.
I was in need of a tea cafe that opened early, and I needed it fast. After some preliminary research, I found out that for some reason tea places in Atlanta don't open early - the other ones I was looking into didn't open until 11 a.m. or noon.
And finally, I found Dr. Bombay's. The doctor opens at 7:30 a.m. (8 a.m. on the weekends), well within my time restraints. . . and it looked like they served food. Score.
When they call it "Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party," they mean serious business. Feels like you've walked into another world. . . a world composed of over the top vintage kitsch and an entire wall full of used books (which they sell and donate the proceeds to a school library).
There's a lot going on here. Obviously, one big component is tea - they have exotic selections like mango black tea, and dole it out of the army of tea tins lining the wall. Then there's the food. They have everything from chocolate chip pecan waffles to curry bowls. And then there's the coffee. Oh, and don't forget about the quiche. Did I mention the free wi-fi?
Dr. Bombay's took me to a crazy tea induced zenlike state that is about as far away from a sterile Starbucks as you can get - and is absolutely somewhere I'd recommend to get your very own dose of tea party.
Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party.
How can you not fall for such a whimsically named cafe?
Yet more reasons to love Dr. Bombay's:
Free wifi
Used books for 50 cents
Large selection of loose leaf teas (mmm...black mango!)
Plenty of space to sit
I didn't get to try the cupcakes or the curry but both piqued my interest.
My only complaint? I couldn't find the cheese on my egg and cheese sandwich.
This Candler Park spot would be my regular hangout if I lived in the ATL.
This is another place that is hard to review. Do I rate this place on its food and drink offerings? or do I weigh it more on ambiance and character? Hmmm...
Dr. Bombay's is charming. I love places like this - one with a character of its own. If this place were more convenient for me, I'd grab coffee and study here more often. It's a place filled with books and furniture that seems that they took hand me downs from libraries and schools. I love that! It's also a comfortable environment, where you'll see all kinds of interesting people: the widow, the father reading to his young son, grunge girl, the scholar... If I had to rate it on the environment alone, I'd say a 5. It's just an interesting place.
Now, the food and drinks: I wasn't impressed. Outside, is a sign advertising their cupcakes. We tried one in one of our cupcake hunting episodes and it officially ranks as the worst cupcake I've ever eaten in my life. Dry with freezer burn. If it isn't good...don't serve it - and most certainly, do not advertise it! The coffee wasn't impressive (but not bad) and their desserts on display did not look appetizing. I do give them props for some interesting imported drinks and foods from the UK. So if I had to rate it on food/beverages, it would get a 1 or 2.
Service: The people were very nice and helpful. I'd give that a 4.
Anyway, I still give a three and do recommend this place to anyone living in the area who is looking for a place grab a caffeinated beverage and read.
FANTASTIC for dessert after LaFonda or Felini's. Great cupcakes and tea selection. Shabby interior, but cozy.
One star for the used books at reasonable prices.
The first time I ate here, I got diarrhea. They had sandwiches in a cooler then. Their menu has changed significantly since then so you're safe. I gave them another try.
Then, this place "hired" my partner to work. After that, they refused to return his phone calls .
After a few months, I decided to give them another chance. Other reviews have mentioned the generally crazy atmosphere--I was treated to a child turning a lamp on and off again while his parents chatted over a latte.
However, the last straw was when I was refused a glass of water! After biking in the heat to Dr. Bombays, I thought I would have a glass of water and a cup of coffee. Because there was a drought at the time, the server (and owner?) refused to serve me water. I offered her 10 cents for the cup. She told me that the only way I could have water was if I bought a bottle. I tried to remain calm and explain that bottling water uses more energy (and water) than tap water. She still refused. So I foolishly bought a bottle and cup of coffee, never to return again.
The lousiest excuse for a neighborhood coffee shop.
Great place for both coffee drinkers and tea drinkers (me) to co-exist in quiet peace. I did not order any food, but a good handful of folks seemed to be enjoying the day's available quiches.
All books are only 50 cents and the inventory does contain the occasional best seller or grad school textbook (so those are like a 99% discount). All book proceeds are donated to the Mary Lin Elementary (right down the street) library fund. Very cool.
Quirky little place with a funky name is a welcoming alternative to more streamlined coffee/tea shops. The charm of Dr. Bombay's is essentially the laid-back, attic atmosphere, with beat up books and yellow glass/brass lamps, creaky furnitures, a layout and shop size somewhere between cramped and cozy. It's located a little out of the way, with a pleasant and relatively quiet green surroundings. The doors remain open on nice days (San Francisco Coffee also does this) to let the breeze through--it's very nice. Great place for reading (what I do), but also has free WI-FI. A more full-blown version of this store would pretty much be what I'm always dreaming about having close to home.
Great hours. Opens early and closes late everyday (for Atlanta, anyway; I am still looking for a coffee house that stays open past midnight).
Dr. Bombay's is a small tea room on the main strip of Candler Park shops, a few doors down from The Flying Biscuit.
I drive by it daily and see people sitting outside enjoying ice cream and pastries on their little sidewalk patio outside the store.
Inside you will find a cozy little space that serves amazing tea, ice cream, pastries, and coffee. They even have wifi if you want to bring your laptop and snack on a bear claw and drink some espresso.
I will warn you that sometimes Candler Park residents will bring sniveling children in there to whine and break your concentration from your favorite novel. But that is usually a weekend event. So, if you're ever in the area and want a more laid back place to sip some tea and get away from the craziness of L5P, give this place a try!
Dusty, musty and books go along great with coffee and tea if you ask me. The area is cozy, the perfect amount of dim and comfy. I admit that I can be the passive customer who asks "what tea should I drink?", and I was delighted with the refreshing passionfruit tea that I received.
Seems like a good place to unwind with a cup of coffee or to meet a playdate on a rainy day, and you're sure to find something to read among the huge selection of cast-off books.
The people watching on the front sidewalk is pretty good in nice weather, too.
It can get a little crowded with hip young things blogging away (or whatever it is they do with the free wifi), and the ice cream seems kinda overpriced. (A friend calls it "Dr. MomPays.")
Still, it's solid.
What's Good:
Small local "undiscovered" vibe.
GREAT SANDWICHES!
GREAT COFFEE!
GREAT ICE CREAM
A large selection of 50 cent books (donated). You'll have to pick through a lot of junk, but you can find some gems.
What's No So Good
There is limited seating and tables for 4 people are typically consumed by one person on a laptop. Perhaps laptop "stations" would increase capacity.
The service is inherently slow because there's one person and many items are prepared on the spot. So be prepared to be patient.
Dr. Bombay's is unique in that they serve both coffee and ice cream. This is truly a neighborhood establishment - not the kind of place you'd find out about easily (unless you live in the Candler Park area), as Dr. Bombay's seems to keep a low profile. It's quite small, but a nice place to escape to if you're looking for a low-noise coffee shop where you can enjoy your latte and read a good book. They serve cake as well. Located a few doors down from the Flying Biscuit Cafe.
While their food and drink offerings are pretty average quality, nothing mind blowing, I enjoyed that there was everything from ice cream to hot tea. What I really enjoy about this place is the funky decor. Its a place I can really get cozy and share a snack with a friend. I love the whimsy.
If you're looking for a quiet spot to sit and catch up with a friend, Dr. Bombay's is a laid back, out-of-the-way nook that is perfect for conversation. "Cozy" is indeed the first word that comes to mind once you get settled. Coffee and Greenwood's ice cream are the only two things I've tried, but both were above average. My favorite thing about the place is the floor-to-ceiling books. People donate them, apparently, and if you want to buy one, the proprietors donate the very modest fee to a local elementary school library. It's not only a nice gesture, but also an entertaining decorating scheme that gives the space a good deal of its warmth. Terrific place.
very cozy book nook with chess and table space. a great space to spend hours doing whatever. reading, crocheting.
hundreds of books at your disposal and generous servings of tea if you opt for the whole pot.
this place is cool. i appreciate the randomness of it all, though it did terrify me at first. the coffee is decent, the cupcakes are pretty good. don't try to get online here, the wireless connection is generally no good. for me, that's about half the reason for me to even go, so major bummer for me. also, be prepared to have a conversation with a three year old, as one will most surely come over to chat with you.
Neighborhood: Midtown
Category: Coffee & Tea
Atlanta, GA
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Atlanta, GA
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Desserts
Decatur, GA
Category: Coffee & Tea
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