Bombay Cuisine

We have been going to the Bombay Cuisine restaurant since it was a funky little place that drew inspiration from Haight-Ashbury. (Ask somone over 50 if you don’t know what that is.) More on the décor below.

They hired a new chef a few years back and food quality went up. However, It dawned on me this ttrip that the “hot” part of the spice was missing. Chicken Tikka Masala is my favorite dish and I asked them to increase the spice to medium, the waitress told me she ordered it 4 out of 10 for me and it was… fabulous. But, first we started with papadums, the extremely think “crackers” made with bean flour and flavored with cumin seed. They have a little “heat”. They come with mint chutney and tamarind chutney. The chutneys seem a bit thin and short on flavor this trip. Hang on to the chutneys, they add an interesting twist to all the dishes. We learned to eat mango chutney with Indian food, but apparently the region of India that the Bombay folks hearken from don’t think much of it , because no matter how many times I say “When are you going to get mango chutney?” They don’t. When the economy went down a couple of years ago, the Bombay responded to by adding “plated” dinners. So, the masala I ordered came on a plate with rice and the fabulous Indian fry bread called Naan. I still think if you have a large group, it is better to order the traditional bigger portions and share things around. Social networking Indian style. You can order 4 dishes for 5 or even 6 people , but you have to order rice and naan separate. Linda got a plated dish with a fancy name that turned out to be the standard Chicken Saag (creamy spinach sauce). Pretty good as usual. My highly biased opinion is that the Asian continent produces all kind of fabulous food except ….. dessert. Indian desserts are no exception, so we started skipping it years ago. Feel free to shout your disagreement in the comments, but I stand by my opinion. Oh, yes, in previous visits the mango lassi was pretty darn good as well.

They have a good mix of beers, wines and liquors. They had a Stoli martini on special . Sorry, vodka just does not make a martini for me. Grey Goose is much better if you must use vodka.

They did a major renovation / expansion. The old area is now an upscale bar. Very cool and very welcoming. You can order food in there. The new decor is a clean modern look.  The modern bathrooms are very cool. This best feature is that the restaurant and bar are comfortable, friendly and you never feel rushed. A great place for quiet conversation.

Indian restaurants often have all male waiters (not that that is bad) and can be cold, stiff and formal. Bombay cuisine on the other hand is warm and friendly. When we discussed the spiciness, the waitress agreed and places our order as a perfect 4/10 because taht was the way she eats it.

Indian food seems always to be over priced. Bombay Cuisine has mitigated this problem a bit by offering “plated dishes” that come with Rice and Naan (the fabulous Indian fry bread) for $12 to $17. The best way is get the full experience is to go with several people and order the traditional bigger versions including one or two vegetarian dishes and share around. But with 2 or 3 people, the plated dishes are the best experience. You don’t need an entree per person, but don’t forget to order rice and naan.

1420 Lake Dr SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506 Phone: 616-456-7055 . Couldn’t find a website !!

This is good Indian food in a pretty cool setting and one of our go to places. However, reviewers that say it’s the best Indian they have had have not traveled much. Stay tuned for Palace of India review and also a couple places in Kalamazoo.