| Large buffet offering north and south indian cuisine. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 8/20/2007
Rating: 9
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Bombay Garden has it going on. The restaurant is in this upscale dining environment with the big draw on their impressive 30-40 item buffet. So many choices to choose from with so little time. We practically ran to the buffet line.
When you walk up to the table, try not to blow it all on 2-3 items. Premature ejacu-fullness, it happens when you get too excited. For your first visit, take a tiny scoop from whatever looks good. On your second visit, load up on your favorites. Water is immediately filled when you sit down and a short time later the fresh naan makes an appearance.
I must have tried 14 items and all them pretty much hit out of the ballpark. The big standouts for me were the Navvtra Korma and Okra Masala. The Navvtra Korma is this insane creamy vegetarian dish inviting your heart to a triple bypass. It's the yellow stuff in image 7. Stuff like this should not melt in your mouth. Beware the fat content on this one because it taste soooooo dammm good.
The lunch buffet rings in at $12 which is considerably higher than the other Indian buffets in the area. I do believe Bombay Garden can justify the prices with the large selection and quality of food they put out there. We got there around noon and all the food was fresh and hot. Service was excellent and there's extra bonus points when eating with fine silverware and plates. I make no hesitations on making a return visit as I'm a believer it's one of the best higher end Indian buffets in the South Bay.
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 730
Reviewed: 8/20/2007
Rating: 8
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I enjoyed the Newark Bombay Garden so was really hoping to enjoy this one as well. The selection was quite impressive here, though not as large as the Newark location. Similar dishes, but the sauces were way overdone on the cream. You could taste the fat and the unhealthiness coursing through your veins as you consumed. And that alone wouldn't deduct points, but when its at the detriment of the other flavors in the dishes, its a problem for me.
Since I enjoyed the Newark location I am hoping its just a fluke and future visits will be better. As it was, though, my stomach felt a bit ill (and it wasn't the normal 'i am stuffed and want to die' pain, it was just uneasy stomach pain. I really didn't overeat this visit either. Well, 2 plates, but not two OVERFLOWING plates. :)
Now don't get me wrong, this place is still really good (obviously by my score) and I think it has a shot at the big leagues in Bay Area indian cuisine, so my review includes a lot of reasons why it isn't up there. If you are looking for solid indian cuisine, though, you would be hard pressed to find better in the area.
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Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 144
Reviewed: 9/4/2007
Rating: 9
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This place is truly fantastic. Sure the decor may be a little over the top then most Indian buffets and the different height dining areas are something you need to pay attention to while avoiding hungry engineers and a poor path design but let's overlook all of that.
The food here is GOOD, plentiful and fresh. Naan is delivered to your table, water is refilled without needing to lift a finger and for the first time the soft drink is included in the price of the buffet. There is a good selection of Indian cuisine mostly from southern India. The chicken mikini is buttery, smooth, and fragrent, the aloo goobi is fresh, just a touch of curry, and a bit of spice. The naan delivered hot to your table, the fried items remain crispy, the curry items don't have a 'caked crust' over the top, the food is continuously brought out and monitored. The quality of this place astounded me. There's too much to review and I was busy eating but I enjoyed everything I picked up and have already made multiple return visits.
That mango fro yo differs on the days you go, I've only sampled it the first time I went and it tasted and looked fine. The next time I saw it, I saw what people were referring to, the color was audacious. They offer rice pudding, fruit custard, the sweet carrots, and the popular donut holes.
Highly Recommended.
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Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 45
Reviewed: 1/20/2008
Rating: 9
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It was Sunday around lunch time and it was so packed. The decor is really nice for a buffet and service was excellent. Seating arrangements are a little cramped though.
There are many many dishes to choose from and they're all neatly placed and easily accessible. I cannot tell you what I've eaten because there were so many options. Even though I was just there half an hour ago, it's all a pleasurable blur. Drinks were included, and they had chai (very good). Mango ice cream was neon orange, but delectable. Rice pudding (kheer) was excellent and so was the fried milk balls with rose syrup. Perhaps the only thing I didn't like was the lamb curry mainly because I've never had lamb before.
I really have no complaints at all, except for the cramped space. Grand Indian Buffet and Bombay Garden are currently on the top of my list for Indian food. |
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 78
Reviewed: 11/27/2007
Rating: 8.5
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Had one hell of a lunch today at Bombay Garden. I had a little trouble finding the place at first. Turns out it is part of the large shopping center with the OSH and Luckys. If you are heading south on Lawrence, the best way to get here is to take the exit for El Camino, but then make your first right into the shopping center, before you actually get to El Camino.
On my first visit I arrived at a pretty bad time: 12:40 on a Friday, so I was not surprised to see a big crowd there. I was surprised though at the rudeness of the other patrons. I slid through the waiting crowd to the maitre di, yet two different sets of people literally pushed past me to get their names on the waiting list first. Once I figured out the system I started playing aggressive defense and was finally able to get my name on the list as well. Jeez. I was seated in about 5 minutes (not bad, considering) and immediately made a beeline for the buffet. Wow. Nice, large selection. Tried to load up mini portions to get as much variety as possible. Sat down and waited for my naan and water. Water arrived. Then I waited some more. Service was a little lacking (due to the crowd?). After almost finishing my first plate of food I finally received my naan. Other than the service issues, my food was all pretty good. The aloo gobi, butter chicken, two kinds of dal, and lamb curry were outstanding. The chana masala was OK (I like Grand Indian Buffet's version slightly better). The palak paneer and bhengan bharta were a little subpar IMHO. The naan was fresh and hot, but not nearly as good as Shiva's killer naan. I made two trips to the buffet and then one more trip to the dessert bar. A nice selection of desserts here! A better selection than Grand Indian Buffet (GIB). I noted the mango ice cream is the color of a traffic cone rather than the usual orange-yellow. The flavor wasn't quite as good as GIB's version, but it hit the spot. Total cost including tip was just above $13, almost $3 more than GIB ($10.69 incl $1 tip). I know this includes soda, but I don't drink soda, so this was not a plus for me. All in all, I give this visit an 8.5 or 9 but need to reserve my scoring after visiting during a less busy time, since that's my usual mode for visits to GIB.
On my second visit here I arrived earlyish on a Monday to avoid the crowds. It worked. The place was maybe 25% full when I arrived, plus a large group lunch in the back. But the maitre di was on the phone and completely ignored me and the other arriving patrons while he chatted away. We waited about 2 or 3 minutes until someone else walked by, noticed the forming line, and started seating people. I made for the buffet immediately, concentrating on vegetarian items. I was happy to see they had malai kofta, one of my old favorites, and I loaded up on this. Everything was very good, as before, but the malai kofta was a disappointment. Instead of savory veggie-cheese balls in sauce, it was more like balls of dense cornbread in sauce. Weird. Didn't get seconds on this.
Once again, I had issues with getting my naan, and this time when the restaurant wasn't very busy. I completely finished my first plate of food before receiving it. This is just unacceptable. I was not alone, since I heard the table behind me complain to the waiter about their naan as well. By the time he came back with their naan, they were all back at the buffet table. As for myself, I went back to the buffet twice more, once for some meat items, once for dessert. One chicken dish was outstanding, but I forget the name. For dessert, the fruit in mango sauce was good, but not as good as the version from Turmeric (the fruit wasn't quite as fresh either). This time I was happy to notice that they offered both hot Indian tea (with condensed milk) and iced tea as part of the buffet, so the price delta from GIB was looking a lot better. I asked for my check but had to wait a while before it came. This is just silly. It's a buffet for &%^$ sake. This place has some service issues.
The interior is very nice and multi-leveled. It is comparable to Turmeric but not quite as nice as Shiva's.
Rating for Bombay Garden is a tough call. I'm tempted to give it a 9, but with some of the dishes tasting a bit off for me, plus the service issues, I feel like need to take off something. So, 8.5 it is.
Pros: Large variety of great food at reasonable prices
Cons: Indifferent and sometimes poor service; not all dishes are hits |
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Reviewer: Stevetacular
Total Reviews: 25
Reviewed: 11/30/2007
Rating: 9
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I've been here multiple times and this is now the go-to Indian buffet if there is nowhere else my friends and I want to go eat. From the outside this place looks very small and unappealing. However, once you go inside, the atmosphere is totally different. The interior of the restaurant is very large and it is quite elegant compared to most other Indian buffets. When you dine here you get cloth napkins and your water is poured into a large wine glass. Once you are you brought to your seat you are free to go to the buffet.
The food here has always been very consistent and it has always been good. With the many items that they have at the buffet, it is hard to go wrong. From the fried items to curries, you will find something here that you will enjoy. The only thing I did not like was the egg curry because it was just...hardboiled eggs in some sauce, and the sauce did not seep into the egg either. What I like to do is to take their dosas and fill them with various things such as the saag paneer and then roll it up to make a wrap. And yes, the mango ice cream here is neon orange for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with the mix, but regardless it is good.
The service can be off and on, one day you may get a lot of attention from the waiters, and other times they may all disappear. Regardless of that I do not mind waiting a little bit to get a waiter to get the check. Also the sodas come with the buffet here, so knock yourself out. The biggest downside to this place is the fact that at times it can get crowded and the prices are sometimes high. In lieu of that, I would highly recommend this restaurant. |
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