By Kelly Kasulis, news staff
Thick, curried spinach burying soft, melt-in-your-mouth curdled cheese was eaten by the ravenous spoonful at Bombay Cafe, an inexpensive Indian restaurant wedged between the Starbucks and US Post Office on Massachusetts Avenue.
Paired with the customary basmati rice, the dish weighed in at $11.95 on the final tab plus an extra $2.95 for plain naan. The naan was served still hot, its dough soft and risen in bubbles atop a perfectly-charred, crackling bottom crust. Before the tip, dinner cost $15 – and with enough food for two.
Located near Northeastern University, Bombay Cafe opened 20 years ago in 1994 at its only location to date, 175 Massachusetts Ave., diagonally across from the Christian Science Reading Room. The Cafe, owned by a seemingly quiet but eager businessman, Singh Lally, employs a small but polite staff that is quick to cater to diners’ needs.
Entering the restaurant, patrons will likely see a spacious, mahogany-colored room with tables for four lining the walls and napkins crisply folded into a fountain shape, tucked inside classy but heavy-weight drinking glasses. In the middle are more intimate tables for
two, and each seating arrangement is accompanied by a candle and deep red placemats. The walls are adorned with large, bedazzled folk art.
The dinner menu is vast, with options organized in categories of vegetarian, chicken, lamb, seafood and beef-dominant dishes. It ranges from the more typical American favorites such as chicken tikka masala, which the menu describes as a dish containing “all white meat chicken pieces, tandoori style, cooked in a mild tomato cream sauce,” to less common gems like keema mutter, a “minced lamb cooked in a gravy of exotic herbs and spices.”
It is a wonder how such a restaurant could be so barren on a Tuesday night, with just a few tables occupied, but perhaps this is because Bombay Cafe boldly advertises its $6.95 lunch buffet on a large banner strewn over the doorway. Running from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. during the week and 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the buffet offers a variety of dishes – including the pictured saag paneer – and even dessert, a rice pudding called sheer korma. Glasses of wine start at $5.95.
Open until 11 p.m. Monday – Saturday and until 10 p.m. on Sundays, Bombay Cafe’s heaping portion sizes are also available for delivery from noon until close, with free service to areas like Back Bay and Mission Hill. With a less-crowded, more peaceful ambiance than its more well-known competitors downtown like Tantric Indian Bistro on Charles St., Bombay Cafe offers Indian cuisine for any palate – mild or spicy – and for a price fit for most college students on a budget.
For students who are looking to save even more money, coupon deals are available on the restaurant’s website, which can deduct as much as $10 from a group’s tab.
