Bombay Club opened its doors to Delhiites in July this year, but we waited a few weeks before we decided to review it. The food scene in India has been so dynamic in the past few years that restaurants open with great fanfare and very soon, get lost in the cacophony around. Some couldn't bear the red balance sheet, shutting down soon after while others somehow managed to stick around for a while. Thank heavens, the situation is getting better and the restaurant business has picked up again. Thus, it is not a bad idea to go back to a restaurant after a few weeks of its opening, to see whether it has lived up to the hype and more importantly, whether it has been able to hold the diners' interest after the hullabaloo about the launch dies down. Bombay Club, as the name suggests, serves Bombay-inspired food, including some Maharashtrian and Iranian cuisines but with a unique touch that may have been a smart one as it is a crowd pleaser. But how Amanda Bhandari (founder) managed to steer clear of other interesting cafes around and created a little niche of her own. It takes local ingredients and builds them up into some interesting dishes, served with a characteristic twist.
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Ambience
Bombay club is designed in a contemporary, minimalist style that soothes our minds. The restaurant is done up in a colour scheme of white, blue and beige, giving it an instantly recognisable classic look. The strategically placed sunroofs fill up the space with bright natural light throughout the day. The cane furniture, vintage photographs and antique pieces lend the space a happy, vibrant and cosy Bombay vibe. Whether you decide to drop in during lunch or dinner, this bright space is always buzzing and is alive with enthusiastic diners and staff serving with a smile.
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Food And Drinks
The menu is eclectic and a pleasure to skim through. The drinks menu includes Indianised coolers, many that taste even better than they sound. We tried the Popcorn Lemonade, Green Chilli Banta and Kokum Mary. Popcorn Lemonade - well, who would have thought that popcorn can be a part of a cooler, right? Bizarre as it sounds, this popcorn cooler was a delight. You can also choose to order Kokum Mary, served in a tall glass. Bombay Club insists that the concept of drinks served there comes from nostalgia so the moment you take a sip, you can reminisce the old days. Last but not the least, Green Chilli Banta is worth trying and great for sharing. If you fancy some bold flavours, only then try it!
The food menu is a delight. It is divided into regular categories - from salads and sandwiches to paos and stews. I started with Bun Maska Trio inspired by the British Wigg. The bun is served with three kinds of butter - all reminiscent of Bombay! Next, I tried their Keema Pao, a play on Mumbai's famous local street food with decadent keema curry topped with onions, cilantro and lemon. I further tried the Mini Vada Pao which people have been raving about but it failed to live up to my expectations. It is a spiced bata vada served with sweet chilli jam and thecha butter.
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Innovation knows no bounds here, as the Skinny Sweet Potato Fries prove. With crispy sweet potato (shakarkandi) served with thecha mayonnaise. However, I was hoping they were baked and not fried keeping the health quotient up.
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Avo egg hopper and Akoori, on the other hand, absolutely blew our minds. Avo egg hopper is the glow-up appam with smashed avocado and poached eggs topped with mango-lime dressing, paired with spicy peanut chutney, whereas Akoori is a Parsi-style masala scrambled eggs with Iranian influences that come on top of butter toast. The flavours played all the right notes and came with a bit of drama. Another winner was Baida Roti. As the menu says, the dish is inspired by the same name dish from the Bade Miyan restaurant in Mumbai. Each part of this dish worked perfectly in tandem to deliver a range of complex flavours in every bite. A must-try!
If you've been salivating all along this review, let me remind you that I still have desserts to talk about. I tried Cutting Chai Pannacotta and Malai Cheeni Toast.
These are not just desserts - they are a little party for your taste buds. Malai Cheeni Toast, especially, gets a thumbs up! It is our favourite malai cheeni toast reimagined on a bruléed tutti-fruity brioche with delicious homemade clotted cream and seasonal fruit.
Bombay Club is not about avant-garde techniques or fancy dining. It is about celebrating the food that we all are familiar with and serving it with characteristic warmth that keeps us going back for more. A great place for a meal, with friends, family or even for some me-time by yourself.