Bombay Hall Indian Cusine

Reviews 6

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Brenda Stocks

Just finished an AMAZING meal with my mom and teenage son. Bombay Hall has been his favorite restaurant since its opening. In all the years eating here, there has not once been an unpleasant experience or a dish not up to snuff. Today was no different. Immediately following a friendly greeting and being seated, my family and I hit the buffet. A basket of fresh, piping hot, nan was waiting at the table as we made our way back, plates loaded with pakora and samosas. The coating on the pakora (deep fried veggies, in a garbanzo bean batter) was remarkably thin, light, and crisp. Ive noticed that with foods that are battered and fried, the line between just perfect and WAAAY too much. The chefs at Bombay Hall have this perfected! My weakness in the savory end of things are their samosas (delicious, light but flavorful dough, stuffed with tender potatoes and peas). For several weeks, I had been thinking about a plate their perfectly tender basmati rice, topped with Chicken Tikka Masala. My craving was satisfied, and then some! A small bowl of raita (yogurt, mint, cucumber, and tomato) on the side offered the perfect complement to the spices. (As well as the "heat" Mom found in her aloo gobi; potatoes and cauliflower cooked in spices.) Full disclosure: I am the type of gal who plans her day, vacations, and entire life around food. So when I say I had been thinking about Bombay Hall, that was including trips to every section of the buffet. Naturally, this means dessert! My 2 favorites are the khir (rice pudding) and the gulab jamun ("sweetened milk balls" soaking in some kind of delicious, sweet syrup that tastes like its on the edge of caramelizing.) SO. GOOD. Throughout our meal drinks were refilled before we even thought about it. I enjoyed a hot Masala Tea. Perfectly creamy, slightly sweet, and just as comforting as I remembered. When Bombay Hall opened, my son and I lived in an apartment within walking distance. Of course, we could be found there frequently. Some nights while grilling or just to go with dinner, we would pick up a couple orders of their bread instead of having tortillas. We have since moved to another part of town, about 25+ minutes away. Sadly our visits have become less frequent. I am elated to say that despite it being several years, a HUGE growth spurt for the teen, and a 65 pound weight loss for myself; they STILL recognized us!! I highly recommend Bombay Hall. Not only to anyone who enjoys Indian cuisine, but even those whove not yet been introduced to the wonders of a good curry or a piping hot Chai. In addition to the consistency in food and service, Bombay Hall has received FOUR Blue Plate Awards as well as a perfect score from the Health Department in November 2016! TL;DR Food is AWESOME! Service is FANTASTIC! EAT AT BOMBAY HALL!!

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gitanjali bhardwaj

In one word - disappointing. I went here after seeing the reviews online which were really good but am now writing a review myself (yes, my first review ever online) as i was so so so heartbroken. We were going to San Antonio from Dallas over the long weekend that just went by and had high hopes of this place which were shattered to death. There is no way that an Indian with decent taste buds can like their food. The gulab jamuns were hard and dead cold. The kheer was bland. The semolina cake was an unnecessary addition on the menu adding no value to any taste. I am a vegetarian myself so did not taste the chicken but my husband who is a non-vegetarian didnt like the chicken either. He said it seemed that one basic curry was used to prepare all chicken dishes and there was no quality to any. I ended up having only kadi as it was the only fair dish on entire menu, although i ate it with a broken heart. The mix veg was all smushy and tasteless. The dal makhani tasted like moong daal. Only the naan bread was cooked nicely and was good enough to be quoted as "perfect". Overall the food reminded me of the food from my hostel mess. Im so sad i ate here.

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Derrick Lykins

My girlfriend and I have eaten at almost every single Indian restaurant in San Antonio and this is, in my/our opinion, the very best. Weve probably eaten here over 30 times in the past year. I would even go as far to say one of the best restaurants period, and quite certainly one of the best buffet style places to eat. They always make sure the buffet items are fresh and at the proper temperature. No exaggeration, every single dish is unique and delicious. Its obvious that the dishes are authentic cuisine; they seem like something that was made in a family kitchen. Sometimes they will have a different dish here and there which makes for a nice variety. To top it off, the staff is very friendly and quick. I dont think Ive ever seen the bottom of my water glass. They make sure you dont go thirsty or hungry at this place. Im pretty that the restaurant is family owned, so you are supporting good people. Dont worry about the location; weve eaten here so many times and never had an issue. To top it all off, this place is affordable. A must try if you like Indian food! Or if youve never tried it, check this place out.

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TerroraX TheVillain

This has been my go to restaurant for many years now. Lets be fair, I have traveled and this isnt authentic indian food, but I like this better. Its creamier, meaning for those of us who arent used to covering everything in pepper and spice, we dont get a stomach ate. The choices are simple and steady, but this restaurant has the single most important qualities a food service needs. It is consistent, excellent service, and gives you the variety of items to quench your "indian food craving". In this part of San Antonio (medical center), atmosphere isnt what people look for, so if you come from out of town just remember that. Though they do not have goat or lamb curry on the buffet, the seasonings and choices are well adept for its customer base. If I want thai curry, Id go to a thai place. I promise you we do not like authentic foods in general and thats not what we are after. This is true for most "exotic" cousine. Keep doing a great job!

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F M

I got a chance to visit many south Asian restaurants during my 2 week business trip to San Antonio. When I entered the restaurant, I saw mostly non Asian customers, which explains the higher rating of this restaurant, which in my opinion can be very misleading for south Asian who know exactly how appetizing a curry dish is suppose to taste. Most of their dishes are no where near palatable, so to a Caucasian or Hispanic tongue they may find it exotic since they have nothing to compare it to. This is just another mediocre restaurant which I most probably will not return to. There are other desi restaurants in the neighbor hood like Kohinoor where the food is close to authentic, though their customer service needs little work, but worth the wait in my opinion. This place is not for desis!! No quality - Gloomy ambience - located in somewhat of a ghetto neighborhood. The only thing I liked about them was naan and decent customer service.

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VI

Vijay Ramamoorthy

Pros - fresh food, great service, nominal price, clean restaurant (though it doesnt look great), very veyr Honest business Cons - place is clean but doesnt look great We dont eat out Indian food a lot since we do that at home but this place is our 1st pick if we do. IMO this is probably the best Indian food in San Antonio for the above mentioned cons. I like everything in their buffet but love their Naan Bread, Pakoras, chicken (its soo good, they get it fresh & hot anytime you ask) and I love their desserts(I have a sweet tooth but I hear from our non-indian friends that Indian sweets are way too sweet for them). I have been here couple of times and have always had great food & service. Last time I left my Oakley glasses and the owner kept it safe for 4 days till I went back to pick it up. Thanks for being honest. (I heard form a coworker that they were also on the local news for having a clean kitchen)

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