The Bombay Brasserie

Bombay Brasserie is the worst place to go if u are planning to go with friends or on date or with family. We were there on valentine's day this year. We have friends visting from out of town and we decided to go there for dinner and to celebrate. We were six people. Upon arrival we were given a table and after that no immediate service was available for drinks or order. We have to call each time that we are ready to order. We order our food which was not the best Indian food I have ever eaten. When we were about to finish our dinner the waiter came in and says "IF YOU ARE FINISHED WITH THE DINNER CAN U PLEASE LEAVE AS WE HAVE GUEST WAITING OUTSIDE" HE DIDN'T CARE TO ASK IF WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DESERTS OR NOT.We finished our dinner which approximately took about hour or so due to their lack of service. That was very inappropriate of theirs to say to a customer. U cant ask them to get up and go.We complained to the manager but we all assumed that he was the one to give this instruction to waiter. becoz he gave very calm reaction. We made a big note on the bill we received. IF U ARE LIKELY TO BE INSULTED SHOULD GO THERE.

Pros: none

Cons: bad food, limited service, limited seating availabe

Posted 03/16/09

I am new to the Houston area, and I am sad to say that Bombay Brasserie was my first Indian dining experience in this town. I have eaten Indian food any many major cities that I've visited and this was by far one of the worst. I ordered the lunch buffet and it was the blandest buffet I've ever eaten from. No SPICE whatsoever! Granted, you can never expect the buffet to be as good as what is ordered off the menu, however the buffet is often an indicator of the overall quality. To start off, the Mango Lassi was the worst I've ever had; watered down and bland. The vegetables on the buffet all tasted frozen and were also bland. The food was completely Americanized, having none of the signature Indian spice that Indian lovers crave. The Daal tasted like it came from a can and the Chicken Tiki Masala was not very rich. Also, the Raita tasted very strange (sour with no other flavor). Finally, they had no Goulab, which is probably for the best as it most likely would have been bad and I could not stomach any more of this food. This was an absolute disappointment and it became further so when the bill arrived. The bill was $17 dollars and change for a lunch buffet and Mango Lassi! I've eaten the same in Chicago and paid closer to $12. I promtly paid the bill and fled this eatery, surely to never return. This was Indian food the way it should never be and I expect any first time Indian diner would be shunned from this food forever after frequenting this restaurant.

Pros: None

Cons: The food....what more should I say ?

Posted 10/06/08

My wife and I decided to check this place out when we were going to go to Kubo's for lunch, but they weren't yet open. Instead of waiting we thought we would just check out the Bombay Brasserie next door. We weren't very hungry, so we opted for the menu over the buffet. I ordered Lamb curry, while my wife ordered a green salad. The waiter was rather rude, and for her "green salad" (which was supposed to have lettuce) he just scooped some cucumber from the buffet onto a plate... $3.00. I had to pay $4.00 extra for rice to go with my lamb curry, which was itself $16.00. When it finally came, I got a small cup of curry, that was some warmed up sauce that had some still cold pieces of lamb in it. The rice had a few partially frozen peas in it for color. All in all, it was $23.00 for a small meal that was poorly prepared. All I can say is that at least they didn't charge for water. European customers will feel at home with prices for these portions and this poor quality of service.

Pros: tablecloths, indian decor

Cons: expensive, poorly prepared food, bad service

Posted 02/26/08

Went for the lunch buffet during a break from classes. Seemed the staff had a tough time seating our group of 7 but we managed to squeeze into the table. The food tasted great. I'm glad to see choices and variety for both vegetarian and meat. Service was prompt but a little cold rather than friendly about splitting the check or accepting credit cards.

Pros: variety in buffet dishes, price

Cons: not accomodating for large groups

Posted 10/19/07

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PLACE! We tried the Saturday afternoon lunch buffet. We were promptly seated and that was where the service ended! We were NEVER offered any drinks other than the water that was put on the table, and once it was empty there were no refills. I had to go up to the bar to ask for a soda, when it was empty I had to flag someone (because we didn't have a waitor) down to ask for another one. We NEVER had one single person stop at our table and ask how we were of if we needed anything. The buffet food was okay, not the best Indian I have ever eaten, and they did not have gulab jaman for dessert, only the creamy rice. I will never eat at this place again! Agreed with the other review, there are way too many Indian restaurants in Houston, I would go to any of the others before ever trying this place!

Pros: free parking

Cons: HORRIBLE service, tiny restaurant, limited selection

Posted 09/22/07

We were so sad when the location on Richmond closed, since it was less than 1/2 a mile from our home, but the service and food did not diminish at all when they moved to West U. We've tried different places and have sinced moved to Austin but this is still the best Indian food we have ever had. It always has the freshness and the boldness of taste we are looking for in every dish we have. You won't find better tikka masala, saag, pakora, samosas and even tandoori(which is dry at so many places). The first time we went in I inquired about the dessert ice creams and they gave us samples to try, both pistachio and mango were deliciously refreshing. I would send anyone to Bombay, knowing they will walk away more than satisfied.

Pros: Food, service, quality

Posted 08/19/07

I have to say this is the greatest place for indian food. I like kiran's but the only thing about kiran's is that it's a little to pricey and I am only a student right now. Bombay Brasserie is very nice and they have wonderful appetizers! We didn't know what to order the first time so we just got that variety platter and it was absolutely amazing...you know when you usually order those things half the things on it are gross well not this place, everything on that platter was great! and the papad with chutney they give also is amazing as well as their main food dishes. Wonderful place! would definately go there again because its not that expensive and has the best food!

Pros: great food, GREAT PRICE, good service

Cons: NONE

Posted 06/05/07

Last weekend, me and some family and friends (17 people) went to Bombay Brasserie to celebrate my cousin's college graduation. We had called ahead of time and made reservations. They had also called us back the day before to confirm our reservation for 17. When we arrived, the table they had for us only had enough chairs for 12 people. So, I went to the manager and let him know that there weren't enough chairs for all of us. He told me that that was all the room they had, and that we would just have to "squeeze in" five more chairs. There was no way that all 17 of us could squeeze in and sit comfortably. So, we went back and asked him why he didn't tell us when we made the reservation that there was not enough room for a party of 17? We also explained that if we knew this would be a problem, we would have made reservations somewhere else. To our astonishment, he then proceeded to say in a rude tone, "Well, then why don't you guys go somewhere else!" I couldn't believe it! There was no way that we would be able to go anywhere on a Saturday night with a party as large as ours. Finally, after about 30 minutes of just sitting there, he added a small table to the end of ours, which only sat 3 more. All of this really put a damper on our night of celebration. No matter what the food tastes like, service like that will ensure that nobody in our family will ever return there!!

Pros: location

Cons: Horrible customer service

Posted 05/13/07

My friend and I were in the restaurant for lunuch today (4/6/2007). The buffet was not that good as it listed on the homepage, I thought there were around 12 dishes offered, not 19 dishes. The service was not good, either.
When we finished and ready to pay the check. At first I would like to pay by cash, and then I decided to pay by credit card and keep the cash on hand. The waiter was standing by me all the time. When I gavemy credit card to him, he told that the credit machine was broken and it would be better we pay by cash! Why didn't he tell us when we got the check?? And if the credit machine was broken, would everyone in the restaurant have enough cash to pay for the lunch?

I believe that he is lying to us. At last, I paid by cash. But I was very unhappy with the service I got. I knew that some restaurant prefer cash so that they can avoid tax. But I am the customer, and I can decide whatever way I want to pay for the lunch, not being forced to pay cash by a waiter!!!!!

My experience was so bad that I will never go back there.

Cons: The waiter told me that the credit cared machine was broken and asked me to pay cash

Posted 04/05/07

We were finishing up our lunch buffet, and a waiter came by to give us our bill. My girlfriend wanted to get some chai to finish up her meal, but they said they didn't serve chai (even though its on their menu)! She then asked for some hot tea, to which they said they didn't have any tea cups, even though the table next to us got some hot tea a few minutes later! Next time I want indian food, I'm going to Shiva's down the street or to the Madras Pavillion.

Pros: Good Indian Food

Cons: Horrible service

Posted 04/05/07

I have eaten at this place several times. I have always been impressed by the buffet on weekends but was recently dissappointed by a Friday night experience ordering off the menu. My parents flew in to visit and I thought it would be nice to take them out. We ordered 4 items which were mediocre. The service was pretty slow.

I have eaten at this place several times. I have always been impressed by the buffet on weekends but was recently disappointed by a Friday night experience ordering off the menu. My parents (who are Indian) flew in to visit us and my wife and I thought it would be nice to take them out. We ordered 4 items which were over salted and small portions. The service was pretty slow that Friday night.

The worst part though was at the end. I paid the bill (with an unused $100 Visa gift card I had) and as my parents and I were going down the escalator, a busboy comes running behind us and says that they screwed up our bill and undercharged us. He said we owed $xx more, and could I please go back up and settle the bill. So as my parents waited in the car, I went up and after they demonstrated how they forgot to charge us for one of the 4 items, I gave them the Visa gift card for them to charge the difference. Instead of charging the additional amount, what the management did was try to refund the initial charge and recharge the entire bill. Well the gift card refunds don't get processed instantly so now the revised bill exceeded the remaining balance on the $100 gift card. So then, when the recharge was denied, they accused me of being fraudulent and demanded another form of payment.

As you can imagine, given my parents were from out of town, it was an embarrassing experience for me, particularly since I had suggested the restaurant. Of course, NO APOLOGY from them on their initial miscalculation of the bill and stupidity in not recharging the difference on a gift card. This is too bizarre to make up. I don't plan on going back there.

Pros: Lunch Buffet

Cons: Service, no respect for customer's time and headache

Posted 03/08/07

Food here has enough spice that you know you're eating Indian food. Samosas do the job and the Resiling compliments most chicken dishes well. I have to mention the poor girl in the booth in front of us on a date with the goof that mentioned his "Frat" 27 times....we started counting after the first few and it was the source of our entertainment. Anyways, the atmosphere here is pretty good and the service is attentive. Located in the Rice Village attached to the parking garage, this may be the time you should go ahead and just pay to park in the garage. The restaurant is worth it!

Pros: food, service

Cons: parking, frat boys

Posted 02/05/07

The food is ok! Better food is available at other Indian restaurants in town!
The service is really bad.
Had to ask for water refills all the time!
Could not get Papads even after asking for it 4 or 5 times!
We were told, we'd be getting towels after dinner, waited forever, no one told us
they were out!!!
Didnot receive bill (list of charges), only recvd bill to sign cc. (We were a large party, had to ask for bill to figure out if we need to leave a tip or was it included!! Turns out it was included after we asked for the bill with list of charges!!)
Would not recommend this to anyone!

Pros: In the Village! Location

Cons: Poor Service, Cramped seating, average ambience.

Posted 08/12/06

Yes, they have moved, and I've been waiting for them to re-open. I recently tried their new location in Rice Village, and they are still, by far, the best indian cuisine I have ever had. Okay, so I am not indian, but I know good food. It's obvious that competing restaurants are using this review board to post slander, because anyone who is honest would tell you that nothing compares to the Tandoori or Tiki Marasal at this restaurant, anywhere. The Prahta and Vegetable Briyani, Saag Paneer and other dishes are the absolute best. I guess they guy that didn't get his ice cream was really cheap and insolent, because I know the owner treats people like they deserve to be treated, and usually that is very, very well.

Pros: Indian food that is the absolute best

Cons: Small restaurant, unappealling wine list

Posted 08/12/06

Highly avoidable!
This is quite likely the worst Indian restaurant in Houston.
The samosas were stale - stank!
The service is nonexistent.
The parathas were really bad.

Pros: free parking

Cons: horrible stale food, even worse service

Posted 07/11/06

How would you like to go to a restaurant where the waiter tells you, Only customers who give me good tips get complimentary ice cream? If so, then this is the restaurant for you. The food is your average North Indian curry-based dishes. However, the service is abominable. The owner of the restaurant insulted us repeatedly as he (1) disputed a discount card we were trying to use, (2) automatically added 18% gratuity to our bill, and (3) gave complimentary ice cream to every table except ours. We are native Houstonians and dine out very often. Weve been to almost every Indian restaurant in Houston. But type of cuisine aside, we have never been treated so condescendingly, and that too by the owner himself! There are many other Indian restaurants in town. Do yourself a favor and choose one of them.

Cons: Service

Posted 06/03/06

This place is awful and I would not recommend it . The food is not good , the
service is awful , we waited for an hour, before we were attended . The food took
very long to come and they messed up the order . Food was awful . We will not
go back there again

Posted 03/20/06

We've loved everything about the Bombay Brasserie for 5+ years - location close to but not in the horrible Galleria traffic, fabulous food, attentive and caring service, terrific atmostphere. But today, horror of horrors, we drove past and it's boarded up! Please tell me they've just moved!!!!! The best Chicken Tikka Masala in the city - where do I go to get it now???

Pros: great food, friendly service

Cons: closed

Posted 08/27/05

I 've been a regular at Bombay Brasserie ever since I first moved to Houston. Although, no restaurant here could compare to the food we have back home, Bombay Brasserie comes close to providing an ultimate Indian food experience. Go with friends, family, alone or with a date, the staff is very courteous and the food is great.
My first 'blind date' with my girlfriend was at Bombay Brasserie. Well she reached there before me, and had to wait on me a good fifteen minutes. During that time, the staff and the manager treated her like royalty and shes completely sold on the place. We owe it to Bombay Brasserie for the lovely food and service that night.
The buffet is a great value considering the variety of food from starters to desserts.
By far, the best Indian restaurant in Houston.
ps: their chicken tikka is to die for

Pros: Great Food, Excellent Service, Ambience

Cons: none

Posted 06/17/05

I can't really see how anyone can find anything wrong with this place. The quality of the food is outstanding - try the Boti Kabob or the Chicken Tikka Masala.

The buffet is only $10.95 and contains most of their popular dishes. The buffet is probobaly one of the biggest hidden secrets in Houston - and is an absolute steal.

Go to their website - which you can search for on City Search I assume? I found a 20% off dinner coupon and they were more than friendly about using it - not a single question asked. They also gave me another 20% off card when I left and welcomed me to return - I thought that was real nice.

The staff is A+, freindly, knowledgable (don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions). It doesn't get any better than this....

Pros: best indian food, priced perfectly, service is A+

Posted 08/14/04

e and my gal friend went to this place couple of times. The food is excellent and the service is awesome. I recommend this place for every one. Kids, larger family, dates, especially those who want to taste an Indian food, this is the place to go. We ordered Potato cooked with yogurt and Eggplant curry and non. Its great food. You may want to customize the food if you want it mild and less spicy. We told the server to cook with less oil and very mild as my gal friend cant stand with spicy food. Hope this helps

Pros: Great food, Good service, good for every one

Posted 05/31/04

I've been to this restaurant twice and both times, I came out satisfied with every aspect of this restaurant. The servers are courteous and they always come around to see if I'm okay. The owner is really nice and stops by all of the tables. The curry is fabulous. You have to try it!

Pros: good parking, fair pricing

Posted 02/21/04

The ENTIRE time not one person from the resturant approached me to see if I wanted anything. I wanted Mango Lassi, but at $3.95 a glass, I wasn't about to beg for it. (usual price $1.50-$2.50). The naan was gummy, and tough, like microwave bread, this they do not make fresh but keep on a steamer. Naan should be fresh, soft, yet crispy from being freshly baked. Customer service was pathetic. All this for $11.95? Please. The lunches around Hillcroft & 59 for $5.50 a buffet are way better. If you want a fine buffet lunch or dinner, visit the Indian resturant on S. Shepherd & Richmond for some excellent food. You will want to say "Wow", and the customer service is a pleasant contrast to the Bombay Brasserie. The Bombay Brasserie was a BOMB. Not "THE BOMB", but "A BOMB"

Cons: Bad Service, Rude manager, Expensive uninspiring

Posted 12/04/03

Wonderful Restaraunt! Great Food! Awesome Buffet! My Favorite Place in Houston for Indian food! Even my girlfriend loves this place!

Pros: Buffet, Buffet, Buffet!

Posted 10/07/03

I have been to Bombay Brasserrie ten times. The standard is always good and you get value for your money. the taste is as very close to riginal authentic North Indian cusine.

Posted 09/19/03

I definitely think that the Indian food here is the best in Houston. When my co-workers want Indian food, I bring them here.

Pros: Friendly staff, Good quality food

Posted 02/05/03

In my opinion, Bombay Brasserie is the second best Indian restaurant in Houston after Ashoka. The place is clean and the ambiance is great.

What I really love about this restaurant is that for the buffet, there is actually a chef standing in front of an Indian wok cooking spicy vegetables and meat. That feature makes me feel spoiled.

The food is also pretty good with a good blend of different Indian spices. The selection is also very good.

Pros: good food, clean, courteous service

Cons: slightly pricey

Posted 01/04/03

Best Curry house in town (and i've tried the rest). Never had a problem with getting a table, service always good and a very decent menu selection that equals any curry house in London or Bradford!! Ask A.J. about any specials or his own recommendations and he'll be pleased to oblige. Great lunch buffet at a reasonable price. Very popular with everyone and child friendly.

Go on.....give it a try..and enjoy a Ruby Murry tonight!

Pros: Good prompt service, Great food, Great place

Posted 12/12/02

This is probably the most highly advertised Indian restaurant. Other than that there is nothing great about this restaurant. Houston itself has a lot of other Indian restaurant which offers real Indian food or real American Indian Food with GOOD SERVICE and affordable cost. This place sucks in service, go there and read the comments register outside.

Cons: BAD FOOD, BAD SERVICE, COSTLY

Posted 09/05/02

Truly Authentic Stuff. Not your "Tex-Mex" style (shall we coina phrase Am-Ind?) junk served elsewhere by folks who'd sell their Grannies for a dollar. Wine List could do with more dicerning choices, but has improves considerably. Ambiance also good. But the food remains the closest to real quality Indian grub one would find in the top Indian restuarants in London and Amsterdam..

Posted 08/26/02

Best Indian Food in Houston Fo' Shizzle I only wish teh wait staff were not so dumb. But managers come by tables and they are very nice.

Pros: Great Food, Chicken Tikka, Sag paneer

Cons: Kind of Pricy

Posted 08/20/02

I always go to this Indian restaurant. There food is
so delicious and to heavy like most of the other Indian
places in town. Also whenever I go there the service
so good. I don't understand some of the bad reviews
some people give them, they probably have a grudge
against them or something!! I think they are the most
wonderful staff in any Houston Indian restaurant (or
any restaurant for that matter!)

Pros: Good Food, Excellent Decor, Impeccable Service

Posted 07/05/02

The food is ok, service is terrible. SOmetimes 3 waiters are at your desk to serve you, sometimes you have to raise your hand to call someone. Employees are often engaged in gossipping in local language and oner is probably the grand father or godfather of all employees. Overall can be passed as lower middle class restaurant, but doesn't worth the great reviews it got by so many reviewers.

Pros: OK Food

Cons: Extremely bad service

Posted 07/02/02

Bombay Brasserie is the best Indian Restaurant by far.... Almost every week me and my family go there!! There wine list is exceptional from kendal Jackson to Estancia to Hanna Bismark.. Try there Rack of Lamb it's delicious!!

Pros: Good Parking, Clean, Elegant

Posted 06/30/02