When you are a full time college student in the United States, Indian food is hard to come by. You have to make the most of the few opportunities you get to taste Indian food. When I first arrived at Georgia Tech I was doing perfectly well without Indian food, but as the days turned into weeks, I realized that is was about time when I tasted good Indian food. I grasped the next opportunity by the palm of my hands.
As part of my class assignment in English I reviewed a restaurant reviewing site named www.yelp.com . It contained links to various restaurants around Atlanta and after a little navigation I stumbled upon a familiar one – Café Bombay.
Café Bombay is a restaurant of Indian cuisine. This restaurant appealed to me immediately not only because I had not had Indian food for a long time but also because it received great reviews on the site and the online menu looked mouthwatering. Other Indian friends of mine on campus also suggested this place to me. After a bit of research on the net I became aware of the various hours throughout the week when they were open for business.
More research on the net revealed that the price range was just about perfect. The buffet was eleven dollars per person. The dress code was casual and it was a place for people of every age group. They had a no delivery policy but they did allow take out. It was clearly specified on the site that the restaurant was especially good for lunch. I had ample information – at least I thought I had - regarding the restaurant in front of me and the next step was to create a plan to visit the restaurant.
Fall break was upon us and I made my plan accordingly. I thought Sunday would be the perfect day to visit this restaurant as the timings were more flexible. I invited two other friends to come along as they also wanted to taste Indian food for a change. The prospect of eating at an Indian restaurant was very enticing. Café Bombay is located on 2165 Briarcliff road. The buffet was served till three thirty in the afternoon so we had to reach well before that time in order to truly enjoy the food. The train from the Marta station took us to Brook Haven from where we boarded a bus to Briarcliff road. To our surprise the restaurant was not easy to locate as we were not that adept at reading addresses outside the campus. After a tiresome journey by foot, we were eventually blessed by the sight of Café Bombay. We looked down at our watch and it was exactly three thirty.
The buffet period was over and we thought that all our efforts had gone to waste. A man who was probably the manager came out and reminded us that it was closing time. But he gave us another option. We could select the items on the buffet for take away. We thought better something than nothing. Upon entering the restaurant we sensed the familiar aroma of an Indian restaurant especially the smell of spices. The entire buffet was laid out on two sides with vegetarian dishes on one side and non-vegetarian dishes on the other side. In between them was a salad bar. Realizing that it was closing time, we quickly went through the buffet and selected the items we wanted. From the vegetarian section we selected “Palak Paneer” which would best be described as spinach with tofu and “Navaratan Korma” which was a mixture of vegetables with gravy. From the non-vegetarian section we ordered “Chicken Tikka Masala” which was a spicy chicken preparation with orange colored gravy. Along with these we chose “Naan” which is a type of Indian bread, rice and “Chicken Biryani” which is a special type of rice with chicken in it and has a yellowish appearance.
We went into discussions about where to eat the food as the restaurant was closed and by the time we reached campus the food would become cold. We were interrupted by the man I mentioned before. He relaxed us by saying that we could have the food in the restaurant itself. He meant to do us a favor as the restaurant was supposed to be closed. After hearing that we don’t have a car and that we had travelled a long distance to get here, he allowed us to sit at one of the tables and enjoy our food. Now I was truly relieved. Without wasting a second we pounced on to the food. Every bite was satisfying and we took our time and cherished the rare taste of Indian food. The Palak Paneer was well prepared while the Navaratan Korma was a bit too sweet. The non-vegetarian dishes were delicious. To top off the satisfactory food and service, we were charged only nine dollars instead of eleven.
After the voluptuous lunch I could finally take time to look around the restaurant and take notice of the display and decorations. The entire restaurant was adorned with Indian decorations resembling ancient and medieval architecture and design. The room itself looked small at first sight but a small door to the right lead to a much larger room meant for huge groups or families. The outer room contained tables for four. The inner ones contained longer tables and more elaborate design. To the right of the inner room there was a seating arrangement with low tables and couches. This was probably the place for special events. The windows with folded curtains around the room gave it a spectacular visual essence.
This was quite an experience. We had gone through many contrasting feelings from the feeling of hopelessness when we lost our way to the feeling of satisfaction after the lunch. The restaurant was run by two people who would often take on multiple roles such as waiter and cashier. The restaurant was located in a secluded area and that was probably one of few negative points about it. The ambience was very relaxing mainly due to the fact that there were no people when we arrived after the closing time. This was certainly not the case when we visited the restaurant for the second time two days hence. It was the final day of Fall break and we wanted to enjoy good Indian food again before a hectic study period. This time the restaurant was overcrowded. Majority of the people were Indians with few Americans here and there. We were ordering this time. Nonetheless the service was equally impressive as the previous occasion even though it took a bit more time to serve so many people. I ordered “Butter Chicken” which is a creamy chicken preparation. The food tasted even better. The chicken was tender and juicy with the creamy gravy to go with it. I also ordered “Naan” which was shared between me and my friends. We ordered “Dal” which is lentils cooked into a yellowish gravy. The desert comprised “Gulab Jamun” which is a red, round shaped sweet. The price was a little more than the buffet but it is somewhat worth if you take the quality of food and service into consideration.
It is tempting at first to give this restaurant five stars but for that everything starting from location, price, service, quality and quantity of food to ambience, decorations and seating arrangements all have to be flawless and perfect. That was certainly not the case. The location is barely convenient for people new to Atlanta. The food is largely good but not exceptional. Other than these restaurant seems decent enough. I can safely state that I have been to better Indian restaurants before but it might as well be the flagship of Indian restaurants in Atlanta.
Café Bombay
★★★★
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