Bombay Cafe

I’m still sad that this place is gone. It use to be my favorite go to Indian buffet in Boston. Food (buffet) was excellent, chicken tikka masala was amazing and it was sooooooo cheap. Now have to resort to other restaurants :/

Meh… I’ve definitely had better Indian food than this place. The chicken tikka masala was super tomato-​y. It reminded me of tomato soup. It was to a point where my friend and I started drinking the sauce… not really complaining, but I did pay money for spicy Indian food, not soup!
Otherwise, the naan was pretty good… nothing really stood out to me, though.

Ordered online, and was quite pleased overall. Delivery (minimum $ 20 order) took about an hour (nicely within the 45 – 90 minutes they estimated for me). I got Cheese Pakoras, plain Naan, and Chicken Makhni.
Pros: The Chicken Makhni (aka butter chicken) was absolutely fantastic. I asked for it to be not spicy, and while there was still a little burn (what can I say, I’m a wuss), it was great. Sweet, rich, delicious. A free container of rice was included in my order, and it mixed with the Chicken Makhni perfectly.
Cons: The Naan, while delicious, was luke warm at best, as were the Cheese Pakoras. In addition, the Cheese Pakoras were dry and chewy.
In summary, I recommend the Chicken Makhni and the Naan, but advise avoiding the Cheese Pakoras. I’ll definitely be ordering from Bombay Café again!

Went in for lunch. Easy and ample paid street parking. Already busy at 11.45 AM. Nice and cozy joint. Buffet has limited choice but great tasting food.
Amicable staff.
Tandoori chicken is like the TC you get in America (no one gets it right), but it was juicy and succulent.
I liked all the dishes on the buffet. Highly recommend the ‘Kheer’ for dessert.
Will definitely be back.

Poor execution and quality. We spent over$ 60 the other night on a delivery order for two and we were really disappointed. Every single piece of lamb or chicken was dry and chewy. Both souses were completely off and either very sweet or extremely spicy. That was not the way we ordered them. I had the feeling we ate some leftovers from weeks. A few bites and we were done. The rest we put in the garbage.
Very disappointing! Never again!

Came here today to try the lunch buffet while visiting the city. The buffet selection is very small and a lot of the dishes looked very dry. I tried a little bit of everything and was not impressed. The chicken tikka masala was basically empty when I went up or my first plate so I expected there to be some for the second round, wrong. Had to ask them and wait for it to come out. Even then it really was not too good. The texture was very strange and made me a little nauseous. I normally love Indian food but this place falls short on every aspect.
Service sucks too. I asked the waiter for a mango shake because it was on the menu. He says, «we don’t have the shake only mango lassi now» I told him never mind it’s ok. Then he says, «ok its ok we can make you the mango shake» (wtf is his deal?) then he comes up to the table and says he can get me mango juice. I’m like no I don’t want anything thanks.
When I asked him for the bill he tells me I have to go up to their counter to pay so I get up no problem. Then he starts cleaning a bunch of tables and wiping stuff down while I wait for him in the cramped area. So rude I don’t think I’ll be going here again. There’s much better options in the area I’m sure

This is my first time ordering takeout from this restaurant, and I have never eaten in. From my first and last experience here, I’ve learned that customer service is CLEARLY NOT their priority. We ordered $ 60 worth of take-​out. The order came an hour later with no reciept and no utensils to eat with.
After 3 mins of getting the food and realizing this, we called the driver to inform him of our issue. He said that it was not his problem and to call the restaurant. We called the restaurant and they comepletly direguarded our issue. And said that it was our responcibility to ask for utensils and napkins during the order over the phone. REALLY. I order take-​out and I am supposed to ask for utensils to eat with.
Is it so hard to have the driver drop off some utensils. The drive is only a mile away and I would be happy to give more tip. The people who work here obviously don’t care about keeping their customers. From my party, you’ve lost 5 customers.

Absolutely love Bombay Café!
The food here is always fresh very tasty and severed by staff that’s always friendly and helpful.
The all you can eat buffet in the afternoon is incredibly inexpensive with incredibly high-​quality food… hard to find anywhere in the city of value like this.

Food: decent
Service: Appalling
My first and last experience with Bombay Café was not good, to say the least. I used Unilocal to order for delivery. Super easy and there was no indication that my location was out of their delivery area (I’m downtown). Half an hour later I get a call, explaining that the driver is downstairs but cannot park and bring the order up. No problem, I’ll walk downstairs.
Oh my. He was difficult to understand, but spent 5 minutes bitching me out about how next time I order, I go to the restaurant. They dont go downtown. He’s not going to risk a $ 40 ticket. You would’ve thought he had been waiting outside for 20 minutes. Very angry and very rude. He also pointed to the receipt and said «50 cents! for a tip!!» (this amount was pre-​populated in the order, I assumed as a delivery fee. I didn’t think anything of it since I had cash for the tip). Nevermind that. I can’t tip someone who just spent the past several minutes blasting me for ordering from their restaurant. Yikes. Never again.

Worst Indian buffet I’ve ever had in my life. Turned me off Indian food for a month.
Very few choices, which would normally be fine but they were all really bland and unappetizing. I got there right when they opened, so it should have been fresh tasting at least.

I first went to Bombay Café in 1997 as a fresh of the farm transfer student and newbie to Boston. I remember how we would «starve» ourselves in preparation for our weekly feast at Bombay Café’s buffet. We’d eat so much that we couldn’t walk back to the Conseratory upright. 15 years later, I find myself back to square one, back in Boston after a lifetime of experience. I have to say, the flavors of Bombay Café are identical to the brilliant flavors I knew in my more youthful years. I can always count on this place as my go-​to restaurant for comfort food and a solid meal. Everything is consistent and tasty.

It’s tough to go wrong for $ 7. They are pretty good. Sure they push the extra cost drinks, and they’re not very speedy about picking up plates (just stack them!) but on a pure fullness/​cost basis, it’s a good choice.
for post-​prandial food coma on a budget, hit up this place.
lunch today was particularly good, with a spicy kick that hasn’t been there before. the special dish was chicken vindaloo, and even the pakoras were a little spicy. fantastic.
the artwork’s a little odd, i guess, vaguely «spicy» — the pg parts of the kama sutra perhaps? but keep your eyes on the food instead.

Wooooo $ 7 lunch buffet!
I’ve been here a bunch of times for lunch because my boss loves Indian food and always insisted going here. Now whenever I’m around the area for lunch and want to stuff myself with tasty food, this is the place to go!
For the buffet, there are about 6 different dishes plus rice and naan. Not the largest selections, but there’s something for everyone. I always get a bit of everything on every plate, and I go back about 3 to 4 times. I’ve enjoyed everything that was on the buffet and did not regret getting any dish! Well. until I fill myself so much that I suffer from a food coma.
The service isn’t the friendliest, but it’s mostly self serve so I can deal with it. That aside, I wholeheartedly recommend coming here, and coming here hungry!

I’d go for the buffet, but not for take out.
We ordered samosas, Spicy Chicken Tikka Masala and Saag Paneer to-​go on a Monday night and got it in less than an hour. This was our second time ordering from them and while we were impressed the first time, we were slightly disappointed this time around. Granted, I think it’s much better than India Quality’s take out (biggest disappointment ever), the Chicken Tikka Masala did not have much chicken. It was mostly potatoes… I really wish they included more chicken breast pieces because they were actually moist (India Quality’s was so dry that it just felt like a jaw work out!). Also, the spicy is VERY spicy. Be warned.
The samosas were fine — they were quite large and had decent flavor. I don’t like Saag Paneer but my bf always insists on it. He said it was okay.

Namaste!
If you like Indian Buffets and not spending more than 10 dollars then
Come on down!
The price is right and, the food is delicious.

Thank you Bombay Café for having a buffet on a Sunday afternoon. I love you.
My friend was in from out of town, and it was so cooold we just wanted to binge on Indian food.
Came here for the buffet right around 12:30. It was fresh, tasty, and we left fat and very happy. This is my favorite Indian place in Boston, yes, better than India Quality. It’s not as «fancy» but frankly, I couldn’t care less about fanciness, I want tastiness!

$ 7 lunch buffet (that really runs till dinnertime) is a great deal for eat-​till-​you-​wanna-​die Indian food. The vegetable korma with fresh slices of naan were my favorites. The korma was spiced but sweet, and the naan was perfectly chewy and delicious. The tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala were also quite tasty. Though I found that I only really enjoyed maybe a third of the offerings, those couple dishes make the $ 7 worth your money.
Compared to everything else nearby, Bombay Café will give you the most bang for your buck. I was legit stuffed full for the next 6 hours. If you’re dining solo, no worries! Loads of people came on their own to grab a quick bite.
If I lived in Boston, I’d definitely make this place a habit.

We often come here during our lunch break from work because it’s cheap and quick. The buffet always has — saag paneer, kabuli channa, chicken tikka, butter chicken, pakoras, vegetable korma, naan, pappadum, salad, kheer and a main entrée that rotates daily. The food is good. There was plenty of everything and it tastes fresh. Pakoras were crisp and the naan was warm and plentiful.
It’s a simple seat yourself, grab your food, and pour your own water kind of place. It makes it easy to get in and out quickly on a limited lunch break from work. You can’t beat $ 7 lunch.
I recommend trying the Kheer (it’s near the salad). It’s a citrus, milky rice pudding that was very good. Just make sure you don’t mix it up with the salad dressing nearby.

I used to live across the street and I remember one time, I came here and ate every day for about a week. The buffet menu never changes but I don’t care… it’s the type of curry that I like! Staff is very friendly! They lose a star because during lunch time it’s really frustrating because they never have enough nan. It’s always empty when I go for my first round and then when they bring it out, it’s like hungry vultures attacking their prey… everyone just goes for it… so then of course I either get only 1 piece or none.
But lack of nan will never stop me from coming here. I live too far now but when I’m in the area I try to make a stop.
Oh yeah and it’s one of those restaurants that’s super «solo» friendly… there are tons of people who just walk in and eat alone so that’s definitely a plus.

I’ve been to this Indian eatery on many occasions, but I had yet to talk about it somewhere until now. In an age where better quality food is becoming more and more hostile to one’s budget, it is rare to find a quaint and intimate little place like this that offers an all you can eat lunch buffet for only around 6 or 7 dollars. This place is incredible in the way that they have not only great traditional Indian food, but an attentive and thoughtful wait staff. The men who work there rush around the restaurant, but do it because they seem to care about their patrons and that everything is clean and tidy for them. Soda and refills are an extra cost, but there is always water on the table. Surely one can drink water every so often.
The interior of the place is quite nice. There is Indian artwork on the walls and everything is neatly presented. It seems as if you’re eating in a more expensive restaurant, but when you come here for the lunch buffet, you’re getting quite an attractive value for your money. After the lunch hours, everything goes back to standard menu price, but you cannot beat this value for an afternoon out with friends, co-​workers, or even yourself.