Bollywood Bistro

Went with a few friends on a Thursday night. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves, which was suprising, as I had read pretty good reviews about the place. The server was nice, but I’ve had bigger and better-​tasting portions elsewhere, especially for a dinner menu. Everything was quite underwhelming, except for the pakora appetizer, which I didn’t even want to share with my friends.
The cool thing, besides the Bollywood posters on the wall, is there is TV to watch– a cricket match was on when we went in, which was interesting, considering I had never before watched even a minute of cricket in my life.
One or two couples/​groups of people came in while we were there, but there were many open tables. However, we sat and talked a while after dinner, and got stared down by the owner for doing so.
Needless to say, we high-​tailed it out of there and went to Starbucks to sit and talk.
I would like to try this place again, though, because I feel like it may have just been an ‘off’ day, since so many of these other reviews are positive. However, I’m not in a hurry to go back… maybe after I’ve tried some other places first.

My Indian friend and I dropped in here for the lunch buffet for some tasty Indian… and because I had an Entertainment Book coupon. It’s a small place, tucked in a shopping center next to the movie theater (there is an ad saying they will give you a $ 1 off if you have a ticket stub, I think), with a few tables, a bar, and some pictures of famous Bollywood actors up high on the bare walls. It was quiet when we were there, with only a few other patrons, and Bollywood tunes quietly playing in the background.
The buffet itself is not the largest I have seen, though there is a decent variety of items, including a salad bar, soup, dessert, and the means to make your own Indian street food bites (add the chopped onions and such to the pastry, pour on the sauce, and eat in one bite). The buffet has a lot of meat dishes but some vegetarian options too.
All in all, a decent selection. The taste and spice, though, is definitely geared towards an American crowd. I myself am not a fan of super spicy curries to be sure, but even I found them to be a bit on the mild side. My friend definitely found it so. That said, if you like your food hot, you might want to order off the menu and request a certain level of spice. There are some interesting options available, including some wraps that sound quite tasty.
Service was fine when we went. Polite, efficient. We had no problem getting baskets of fluffy, chewy naan or refills on our drinks.
Overall, A-​OK seems about right. I don’t know I would go out of my way to come again, but will keep it in mind when I am in the area. Especially if I decide on a movie next door.

I’ll begin by saying that I had a $ 20 LivingSocial voucher that I’d bought for Bollywood Bistro. Because we had the voucher, we (two of us) decided to order plenty of food so we would have leftovers.
We began with the aloo tikki chaats, which I’d never had before. They were amazing. I’m certain I will order them when I see them on menus in the future, because they were delicious. We also got samosas, which are my favorite starter. They were as good as any I’ve had in Columbus (and more traditional than the ones from Indian Kitchen).
When we ordered entrees, we were asked to choose the spiciness of our food on a one-​to-​ten scale. I was a bit surprised, because the usual choices are simply «mild,» «medium,» or «hot.»
I ordered saag paneer (my standby). I chose a six spiciness level, because I like food spicy but am cautious the first time I order from a new restaurant. The caution was warranted, because it was just a bit too spicy. I thought the heat covered up the taste, which is unfortunate. The texture of the saag paneer was wonderful (I’d love to get my homemade saag paneer this fluffy), but I was very disappointed by the amount of paneer. There were three or four standard-​sized cubes in the whole bowl.
My partner chose a seven spice level for his bhindi masala. I was not very happy that he’d ordered okra, because I don’t like okra, but I was pleasantly surprised! This was the best okra I’ve ever had. I would certainly order this again. Even though he’d ordered a spicier dish than I had, this was much, much less spicy than the saag paneer, so the one-​to-​ten system is not very scientific, to say the least.
The guy who waited on us was very nice, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant a lot. All in all, I plan to skip the paneer dishes in the future (for lack of paneer), and I plan to be careful in requesting how spicy I’d like my dishes, but I do plan to make a return trip to Bollywood Bistro.

The food was good. Not amazing, not horrible-​but an acceptable middle ground. The service? A little strange… I swear the woman waiting on us blatantly favored the friend I was with, it was bizarre. And when I ordered my dinner (a lentil veggie dish) she stood there for 5 minutes trying to convince me not to get it. Uhhh… She kept asking if I understood what I was ordering and explaining what lentils are. I tried telling her that as a vegetarian I eat them nearly everyday, but alas, the explanation continued. Finally when she accepted my order with a sigh, she turned to my friend practically beaming and took her order without one bit of fuss. Hm. As a sidenote, I thought the naan was delicious. Another sidenote, the multiple tvs are turned up just loud enough to be a nuisance. Turn those suckers down! I like Bollywood music as much as the next person but it was a distraction.

The Bollywood Bistro is located right next to the great discounted movie theater (Cinemark) so catching lunch/​dinner along with a movie works well for us. The buffet is consistently good. They have a wide range of buffet items, but nothing special there. The foods are toned down for the buffet d, but still quite flavorful. The pani puri and the fresh naan is a good touch.
The dinner menu is also nothing out-​of-​this-​world but has all the regular cohorts– Biryanis, Tandooris, Tikkas, Matter-​paneer, Alu-​gobi — come out bit more flavorful, hot and spicy. They also have a full bar so a dinner-​drink makes the meal warmer. The service is spotty but really not bad.
If you happen to be shopping in the neighborhood or catching a flick, and have an urgent curry craving, this joint will really hit the spot. But if you are looking for a nice relaxing dinner with friends/​family then you can certainly find other alternatives that will serve better.

I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. My friend and I arrived at 2:30 today. Their buffet for lunch is supposedly open till 3. The waitress yelled across the room to us at 2:45 that the buffet was closing. There was a tv and music blaring at the same time when we arrived. When we politely asked for them to turn one of we received irritated looks. Their service has a LONG WAY to go. It is a shame because the food was decent. We were not done eating when they asked to take our plates.

I love Indian food and this place is better then some but not as good as the best Indian in Cbus. I feel this place is a little expensive if you are going for pure Indian food. It does give a nice cheap option with wraps for non-​Indian food fans that still give you some Indian flavor. I do want to go back and try one of these wraps for lunch someday.
We ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo, naan, and samosa. The samosa had a good flavor and I would rank in the top five in Cbus. The naan was a little too burnt and thin for my taste. I was a little disappointed with this and wish I would complain more so I could have gotten to taste better naan. The Masala and Vindaloo was pretty good as we got it at Indian Spicy 7. I wish we would have tried one at 6 or 8 just so we know the difference. I asked for Indian spicy level and the waitress said 7. I have learned that the spiciest level at Indian Restaurants usually means they throw just hot sauce in it. I like the taste to send me back to some the great Bengali dishes I had when I lived in Bangladesh. This spice lingered on my lips for a little and almost made my nose run. I think one more notch in the spicy category would have been perfect.
The place is a little expensive compared to the amount of food one gets. We still had enough for leftovers but I felt like it wasn’t as much as other Indian places. This is a nice place to go before or after a cheap movie, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here. I also like the pics of Bollywood stars on the wall.

I went to try the lunch Buffet and redeem my $ 1.00 off with movie stub from night before movie at movie theater next door.
I was initially exited by the fact there was vindaloo on the buffet, it was small selection but looked OK. I was extremely disappointed however upon tasting that everything was cold. I am not referring to cold as in not spicy but rather cold as in not hot or even warm.
The fried spinach in fact was less than room temperature.
I was really disappointed and left hungry without eating!

We’ve been here twice, and both times were great. Once we came on a Tuesday night (for the $ 1 seats the Cinema next door) and although it was pretty empty in the restaurant, the service was great, the food was great (especially the cheese naan). We didn’t really ‘get’ the décor, but I’m sure it would be great if you knew anything about Indian celebrities.
The second time we went was last Sunday, and found a delicious dinner buffet for only $ 10.99. It was unexpected and amazing. Service was great (naan was brought fresh to the table before we got our first plates), and the buffet was awesome. My favorite, chicken tikka masala, cumin rice, aloo tikka, some spicy chicken curry, an of course, gulab jamun for dessert.

I have mixed feelings. Here’s a breakdown.
Good:
The food was fairly good– I had lamb, and it was well cooked and the naani or whatever bread was really good.
The atmosphere was quaint and cute, seemed nice.
The waitress was helpful in helping us decide what to get.
Bad:
I had three different servers come to my table, not to complain but it can get confusing.
We ordered a 2 person meal — the entrée itself was very small (8 oz of each entrée in a bowl of sauce, and no there wasn’t 8 oz of lamb, it was 8 oz of sauce with lamb lol). There was a lot of bread and rice though, which I guess helped to fill us up since the entrée didn’t.
The appetizer came 5 minutes after we received our entrees.
We never got our desserts that came with it either.
The meal was very very expensive. For a 2 person full course meal, there really wasn’t enough to it to merit its expense, and to be honest, we were both still hungry afterwards. Given, we are both small, skinny individuals, that’s sad. Taxes, tip, and all, I paid $ 43 (no drinks). That’s about $ 20 a person. Twice what I would normally spend on a dinner. $ 20 is a steak dinner with a salad and bread. To compare the prices doesn’t do Bollywood Bistro any justice.
Sorry cute little Indian restraunt, but I don’t think I’ll return. You’re just too expensive for my taste, and I wasn’t impressed enough to see the price worth it.

Great buffett and the real deal!

After dinner at Bollywood Bistro, my sister called my mom.
«Dada [big brother] and I just had dinner.»
«was it good?»
«it was delicious, and guess what»
«what?»
“on our left was john abraham, and on our right was bipasha basu.”
«did you take pictures?» said our mom.
–
Okay, so John Abraham and Bipasha Basu were there in spirit along with Shahrukh Khan, all three of them overlooking our food from on high. No, this wasn’t a bistro, in fact, how can Indian food even qualify to be the «quick, easily stored» kind of food available in a bistro, I’m not sure, but from being Indian American, one thing I can say, the use of the word «bistro» is just another example of the old-​school (read: my parents’ generation’s) idea of fun. In other words, alliteration is clever to older Indian folk. And the whole concept, from the theme to the execution, is an exercise in merriment according to a 50 year old Indian person and the fresh-​faced couples from India looking for a bit o’ home.
This restaurant is an old-​school place of merriment, starting from the name and ending with the check delivered by the owner himself. One thing I’ve learned (and verified in my extensive experience) with Indian restaurants in India is that waiters *don’t,*, in authentic Indian restaurants (that means in India) explain the dishes to you.
The BB is spacious, with north Indian drapes hanging from windows and walls, and booth seating as well as sets of tables. The owner hangs out behind the bar and looks to be a kindly older gentleman who goes unnoticed. Clientele on a weeknight was all Indian — a mix of older couples and younger couples as well as a big group of twenty-​somethings. That can only be a good thing.
The waitress didn’t know much about the food, and had to check with the cooks. But frankly, I didn’t, either, so as my mentor recently said, if you don’t know about the company you’re investing in, you deserve to lose your shirt. Fortunately, I didn’t.
A goat vindaloo and lamb curry later, my sister and I were sated. We appreciated the waiter’s asking us to specify the level of spicyness we wanted; we chose a 9 and a 8. Very happy with the result; this was North Indian/​Punjabi cooking at its finest. The spices really meshed well with the chili powder.
A couple caveats: 1. my specialty isn’t North Indian cooking. If you can, scroll down and read Chander’s review. Dude knows his stuff, even though he’s vegetarian. And if you want to *really* read about Indian food and what authentic might mean, check this out:
2. The dinner prices are steep for a student at $ 12 per dish; I’m looking forward to trying their buffet, which is priced standard.

What’s nice:
* Columbus has a fast-​casual Indian restaurant. We went before a movie at Carriage Place 12.
* our server specifically asked us «on a 1 to 10 scale» how hot we would like our entrée.
* The menu is extensive and offers all traditional foods at Indian restaurants — this is not Indian express with 6 entrees.
Could be better:
* Masala Chai — this might have been a TWO STAR review except that the Chai was bad (not poor, but bad). Obviously, this should be a standout beverage at an Indian restaurant. It tasted like microwaved milk with stale tea and spices strained out afterward. Even chai at coffee chains like *$ made with concentrate taste more balanced and more tea-​like. SKIP the Chai.
* The quality of the food is OK — just OK.
We ordered off the menu in the evening; the buffet was not open. So, I cannot speak to the buffet.

I can’t recommend this restaurant. While the food was flavorful and the service was quite attentive (which is why I am giving it 2 instead of one). Why then can I not recommend it?
I am concerned that this place is not up to health code consistently. The food on the buffet borders on luke warm. But more importantly, I had a friend who ate here with me and got a serious case of diarrhea for 2 days straight. Even my stomach was feeling a little unsettled for a day or so. It turns out that my friend ate some of the goat unlike me, so it was probably the goat.
The atmosphere is fair and relatively basic for an Indian Restaurant. However, there is a nice view of the courtyard in front of the movie theater.
If this restaurant can make sure that they are up to health code and keep their food as warm as possible, they will become one of the better Indian Restaurants in Columbus.

My first 2 star rating. I feel really bad, but I have 2 good reasons for giving this place this rating: 1) The service was super super WEIRD and 2) My dinner partner and I got freaking diarrhea from this place.
First I’ll talk about the service. While being very attentive and friendly overall, they wouldn’t stop apologizing for everything. And they would apologize for no good reason They’d come fill our water and be like, «Oh I’m sorry about that.» At first I was puzzled, but just shrugged it off. Then it continued over and over! «I’m so sorry about that. Here is your dinner». What the balls? Our dinner came out on time, I just couldn’t understand why they kept apologizing. I was being very friendly in return, so it couldn’t have been because they thought we were upset about something. It wasn’t a cultural thing because both of the servers were caucasian. I’m pretty sure they apologized to us 4 or 5 times during our dinner and we could hear them doing the same thing at all the tables around us. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
The food overall was decent. We ordered the non-​vegetarian meal for 2 which included a choice of 2 breads, chicken soup or tandoori, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. All for $ 35. It was all flavorful and satisfying. However an hour after dinner, my dinner partner and I both got some gross diarrhea. I know I can’t conclusively blame the restaurant, but I just have a hunch it was them.
Hey maybe the servers were actually profusely apologizing over and over for slipping laxatives into our meal without our knowledge?

My fiancée and I went here a couple of weeks back after buying a Groupon good for $ 20 or $ 25 bucks to the place. I had the chicken tikka masala and she ordered the chicken palak. When we ordered our waiter asked us how spicy we wanted our dishes on a scale of 1 — 10. (I’ve never been asked to request spice on such a scale … can’t they just have mild, medium, and spicy levels? I mean, how much different is a 6 going to be from a 7?) Feeling adventurous I asked for a 9 and my fiancée, who likes a mild chicken palak, ordered a 3. My chicken tikka masala had a great deal of heat to it, but a disappointing amount of actual spice. My fiancée’s chicken palak was just a bit too spicy for her liking, but she was able to finish about half of it before giving up. Next time she says she’s ordering a spice level of 1. We also shared an order of regular naan which filled our craving for it, but wasn’t amazing.
We’ll be back because we still have another groupon to use, but I don’t see us visiting this place regularly. The meals just aren’t that good to justify the cost (~$ 12 a plate). That being said, we went for dinner — the lunch buffet may be a different story.

Bollywood Bistro was introduced to me by my team mate for Lunch Buffet and for a reason. This German friend of mine loves Chiken Tikka Masala from here. I am a vegetarian so that is not a temptation for me. ! However I liked this place for…
1) Gol Gappa/​Pani Puri on their appetizers ! — which is hard to find on Buffets.
2) Slices of Bhature on their Buffet and Hot Naan’s on your table.
3) Hot and Spicy Yellow Lentil. Authentic Indian Style rather than a soup!
I liked their desert too. and would like to be here again !
More Value for money… though Not a Bistro but definitely it reminds me of Bollywood with pictures of Madhubala, Amitabh Bacchan and Aishwaria Rai all around me.

A friend and I visited for the lunch buffet. I would describe it as perfectly normal /​average /​fine /​good. Nothing was outstanding, nothing was terrible, it was a good meal. The price was $ 7.99 for the lunch deal which included both veggie and non-​veggie dishes, dessert, and naan delivered to the table.
The interior furnishings are simple, and there are several bollywood actors posters around the walls.
Our servers were friendly and attentive.

Oh man, Bollywood Bistro is another one of those Indian places that I felt was a complete waste of my money. I don’t know if it’s because I got takeout here a couple weeks ago, and didn’t eat in the «bistro» (HA it is NOT a bistro), but add this to the list of places which, if you like authentic Indian food, you should for sure avoid.
The chicken pakora was soggy and gross and was basically the equivalent of chicken nuggets. The chicken tikka masala was rather like Campbell’s tomato soup. I remember being very sad that I actually ate my food, but I paid for it and was hungry, so… not as bad as Curry & Hurry, which is the most epic fail Indian food in Columbus I’ve tried thus far, but certainly not *good.*
It’s sad because Bollywood Bistro is a great name, so I had really high expectations. The terms «bistro» seems to me quite misleading. FAIL.

Ok, according to the owner, different types of naan ARE included, but you have to ask for it so that they can bring it to you fresh.
I would suggest that the waitress ask if we’d like any naan when she takes our drink order. Maybe even a sign at the buffet bar to let us know about the naan. Yay, I’m looking forward to have some garlic naan with their chicken tikka masala!