Bombay Mahal

The most horrible delivery service every… never ever ever ever order from this place if you want to eat your food. The food comes much delayed 30 – 40 min after the promised time and the person taking the order hangs up the phone rudely if you inquire about the delay

New to Waltham– trying new restaurants in the area one by one. This was the first Indian restaurant we tried. It was good. The atmosphere was a little dead (you could here a pin drop– better to put the music a little higher — less awkward). Our waiter was very nice and made us laugh. He could probably tell we were out of our element.
I had Chicken Tandori and a Southern Indian pancake. My friend ordered the Nan with raisins and walnuts (looked delicious!)
It was an overall ok experience. I will probably try other Indian joints before coming back to this one quite so soon.

I adore Indian food and hadn’t had the pleasure of indulging in such a meal for good few months. I had been to Bombay Mahal for their lunch buffet and it was good. My dinner there the other night — I shared the vegetarian platter for two — was just not nice. The naan was good, as was the dessert, and the glass of Shiraz. The rest of the meal was greasy and I won’t be returning. I am bummed.

If I could give it Zero stars, then I would give that. Quality feels like they have used spoilt meat. The meat was raw and they should be reported to food safety. Everything they served looked like they took it out of the garbage. I came out puking almost.

I really really enjoy the food here. I have had delivery and dine-​in multiple times. The food has been very consistent. I would recommend eating there!

quick delivery and well cooked food. Can’t vouch for authenticity but delicious regardless

This restaurant doesn’t deserve a star at all ! It was our first time @ this restaurant yesterday and it’s definitely gonnaebe the last. The worst Indian food you could ask for. Their biriyani was so pathetic and the soup was ridiculous. They cut chunks of chicken tikka n put it in chicken broth n called it Soup ! Never would recommend this place to anyone.

I’ve been waiting 2 hours and 10 minutes and I still don’t have our order. I was told 45 – 60 minutes…

I absolutely love this place! At first I didn’t like our waiter because he was being awkward and asked if we wanted the buffet, but we said no. He said «go!» in a slightly irritated voice and I was just like okay… But then I realized he was telling us to go sit at a table there haha. It’s the language barrier.
Later on he came by our table to check up on us and I realized what a great and chill guy he was. I’m definitely coming back for him, and the food, of course.
I have got to say, their food is amazing! I ordered the chicken tikka Marsala, garlic naan and mango juice. I was not disappointed. The chicken was great and the naan was crunchy with a perfect amount of garlic. And the mango juice… couldn’t get enough of it!
The reason why I’m not giving them 4 stars is because they didn’t give me the option of how spicy I wanted the chicken tikka Marsala to be. Some Indian restaurants ask if you’d like it mild, medium, or spicy. I can’t really tolerate spicy food, so it would’ve been great if I had the option to pick mild.
Overall, great food! I am definitely coming back! Can’t wait :)

Fortunately or unfortunately this is the only Indian Place on Moody st that delivers.
Their food is not bad but be very wary of the day that you order from them!
Rush hour– weekend nights are the worst! I’ve ordered many times on weekend nights and each time something went wrong. One delivery took over an hour. Next time they mixed up the orders, another time they sent over only half the order and despite repeated calls just ignored the whole thing.
The taste is ok any other time but again, on weekend nights, it sooo can be better!
The people who take the orders either over the phone or in the restaurant can barely speak english so that’s another struggle.

Ordered delivery. Came much sooner than they predicted. Very average take on what American’s will eat. Pressed chicken in the chicken Korma and the appetizer plate (non-​veg. they call it) weird festive green dye, but OK fine I can wear sunglasses. Lamb Saag bit soapy tasting, just «off» and both were light on the protein considering this was a dinner order, not a special. I will not bother again. Just tried it because it was the only one on Moody to deliver. Prefer Little India (love the buffet!) but even more, Singh’s in Wellesley.

Went here Sunday night with a vegetarian friend. He had been here many times and has had their food delivered.
This was my second time. I love how they do their Chicken Korma: creamy, light, and with tarragon. TOTAL YUM! There Garlic Na’an is superbly soft. The Basmatti Rice is fluffy and flavorful.
Our waiter was a charming sweetheart who carded me. HA!
Love this place and hope to go back soon.

This is up there among the worst Indian food I have ever eaten. Fail on every count. I stuck to the basics: chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and onion naan.
— Chicken: Greasy dark meat. Tasted filthy, for lack of a better descriptor. Almost spoiled. Swimming in an overly oily sauce with an odd combination of flavors. Perhaps that can be attributed to the…
— Ginger: Huge chunks of it in both dishes. Grate ginger, do not chop. It’s an overpowering flavor and it isn’t pleasant to eat a bite of pure ginger.
— Spice: Not nearly as hot as I’d requested, but decent. They added small bits of jalapeño to increase the spiciness, which is not the authentic way to kick up the spice.
— Saag: Spinach seemed as though it were pulverized in a food processor. Bizarre texture. Unusually chewy paneer, and not much of it.
— Naan: Very doughy, almost undercooked, which I liked, but skimpy on the onion. Onion is not expensive and I see no reason to skimp on it.
— Rice: Sushi rice, not basmati rice. Makes a big difference.
Right down to the rice, this food was repulsive. On top of all that, I ordered through GrubHub and it took 2 hours for my ice cold food to arrive. I won’t be back.

My husband and I have been to Bombay Mahal’s weekend buffet a number of times but have never been for a regular dinner. We went with a Groupon voucher to the newly redesigned restaurant for our anniversary dinner and had the vegetarian dinner platter/​sampler for two. It was quite nice, hot, and well presented. And the new restaurant design is very nice.
I only had two criticisms: one, the time to order and to get the check was excessive. There was only one waiter and he didn’t do very well with multi-​tasking. And at times there would be three people looking our direction, with us looking right back at them, obviously ready to order (or to leave), and no one would approach.
My only other criticism is that I think it’s a mistake to put cilantro leaves onto everything (was on the soup and three entrée samplers): Cilantro has a very strong flavor and definitely doesn’t belong with every dish. If it’s being used primarily as a pretty touch, I’d suggest using something with a more neutral taste, like parsley, etc.
Overall, though, my husband and I enjoyed the meal a great deal. The Flying Horse lager, which I’d neve had before, was great!

Ordered via Foodler last night and it was a very poor experience. A few low points:
– Order took 1.5 hours to deliver and when I called in to complain they offered no apology. The driver also suggested I don’t order through a third-​party because «those orders go to the bottom.» Really?!? Then why work with them at all! I hope Foodler sees this.
– Food was average at best. Lamb Vindaloo was soupy/​vinegary, Rogan Gosh lacked spice/​flavor. Portions seemed smaller than at most places. Strawberry Lassi was also very disappointing.
I’m being generous with that second star but will leave it be.

I came here for dinner with a Groupon. The food was okay, but not great. They definitely make their curries spicy, so ask for mild when you order (they don’t ask you how spicy you want it). The poori was good.
Service was mediocre. Only worth it with a groupon.

Edit ⁸⁄₂₀₁₂: After a «hair in the buffet» experience where they did not remove the item from the buffet after I showed them the hair we will not be going back. It is sad but the quality has gone so down hill and the remodel has obviously financially pinched them. The old waiters have been replaced with new cheaper dirtier staff. Ugh.
I cannot understand the bad reviews. I have been to every Indian place in Waltham and this is the best. Constantly filled with Indian families and I know they cater Indian weddings, so how bad can it be? If you want chicken fingers and turkey roll-​ups on your lunch buffet then go to New Mother India but if you want some delicious mostly vegetarian goodness get yourself here. They are currently closed until November for some renovations, so hopefully it’ll get cleaner, but I have been going here for ten years week in and week out and can’t wait to see what is in store. Love it so much that it was our kid’s first solid food and he has been welcomed with open arms and free lassis with his every weekly visit for 3 years now. Can’t beat that.

So my fiancé and I went to Bombay Mahal on a Saturday night. Despite these reviews, we enjoyed it a lot.
We had samosas, garlic naan, malai kofta (my fiancé), and lamb vindaloo (me). The malai kofta was good and so was the vindaloo. The samosas and naan were perfectly cooked… I could have that for dinner everyday.
I come from an Indian background, but a Guyanese-​Indian background. Needless to say, I am not used to some of the cuisines in Indian restaurants because they have different names and use different ingredients (we are used to spicy South Indian and not North Indian food). Nonetheless, we enjoyed it, and will be trying all other restaurants on Moody Street!

Ive only been here for lunch… so this review is ONLY based on my experiences with the lunch buffet.
First off the buffet area is in a separate room, so its a bit strange walking through the whole restaurant into the other area, compounded by the fact that both times i was here I was the only one. I am only now starting to get over my anxiety about eating out alone, and being the ONLY one there doesnt really help because then the waiters just kinda stand there… staring at you. But no matter, they were very helpful and attentive, although kinda pushy when i continuously stated only wanted water.
I took off two stars because the buffet is not very plentiful. I prefer New Mother’s right down the street. There are only a few options, none of which are spicy enough for me (but for lunch buffets I expect this). Knocked off another star because the atmosphere and interior is kinda lackluster. They have plenty of seating and tables… but the chairs are low quality and kinda uncomfortable, and the design leaves something to be desired.
I will return for the lunch buffet if I am in the area with someone else, but I dont think I will return here alone again. Also, the buffet cost around $ 10 which would be a great deal if you ate a bunch, but both times I was there I kinda rushed through one plate because I felt overwhelmed by having the waiter come up EVERY two minutes.

Meh, I’ve experienced better.
The owners are friendly, and the buffet isn’t too spicy for me.
However, I didn’t think it was that fresh and delicious. The chicken was rubbery, as they said in previous reviews. I just wasn’t blown away.