Bombay Garden is on Mowry Avenue in Newark (and I thought it was Fremont?!), near New Park Mall just west of 880, and surely has one of the most impressive Indian buffets known to the Bay Area. This was my second visit to The Garden and I dare say that it will not be my last.
There are apparently four locations of Bombay Garden (Newark, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Rafael), though I am only qualified to comment on the Newark location. But I would extend my recommendation to any of the other three locations; if they’re anywhere near as good as Newark, they deserve a visit. The Newark location is a huge country-home style place, that looks like it might house a Mimi’s-type All-American restaurant of a bygone era. And bygone is fine with me, Bombay Garden can take over any establishment they want in my opinion. Think they might want to open one in my house?
Seating area and statue inside Bombay Garden.
Judging from the PDF of the menu on their website, it appears that you can order à la carte dishes that are just as diverse and mouth-watering as those offered in the buffet. But be warned, fair reader, few à la carte dishes can compete with the majesty that is the Bombay Gardens Dinner Buffet.
Behold, the glory of the Bombay Garden buffet table.
Offered every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starting at 5.30pm, the dinner buffet takes up a large corner of the floor space in the main dining room and is quite a sight to behold. A dozen and a half huge copper tubs are placed evenly along an adequately sneeze-guarded buffet table that must be over 15 feet long. This houses the main buffet options: all the meat dishes (there were about six) and most of the veggie dishes (easily a dozen more). It’s standard Indian, so veggies or meat in sauce, lentils in sauce, garbanzos in sauce, little fried veggie or potato patty thingies, and (of course) rice and naan. Every dish is labeled with the name and a brief description (for us American folk – thank you BG) and just about every one is delicious (though I don’t speak for the meat, of course).
More glory, keep beholding.
Then there’s a side table with about half a dozen more trays of goodies, a folding table with a bunch of things that look like garbanzo beans, meatballs, and yogurt sauce (I never did find out what that area was for – an adventure for next time!), and then the far wall with green salad, random sauces, dessert balls, and soda/ice cream dispenser.
Side table with unknown goodies, still to be discovered (by me) at Bombay Gardens.
The buffet costs around $15 or $16 per person and includes unlimited food (duh), soda, tea*, and dessert. The dessert mostly consists of these awesome donut-ball things in sweet syrup, which took some getting used to but I now love. There’s an ice cream machine that my dad says has a really nice flavor of orange or mango or something, but it’s often out of order. And, as promised, it was last time. But no matter, I think the waiter could have tripped me and I would still rave about the place – it’s just really, really good.
I’m not sure if they have any food specials, but they do have an immense banquet room adjacent to the dining area. There was some sort of wedding reception going on when we were there, and it looked like a good time. And the best part is that I assume they cater – delicious. I definitely shouldn’t blog when I’m hungry…craving the Garden now…
*The tea is some sort of chai spiced tea. At a glance, it looks like creamy tea or coffee, but upon bringing some back to the table, it appeared to be chai-esque and I was quickly reminded that I hate chai. So, no tea for me!
Isn’t it a great place? I plan to take my friends there today! Pity you don’t like chai–is it the spices, or do you dislike tea with milk and sugar?
It’s the spices – something doesn’t jive with my taste buds. I thought the stuff was tea with milk and sugar and I was sorely disappointed. But that’s just me! I hope you had a good time with your friends!
I’d love to exchange links! I’d be happy to put you on the blogroll
Great, thanks! I’ll add you to mine right now!
I think the building was an old Bobby McGee’s restaurant.
Oh yeah, my Dad mentioned what it was, but I had forgotten. And, to quote the late Ms. Joplin, in her song title of the same name, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose; Nothing don’t mean nothing honey if it ain’t free”… 🙂
mmmmm……..Bombay Garden. Now I am hungry for it. It used to be a restaurant called “The Farmhouse” and had a lot of red and white checkerboard decoration in it. It WAS a nightclub type place called Bobby McGees after the Farmhouse. Then it sat vacant for many years before the Bombay boys rescued it. Bombay changed the decorations but the building still looks Farmhouse-ish. They also have their buffets for lunch (11:30-2:30) during the weekdays.