Superb
The food is the best Indian food I ever ate. They are affordably priced. The service is impeccable.    [24 Sep 2002 22:31:46]

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Recommended Dishes: Aloo gobi and chicken curry

     ­janine   Janinebat at msn dot com

Stay Away
In spite of us being 4 and a baby, they still seated us on a small table which could barely fit 4 people. When we asked to be seated on a bigger table, the waiter (Deepak, I think his name is) said that those tables were reserved. For the entire 1 1/2 hours that we were there, nobody occupied any of the 3 bigger tables, and when we were about to leave, there were just 15 mins before the restaurant would close. I doubt anybody would have come and occupied those tables in that time.

No sooner had we ordered appetizers than the waiter made us order the main course (without even the appetizers having come). When the main courses came, we found that they were far too spicy for our taste. Please stay away from the Bos Naan in particular.

You think this was it...but oh no! My baby was causing a commotion, so to distract her I took her over to an empty table, and Deepak immediately came over and sprayed disinfectant on the table right in my 11 month-old's face. So when we were all done, we asked them to pack up the food and give us a few minutes to decide on dessert. But he didn't even give us 2 minutes, as he came with a check. And guess what? In spite of there being 3 entrees, naan, and rice leftover, all he packed was the rice and the so-spicy-you'll-die naan.    [26 Oct 2002 11:26:56]

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     ­mdorosario, Waltham, MA   

Really Good Food
It's really good food and their catering service is great as well.    [04 May 2003 15:59:58]

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     ­Anonymous   

Good Food, Poor Service
The food is good. We especially like the goat curry. However, the service is poor. The waiters do not check on you once the food is ordered. And as another reviewer metioned, they do not pack all the food to-go. Quite a bit of it is left behind.

The waiters tend to be rude on the phone, too. Not unexpected, considering their in-house service.

So if you want good food, but do not mind the lackluster service - go for it!    [19 Aug 2003 19:01:24]

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Recommended Dishes: goat curry, chicken makhani

     ­Niles   

Good Food, Overpriced, Below-Average Service
Food is good, but the quantity is not sufficient for the price. Service needs attention.    [30 Jan 2004 20:50:22]

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     ­Anonymous   

Good and Bad Food. Terrible Service.
This is my first time in Boston and since I am staying in Waltham, I decided to check out the local Indian restaurants. I went to dine at Bombay Mahal during dinner time by myself. I had read the negative reviews here but I was encouraged by the positive ones so I decided to check it out for myself.

Overall, my experience was so negative that I won't be going back for the rest of my trip here or on any future trips. But here's the pros and cons of what I saw and experienced tonight:

Cons: Out of the 4 dishes I ordered, only one (Bhel) was good, one was okay, but the other two were terrible. I finished the first two but I could only take one bite out of the bad ones. The reason they were bad? The Idli was not cooked adequately and left to harden (the worst combination) hence inedible. The Vegetarian Sampler (appetizers) had only one appetizer that wasn't burnt. I am not sure if it's a Boston rule but this restaurant doesn't allow the customers to use cell phones anywhere inside. The price for these 4 appetizer dishes came to $30 (including a 15% tip) that I thought was too much in spite of the one good dish.

My waiter was okay but the others just stared at me and wouldn't even say "Hello," to me. They went around talking to everyone there who wasn't Indian and chatted very warmly with them but didn't say a word to me (I am Indian) or another couple behind me that was Indian.

There was one man who seemed to be the owner (by the way he went around ordering the waiters and seating guests) who was in general quite brusque to everyone but extremely rude to me and the Indian couple (I overheard a short conversation they had with him). Even as the man who acted like the owner came to my table 3 times to tell me about the cell phone rule, grab dishes off my table before I finished, and take payment, he never asked how the food was or if everything was okay (I was hoping he would ask so I could share my honest opinion). He just couldn't wait for me to leave and I hadn't said or done anything at all the whole time except order the food, observe everything, and pay for my dinner.

Pros: Regarding the food, you have to experiment to find the really good ones. After the one good dish I experienced, I would guess there are other good ones. You just have to try a few to find them. The physical atmosphere is okay.

Overall, if you don't need to use your cell phone, are willing to experiment with different dishes, and don't mind spending money, the chances are good that you will find the dining experience acceptable. Otherwise, you are better off not trying this restaurant.    [31 Jan 2004 21:42:39]

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Recommended Dishes: bhel

     ­Anonymous   

Amazing Food
I was blown away by such great service that was provided to my family and me when we went to Bombay Mahal for dinner one time. The food was perfect it was made exactly the way we wanted it. After going there once, my family and I decided that it was our favorite place to dine.... it was just amazing.    [25 Dec 2005 22:09:28]

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Recommended Dishes: Chicken Tikka Masala

     ­Anonymous   

Great Food
If you are looking for a good place to go out to dinner, then I would recommend Bombay Mahal despite anything else the food makes it all worth while going to.

Go to Bombay Mahal for a night out, you will love it!    [25 Dec 2005 22:20:24]

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Recommended Dishes: Shrimp Masala, Chicken Curry, Goat Curry, Idli Sambar, Bhel, Tandoori Chicken.. that list goes on... its wonderful!

     ­Anonymous   

Yuck!
The worst Indian food I've had. The place was musty, smelly and the decor was dark. All the waiters hover in the restaurant (and not discreetly) that it makes one uncomfortable.    [23 Apr 2008 00:36:59]

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     ­Anonymous