Bombay Bistro

Went for the $ 14.95 dine-​in lunch buffet on a slow Friday. It was fairly easy to get a seat and i got a nice table in the back corner. I had a plate of some appetizers and some soup, and then another plate with the works of chicken, goat, vegetables, rice, and naan. Every item was great except for the goat, which was very tough. All dishes were tasty and flavorful. The service was as expected for a buffet. Would definitely return for another meal.

Good food for a great price in Midtown, just need to avoid the lunch time rush! no complaints at all, in and out… You can’t beat an all you can eat joint! esp for 12 bucks… 3 plates and I am normally good to go!
When I order Indian from others spots in Midtown from the lunch special, it gets to me, the portion of meat is small, you basically get less for the same amount of $$$$$, two thumbs up for this spizzzz-​ot!!!
Oh, and don’t expect 5 star service, this place gets really busy during lunch time, so have some courtesy, be realistic, and deal with it!
Get your eat on!

I had lunch on a weekday at the Bombay Bistro/​Diwan restaurant earlier this week.
Me and a colleague of mine showed up around noon, right before the lunch time rush. We were seated quickly which was a plus, but everything after that was down hill.
We opted to save some time and get the buffet. We picked up our plates and headed to the buffet line (empty at the time) and proceeded to get our first plates. The food looked good and the presentation of the food was neat and clean.
I picked up some aloo pakoras, tandoori chicken and some channa as my appetizer and went to my table. I did not see any green or brown chutney and I asked one of the waiters about it. Apparently they don’t have chutney… wtf?
I get to the table and there is some naan waiting for us — awesome! However, there are 4 tiny ¹⁄₃ size pieces sitting there and it took them a while to bring more. I had to corner a waiter and beg him to bring me more naan — not cool.
I asked for some diet coke and it came in a glass with ice cubes which quickly melted. The soda was basically hot and the ice cubes didn’t do much for it. We asked the waiter to bring more ice or serve us some colder drinks and he brought back a cup of ice with nothing to pick up the cubes with.
After finishing my appetizers, I got back into line to get some more food. I came back to my seat a few minutes later and not only was there no naan there, my old plate was still sitting on the table and not been cleared. We had to wait another 10 minutes before we got more naan and the plates were cleared.
The service was atrocious and we asked to speak to the manager. The waiter left and did not come back — and that’s exactly what I’ll do, not come back to this establishment.
Food was decent — nothing to write home about, but the service killed it.

First off, the restaurant has been renamed Diwan Indian Restaurant and Lounge. My boyfriend and I stumbled upon this spot while looking for a new place to eat around Midtown. The place was pretty empty at 7pm except for a few people at the bar. We sat at a table in the back room, the décor was pleasant — wood planked walls with mirrors and a sofa around the whole room with pillows. We order the Tikka appetizer that was a mix of potatoe-​spinach patties and chickpeas. Very yummy but quite spicy for my tastes. We also ordered the chicken tiki masala with lemon rice and buttered naan. Let me just say that I have had tiki masala at many restaurants and this was by far the best I have ever had. The sauce was very rich, almost decadent. My boyfriend who is not a fan of Indian food could not get enough of it. It matched perfectly with the light lemon taste of the rice. The naan was obviously very fresh and warm. The only problem I had was when I ordered Chai after dinner I’m pretty sure it was just Lipton black tea with a little cinnamon and milk. Not a proper chai. The staff was friendly, and the food came out in nice intervals. Our bill (without drinks) was about $ 40. We’ll definitely be going back for the tiki masala!

DO NOT go here.
I have been here before and it was great.
But the second time we went in — the staff was so badly behaved.
The restaurant was empty and the food didn’t match up the quality that it did last time.
So when I brought it up with the wait staff — he started arguing about thats how they do it and that we have no idea how it is made.
Something has changed at the restaurant that has seriously degraded the quality.
It’s too bad, because it used to one of my favorite place.

Came during dinner with a friend so that we could use her coupon card, just looking at my review you can tell that it didn’t go as planned.
The place was nearly empty when we stepped in, save for the one table that was getting up to leave as we sat down. The staff hovered over us the whole night, it got to the point where it was plain annoying.
On to the food, I totally forgot what the heck we had. That was how forgettable the food was. A chicken dish and something else. Despite the place being empty, the food took quite a long time to get out. Maybe they wanted us to sit there long enough to attract more customers.
I see a lot of average to good reviews for lunch, if lunch is like that AVOID eating here during dinner at ALL COST.

I’m shocked this place only gets a 3 star average. I stumbled across this place while on a weekend trip to Manhattan and was SO impressed. I consider myself kind of an Indian cuisine junkie, and this was by far the best buffet I’ve had. Good selection, quality ingredients, nice and spicy, and the price was right. Excellent service as well.

Chicken Tikka Masala was so-​so. I honestly think that they buy cheap chicken parts and cook them up. Some of it was dark and even a little slimy. Also, not that it’s a big deal… But they charged for the rice. Weird. Been to dozens of Indian Restaurants and never had that happen. This was my second time here. And my last. Price is not great either. Subway is next door. I should have went there.

Blahh! Was not impressed AT ALL! Food was not flavorful what-​so-​ever. The chicken was fatty and was all thighs or legs — no white breast meat. The service was OK, but we had to ask for napkins and knives. When we were semi-​done with our food, one of the waiters came over and TOLD us to get dessert.
Not a place I would go back to or suggest.

This place is really one of the best Indian restaurants I have eaten at. Lunch buffet is lik $ 11.95 the food is fresh, hot and garlic naan is YUM!
Bombay Bistro actually recently catered my wedding, and they did a wonderful job. If you are looking for a catering, talk to Sanjeev, he runs the place! He’s professional, buttoned up, and delivers the best service.
My husband and I recently went back to relax and have lunch one later afternoon, and we had a wonderful time. The staff are super pleasant, and really take care of you! The restaurant décor is really warm, and RED… but authentic in its own way!
i know my Indian food, and for traditional north indian food, it doesn’t get better!

The best lunch buffet in Midtown. Its variety offers a glimpse into India’s rich and delicious culinary world. Paired with a mango lassi, and you are good for the afternoon grind or ready for a nap…

I like their curry – it’s close to the office and their take-​out portion is ginormous! But when I went with two other girls from work the other day, we decided to venture out for the buffet instead of the take-​out. Since they didn’t have what I wanted from the buffet menu, I ordered seperately. When I was sitting at the table and my two other friends were at the buffet, the head host lady had mistaken my friend and I, that she accused my friend (thinking it was me) for «cheating» and not paying for the buffet. No apologies or anything after she realized that she had «called out» the wrong person. On top of that, after insisting that my seperate dish was on a lunch price (its like 10bucks more for the dinner price so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t paying 25bucks for lunch), they charged me dinner price saying it was a miscommunication.
Maybe it was just a bad day at the restaurant, but I won’t be going there any more. I suggest Tadka.

Great Lunch Place!
I wish I had the luxury of taking a real lunch because if I did, I would be at this $ 11 lunch buffet every day.
Décor is sophisticated, comfy and new (a love, spanking new restaurant with clean décor).
Food is delicious! Take out is about $ 8. You don’t get bread with your entrée but the Naan is doulbe the portion you usually receive. The veggie sides are usually pretty good too although I warily eyed it hte first time I ordered.

I was there with three others and all of the meals were first-​rate and tasty. The service was attentive without being intrusive. Afterwards, we were each treated to a complimentary brandy and sweets. One of the better Indian restaurants in NYC.

The «five minutes», «five minutes», then «five or ten minutes» and then «five more minutes» wait was long enough to get the impression they do a big business of takeout. (We were three — two people should have a much shorter wait.) The bar was more a place to pick up takeout than sit. After the repeated five minute waits we were seated in the back. Cozy. Good buffet. Spicy saag paneer, very spicy chickpeas, good goat curry. Aside from the wait this is a good week day lunch option.