Bombil — Restaurant in Bristol

This is meant as feedback because the restaurant feedback form emailed to me didn't work. We were very unhappy with the service from our waitress. Lots of problems that may have been inexperience but more likely just rude and inattentive. For example, delivery of main course before we had finished our starter. Removing plates while we were still eating off them. There were other service issues. 12 per cent service charge which is way too much for the service we received and we didn't really want to pay it, but would be too embarrassing to ask for it to be struck off.

Food - unimpressive and we did not like the way it was presented as bowls of main course requiring rice to be put in. Never seen this before and it is an innovation which does not work with a group of people who would like to share. Quality, taste and and presentation of food - mediocre. Vindaloo had clashing tastes and not authentic as a traditional goan vindaloo (which is what the waitress said it was), fish curry too rich for the delicate white fish. Chicken Tikka Masala no different to basic high street versions and too sweet. Chapatis were quite cardboardy. However, the rice was good. Value for money - overpriced and unsatisfactory.

Drinks menu is radical and completely inappropriate for Indian food. We need a light and dry lager to be available. Not much else. Ideally Indian lager, ideally Maharashtran or south Indian. Why no Indian beer? Is this restaurant really a Bombay Indian Restaurant? The range of local ales and English lager beer concoctions are not appropriate to go with Indian food. This needs attention.

All in all, I would say, potentially a very nice innovative restaurant, very welcome to the streets of Bedminster, with nice decor, very good facilities and potentially good ambience. Not sure if a doorman is needed, probably would be better to be greeted by civilian staff. Honestly, I would not go back because the food is not good enough, and the drinks menu no good at all; it isn't...

I had high expectations walking into this restaurant, hoping to order Bombil fish, a staple from the region, only to find out they don’t even serve it. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience was just as disappointing, with a few exceptions.

We started with the Chilli Garlic Prawns, which were outstanding—perfectly cooked, flavorful, and the highlight of the meal. However, the Chicken Momos left much to be desired. They tasted like they were frozen, possibly store-bought, and lacked the fresh, authentic texture you’d expect. Next came the Dahi Puri, which was incredibly dry. Instead of the refreshing burst of flavors, it felt like chewing on a dry sponge. The Chicken Frankie was equally disappointing. Instead of the authentic, juicy Bombay-style Frankie, what we got felt like a dry, uninspired chicken salad wrapped in a tortilla. The Chicken Curry had decent flavor, but it was let down by the stiff, rubbery paratha that accompanied it. I highly doubt the portion served to us was an anomaly, as the consistency seemed off throughout the meal.

What really compounded the experience was the service. Given this restaurant is part of a well-known chain, we expected a certain level of professionalism. Instead, we were met with rudeness and indifference, especially from the manager, who was particularly dismissive. We asked for a table away from the door due to the cold draft, but despite other available tables, our request was refused in an unkind and impolite manner.

Overall, while a couple of dishes showed promise, the lack of authenticity in the food, coupled with poor service, makes it difficult to recommend this restaurant. There are certainly better places in town that offer both authentic flavors and a...

Visited this restaurant over the weekend after reading all the reviews about nice vegetarian Indian food (particularly to try cuisines/starters popular in the streets of Mumbai). Despite receiving an excellent service and a decent ambience, the overall experience was a 3/5 because of pretty average food.

We ordered a platter of 4 items : 2 portions of vada pav, steamed momos, paneer tikka and separately, potato fries along with a couple of drinks. It was disappointing to find out that they have stopped including pav bhaji in their menu about a week ago. There's no Dabeli or Misal pav either in the menu, all of which one considers while thinking of going for Mumbai food. The other options in veg that could've been ordered were Samosa chat, and Dahi puri. It's a smart pattern many of the restaurants have started to follow post-pandemic : keep the price attractive but reduce the portion size. Imagine receiving 3 pieces of Paneer Tikka for 7 quid (not including 10% service charge added later). Absolutely no crunch (no churmuris) in the vada pav either, rather smeared with sweet tamarind chutney rather than authentic garlic one. Momos were decent though and the food was served hot; it's the lack of authenticity in overall taste that disappointed us quite a bit.

Overall, this place can do a lot more justice to its name (Bombay to Bristol) than what it is doing at the moment. The staff are very nice, but that's all they can do from their side, they can't change the menu or the chef. For vegetarian Indian options (maybe curries are better which we didn't try), there are definitely other better...