Bombay Bistro — Restaurant in Fayetteville

Where Do I Even BEGIN??? Okay, first, my parents wanted to treat me to some authentic Indian food and they have RAVED about Bombay Bistro. But I was not prepared in experiencing the BEST Indian food not from India directly; therefore, let's enjoy this little story, shall we?

First, getting there. It's a cold winter's night and we're heading out to Bombay on Cliffdale Road. It's a drive to say the least from where we were. We enter the resturant and you can tell the layout was traditional for a bistro, with how the chairs and tables were set up. We got in just before the dinner crowd came in (our night was made special by having to see a gaggle of young doctors eat and share time together). Before we all came in, the owner immediately recognized us (well, my parents; he met me this night...and we'll meet again). Shortly afterwards, with some energetic conversation.

Next, we ordered our food. At first, I thought I would order their curry, a staple of Indian cuisine, to me. The young waitress was definitely put to her paces that night after a few quiet nights, but she immediately knew what my parents wanted for their meals. I requested to try their Chicken Curry at medium (not spicy, but not mild). BEST DECISION TO START OFF WITH! It didn't take long for our food to arrive; we said our grace, and we started eating.

To say that the food was some of the finest I've ever tasted in my life would be an insult to the chef herself; and I'm not going to insult the owner's wife! She clearly worked her soul into these dishes, and I could not stop smiling and savoring the meal for the life of me. The Samosa appetizer was just perfectly warm and delicious; going well with the minty dipping sauce! The pickled garnish went seamlessly with the spicy curry sauce! The chicken was soft and fully absorbed the flavor of the spices! The rice was not only the right amount but it also had a wonderful texture and taste! No one part of the meal overpowered the other, and it was just the right amount of spiciness that I CRAVED for. It's one thing to eat spicy food; it's an entirely different experience when you just can't stop eating it, even after the hotness kicks in!

I was grinning ear to ear and just consumed it all...to the point where the waitress was like "...you'll eat it all." She knew, the owner knew, my parents knew, all patrons knew (even if they didn't look), and most of all the chef knew; another satisfied customer was fed that night.

Finally, it was time to pay for the check, and we said our farewells. The owner already knew how much we enjoyed our meal, but his energetic nature just compelled him to strike up a good conversation with my parents. There's nothing like a good restaurant that also serves a good conversation to match great food. We paid our meal, and left the place with even bigger smiles than when we came in.

So, the moral of the story is that you can find a great place to eat, but you may end up getting even better experiences than you would think possible; that's when you know you had authentic food...and Bombay Bistro is authentic of Indian food as they come. I'll have to work up on their 'Ghost Pepper' Curry the next time I eat there; I'll start with their spicier...

In reference to the review below from Apurva Joshi below. My family and I were in this restaurant when the "incident" she refers to occurred. She says there are no signs about pickup. That's false. There are several. She neglected to see the sign that said they were short-staffed and asked patrons to be patient. Ms. Joshi walked through the entire restaurant to stand impatiently at the rear near the kitchen, speaking loudly and disrespectfully about the restaurant, and complaining for all to hear that even though she had ordered 15 minutes ago, her ______ing food wasn't ready. Since the owner and the waitress were at that moment engaged in the kitchen, Ms. Joshi went back to the front, grabbed a bag with her name on it, and ran out without paying, or leaving her pickup slip. The owner followed her and politely asked for the paper work so he could get reimbursed, and explained that all phone-in orders were told that the wait was 25-30 minutes. Ms. Joshi fails to mention that she sent her friend back into the restaurant to raise a further ruckus, made even worse by her friend's "under the influence" behavior and some of the worst language you can think of. Please totally disregard her comments. She herself created the negative situation. This is a great restaurant! Several of the diners thanked the owner for arranging such colorful entertainment. This Indian restaurant has the best, most authentic food in the area. Great! Check out all the other 5-star reviews. ...

To be honest, I was torn between the ratings and eventually gave 2 stars for various reasons. Here are some of the points that I noticed and i'll leave you as a judge

Food Quality - Good decent food. In fact, one of the reasons why I was torn.

Pricing - I've been to buffett at almost 20 - 25% cheaper and comparable or better food.

owner's behaviour towards employees - One of the biggest reasons why I'm giving them a 2 star (I would have given 2.5 if that was an option) is that the owner was RUDE to the employee. Not once but twice! Once - I heard him (not just me, he was loud and clear) yelling and saying stupid to the employee.

On the second occasion - the owner yelled when the employee decided to have lunch. Everyone in the cafe could hear him - the reason for yelling - "how can you take food for yourself before me!"

Call me righteous punk or whatever - but such kind of behaviour is not acceptable to me.

I wonder what's stopping these employees to not press charges of "emotional harassment" against this person till now!

having said all that - the food was good (not the best), behavior towards guests was ok but I would expect same level of courtesy towards the people who try to...