Bombay Garden

She said:

I’m always a bit skeptical of restaurants that are located in strip malls. Perhaps it’s even a bias of which I need to disabuse myself. However, upon entering the Bombay Garden, I felt transported into India. The arched openings, the beautiful murals, the gold and brown benches in the booths, the black wainscotting studded with round gold rivets, and the woodgrain floors made the place warm, comfortable, and relaxing. For a Monday night—after 7:00 pm—there was a surprising number of patrons in the place. That boded well for our dining experience, and our first impressions were not unfounded.

The Pineapple Chicken was delicious because all of the spices used in the dish were blended just right. It contained potatoes, chicken, and a beautiful yellow sauce. Our lamb dish included rice and a yogurt sauce on the side to be spooned over our food. It was also very good. The pairing of a sweet dish with one that was a bit more tart made for a good contrast. Plus, it pleased my palate. The naan bread was tasty, too. Overall, a very positive experience.

He said:

When I entered Bombay Garden, I felt transported . . . to the Little India restaurant in American Fork. These two restaurants must be related. They have similar décor, tableware, and uniforms, and their menus are virtually identical. Even their websites share the same text in places. Fortunately, Bombay Garden delivered the same great experience we’ve come to expect from its apparent sister restaurant.

As Kathy said, the restaurant attracted many patrons. Our dining room—one of two that I saw—was filled nearly to capacity, even well after the typical dinner hour. We enjoyed the colorful wall-to-wall murals while listening to soft sitar music (not my favorite) in the background.

Our drinks were served in hammered stainless steel cups, typical tumblers for the soft drinks and Mughlai Matka mugs for water. We ate from stoneware plates with hand-painted borders. Our shared entrées came in metal serving bowls.

Although we are relative newcomers to India cuisine, we like to expand our experience by trying new things. This night, we tried the Pineapple Chicken and the Lamb Briyani. (Apparently, some say “Briyani” and others say “Biryani”. The difference appears to be regional, though I’m not sure whether the difference lies in the preparation or merely in the pronunciation).

Sweet, though not overwhelmingly so, the Pineapple Chicken had far more pineapple flavor than the occasional chunks of fruit could explain. The coconut sauce must have included plenty of pineapple juice, as well. We always order mild, since Kathy doesn’t tolerate spiciness well, but I would have liked to try this with a bit of kick to it. I think that would have been a great pairing to balance the sweetness.

The Lamb Briyani was a mélange of basmati rice, lamb, onion, garlic, ginger, cashews, and golden raisins, with a bowl of raita—a cucumber yogurt sauce—on the side. The flavors blended flawlessly. I loved nearly every bite. Some of the long, thin strands of onion did seem tough and papery, which detracted just a bit from an otherwise wonderful dish.

Both dishes offered generous portions, the Briyani especially. The Pineapple Chicken came with a generous portion of rice. Since the Briyani was primarily a rice dish, Kathy remarked that we had a lot of carbohydrates. Of course, we also had the Peshwari Naan, a tandoori-baked flatbread filled with coconut, raisins, and cashews. Carb-heavy or not, it was delicious!

Conclusion:

Bombay Garden seems to have taken over the Bombay House’s erstwhile West Jordan location. Fortunately, Bombay Garden offers a suitable replacement. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we did.