Bombay Bistro...all gravy or a need to take stock?
The Oakham Curry Club (OCC) is a well respected Institution with multiple international franchises.
The OCC takes pride in searching out the finest Indian Restaurants, and providing an impartial review of Curry Houses all over the world. More recently we started our 3rd franchise to find the best Indian restaurant in Shanghai.
This OCC meet was made special as it was the first time that all three OCC branches had their meets on the same weekend. Always on the pulse the Shanghai branch wanted to test out the relatively new Bombay Bistro to see if it fitted the bill in combing the classics with their own eclectic mix.
Unfortunately despite some good potential Bombay Bistro failed to match the levels of other top Indian restaurants in Shanghai.
Members vote anonymously on 5 categories - and an average score is given to each restaurant we review.
Our scores out of 10:
Quality 6.1 Service 5.8 Value 4.7 Customer Care 6.3 Atmosphere 6.8
Overall score 5.9
The service was a particular weakness as they failed to provide a consistent level throughout the two hours we were there. At times food was brought over swiftly and in a suitable manner however at other times there were long waits with regards to the drinks. The staff whilst attempting to be attentive also misjudged moments of when to interrupt and this was seen to poor effect during some of the legendary OCC trialist speeches being disturbed when a moments hesitation would have worked better.
The food quality was also a bit inconsistent. The dishes did show creativity with an interesting mix of starters on display. However the mains were not special enough for reputation of a fine dining Indian restaurant. The classics of Butter Chicken were solid rather than spectacular and the spicy duck lacked the required kick. Drink wise the venue did display a good variety to a decent level and as such could appeal to groups not just focused on the food.
Regarding other aspects the venue was nicely busy and over time the restaurant could provide a pleasant atmosphere. However if emptier the design of the room could really hamper the experience. The customer care of going that extra bit to please customers was evident at times as they lowered the music to allow OCC trialist Gary to display his own musical talents of Dansak Queen (see link below). However once again at other moments the little extra touches that the OCC notices were not there. One final point to address is the value rating for the OCC. Most members felt that the overall experience was a bit expensive and this naturally would've impacted on people's expectations of quality and service.
In summary Bombay Bistro is a restaurant with a lot of potential. Over time it would be interesting to see if it improved on some of the areas to move it up there with the best venues in Shanghai.
For those who would like to see the performance of "Dansak Queen" click on our Facebook page: