So I have tried out the Bollywood Masala in San Souci and the Bombay Garden in Lexington Park(used to be the Roost). Being that they serve the same food, are new, and are right near each other they are just begging for comparison. I am not going to talk about the bufffets at either place since I have only been for dinner, and Indian buffet food is generally only mediocre.
Bollywood Masala: The service here was decent, but nothing spectacular. The decor was a little better than when the place was the veitnamese cafe. You can tell they did a LOT of cleaning from that time though, so that is a big plus. The garlic naan was nice and hot and tasty with a good texture and the samosa appetizers were also very nice. However I have to give the food a little bit of a lower rating. My wife had chicken tikka masala which should be prepared by first making chiken tikka in a tandoor (clay barbque type of thing which adds a very distinct taste) and then adding it to the sauce. This dish was clearly not made that way. They took the short cut of just basically stewing the chicken into the sauce, or it may have possibly been pan cooked first. Either way it was not as it should be. Now the good points of the meal were the non saucy dishes. Anything from the tandoor section which did not come in a sauce so could not be short cut was good. The Hariyali (spelling?) was just delicious and unusual.
Bombay Garden: The service here was just slightly better and again the decor is nothing to write home about. The naan bread again was really good, but the samosas here were not up to par with Bollywood Masala. The chicken tikka masala was made the right way!!! And tasted pretty good. The shining star of the meal was actually not the chicken however. The saag paneer (spinach with homemade cheese) was probably the best I have ever had (sorry mom). The lamb vindaloo was ok but the lamb ended up being a tad tough.
For my money I think I will go mostly to Bombay Garden, but I think the 2 are close enough that you should try both and see how your favorite dishes taste at each place.
Bollywood Masala: The service here was decent, but nothing spectacular. The decor was a little better than when the place was the veitnamese cafe. You can tell they did a LOT of cleaning from that time though, so that is a big plus. The garlic naan was nice and hot and tasty with a good texture and the samosa appetizers were also very nice. However I have to give the food a little bit of a lower rating. My wife had chicken tikka masala which should be prepared by first making chiken tikka in a tandoor (clay barbque type of thing which adds a very distinct taste) and then adding it to the sauce. This dish was clearly not made that way. They took the short cut of just basically stewing the chicken into the sauce, or it may have possibly been pan cooked first. Either way it was not as it should be. Now the good points of the meal were the non saucy dishes. Anything from the tandoor section which did not come in a sauce so could not be short cut was good. The Hariyali (spelling?) was just delicious and unusual.
Bombay Garden: The service here was just slightly better and again the decor is nothing to write home about. The naan bread again was really good, but the samosas here were not up to par with Bollywood Masala. The chicken tikka masala was made the right way!!! And tasted pretty good. The shining star of the meal was actually not the chicken however. The saag paneer (spinach with homemade cheese) was probably the best I have ever had (sorry mom). The lamb vindaloo was ok but the lamb ended up being a tad tough.
For my money I think I will go mostly to Bombay Garden, but I think the 2 are close enough that you should try both and see how your favorite dishes taste at each place.