Apparently there's no air suction to remove the smoky smell of the kitchen. It's like your sitting in the kitchen really. The owner were yelling at each other, arguing the whole time. The food wasn't good, and the customer service was worst. We will not be coming back ever. read more

Great, real food and impeccable service! Location is a bit out of the way. Also, they mean it when they say spicy. I pride myself on my tolerance for spice and a 5 (on a scale of 1-10) totally defeated me! read more

Wow! Talk about a small restaurant with wonderful food! My sister and I were searching for Indian food and discovered the Bombay Cafe. The food is fresh and handmade on site. My chicken korma was pleasantly spicy and the nan was so delicious! The staff was also very friendly. This restaurant is definitely a hidden gem in Vista! I will definitely return when I crave Indian food in the future! read more

Best Indian Cuisine in town! I love it here! Great service and happy friends! There food is amazing! If you like spicy order 10 if not order 5! I loved the dishes! read more

My visit to Bombay Cafe was my first ever to an Indian restaurant, but it definitely won't be my last! I am writing this review as someone with a virgin pallet, so my experience only references how delicious the food was as, well, food and does not compare it to Indian food at other locales (which I will be trying soon!) For starters my husband and I split the veggie samosas and pakoras- both were deep fried to perfection and just melted in our mouths. My hubby is an Indian food connoisseur and informed me that the pakoras were some of the better ones he had, light and fluffy and crunchy- not greasy and overly fried like he's had elsewhere. Dinner was palak paneer and aloo gobhi with basmati rice and garlic nan. The cauliflower in the aloo gobhi was cooked perfectly and still had a touch of crunch. The palak paneer had great flavor but I wasn't a fan of the texture of the cheese. Husband got that all to himself and he was very satisfied. I just died over the nan- it was like the best garlic bread I had ever had. Next time I'm not sharing! We also each had one of their 20oz beers, both lagers, low in ABV and a nice accompaniment to the spice of the dishes. Next time I would like to bring my own bottle of wine- I think a bold cab or an earthy Syrah would compliment what we had wonderfully. The service was great and the prices were reasonable (all that food for under $60!) We will be back! read more

Bombay Cafe remains my favorite Indian food restaurant anywhere in San Diego county. The special vegetarian dinner was a perfect meal with Aloo Zeera and Chana Aloo. Absolutely the best! read more

Family run business. Food is fantastic, service is great. We love going here! The garlic nan is amazing!

Awsome deliciousness best authentic Indian food in north county. Go here during lunch or dinner

Tried going the first time for lunch. The posted hours said they should have been open but the place was locked up tight. Tried again another day for dinner. The food was very good (chicken tikka masala is my dish), great naan. I would go back again but the hours and days seem to be inconsistent. I had another miss at lunch at a later date. Puzzled about the operating days and hours. Food is great! read more

Very good food! The only issue I have is the price for the serving. But even that isn't enough to turn me off. Yummy!

Worst food I ever had in my life.total wastage of time and money.can't believe how they are running the business.Indians pls don't visit.

I just like be this place, some of the best Indian in north sam diego! Has a family vibe and I really like that. The dinning room could use some updating and it's a lil quiet there, so I'd suggest some music but other than that go here you won't regret it read more

I have lived in England, grew up in Australia where there is Indian food on almost every street corner. I've had a difficult time finding Indian food I like here. I went to Bombay Cafe tonight to try it out. Oh. My. Goodness. Unbelievable. We had the coconut naan with our curries. My husband and I rated it in our top 5 restaurants in San Diego. I'm very happy to have found this place, and will be back again and again. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when eating here. Finally great Indian food!!! I have been looking for a long time. It is only slightly more pricey than other Indian restaurants in San Diego, but worth it. I'd rather pay a smidge more and have good flavor. I have been to other places where the meat was tough, or the samosas had no flavor. Not this place. Bombay Cafe is full of flavor. The atmosphere in this place reminds me of all the small Indian restaurants in Australia and England. Don't go there expecting amazing ambience. Its a cute, small restaurant. i'm in love. For reference we had: Chicken Jal Frazie, Alooh Gobi, Coconut Naan, safron rice and icecream for dessert. MMM. Next time i want to have the alooh gobi again, tandoori chicken (someone else had it and it look amazing!) and chicken tikka masala or chicken masala. Hold me back!!! read more

Excellent food and great service. A happy addition to my limited roster of go-to restaurants :)

Discovered a north county gem! Will put this on my fave list now! Take out available so no excuses...

Best Indian food in Oceaside/Vista area, hands down!

This place was an amazing surprise! We ordered Dal, Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer, and a number of side dishes, all of which were delicious. This is a fantastic family owned business with excellent service as well. read more

Wow, this place was grubby and hot, the walls flecks of food all over. The food was mediocre at best. The naan bread was oily and crispy the rice was dry and the lamb was tough. Overall avoid this place. read more

Best restraunt we've ever been to. Amazing food,great service. Very nice place. Would recommend. If you go, tell your friends about it.

After trying many different Indian restaurants in San Diego, I have to say this is the best Indian food we have had yet. My favorite dish is their chicken tikka masala, which is perfectly spiced and delicious, and their naan which is the best I have ever had! The inside of the restaurant is decorated very cute and has a very homey feel that makes it very relaxing to eat there. The hostess also always greets us and is very sweet! read more

We have eaten the very best stuffed parathra here--filled with potatoes and peas, almost a meal in itself. The buffet is great. When I get to southern CA this is where I head when I can as I LOVE indian food and this is my favorite. The chutneys are of many varieties, and many different levels of spiciness. It is worth a hike from San Diego or San Clemente to come here. The Chicken Tikka is especially good and the portions are always generous, very friendly owners-cooks, too. read more

Oh my dear Lord. This place was flippin amazing. Best Indian food I've ever had. The coconut Nan was simply heaven! The resturant was small and cute, it was like stepping right into India. It was a good amount of food, you can definitely share with a date. Overall..soooo good! read more

Delicious Indian food. Wonderful service, quick and courteous, and the price is right. My husband and I love to come in for lunch. The garlic naan is fantabulous! Your first time won't be your last. read more

My favorite place to eat in almost all of North County. Additionally, It's the best Indian restaurant in all of SD. I will usually start with the vegetable samosa as an appetizer. Moving along to dinner; garlic nan, basmati with the matter paneer. Sometimes if I'm feeling like a uber fat kid ill even get a mango lassi for desert. Say hi to Lucky and the family too, they are such amazing people. =] read more

Tonight was my first time eating in at Bombay Cafe. In the past, I have gotten pickup orders, and they have never disappointed. The staff is very kind and welcoming. The ambiance is peaceful, dimly lit, comfortable, perfect for a relaxing meal after work. Tonight I had chicken masala, garlic naan, and rice. The food was delicious and I left feeling very content. It may sound odd but I really love the giant water glasses they have. read more

My whole family loves this place. The service is good and the food is very good. The Chicken Tikka is to die for and the curries, breads and rice dishes are all very good. If I had to gripe about anything, I feel the portions should be a little bit bigger or the prices a little lower. As a man, when I spend $15 on a meal, I expect to leave satisfied, not still hungry. If they combined a curry entree with at least a regular size portion of rice instead of being a-la carte, the price of a curry would be reasonable and I would have given 5 stars. That said, I/we visit this restaurant every couple of months and will continue to. If you are in North County and enjoy good Indian cuisine, don't miss this little gem. read more

I just went here last week with my friend and it was absolutely amazing!! You wouldn't think it by looking at the place but I was pleasantly surprised. It was sort of a "Diamond in the rough". Not only was the food amazing but the service was great too. The family that owns the restaurant provides a great atmosphere and suggests different types of food & indian beers for you. I am new to indian food and this was definitely the best I have had so far. It filled me up fast and all in all I am very satisfied with my meal I had there and the service :) - Shauna * I had the vegetable samosas, garlic naan, basmati rice & chicken korma along with a flying horse beer. I recommend it all!! read more

Great food! Good service! Brought my girlfriend here for the first time and she loved it!!! And this was the first time she's ever had Indian food , LUCKY was a great hostes/chef, I would recommend this place to all friends and family , read more

This place is the BOMB-ay! :) seriously THE BEST Indian food I've ever had. Quaint little restaurant. Super friendly owners. If you're in Vista, or even if you're not. You have got to try this place! I guarantee you'll keep coming back for more. read more

The staff were sweet and gracious. The food was amazing! Tikka lamb, tikka chicken and chicken tandoori were all superb!

Bless up that I found this spot. Not only is the food delectable but you get fabulous service from the family that owns the business. Nothing beats this food! Thank you to the family that creates amazing food and makes you feel like you are visiting family! read more

Their shrimp vindala(?) was DELICIOUS. Their Tandoori chicken was soft and flavorful. That Naan?! Fantastic. The older woman there is a FANTASTIC COOK. If you have not been here you need to make this a stop ASAP. My mouth has fallen in love with this place. SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS! read more

So we just finished our meal and the WHOLE family was happy. I ordered the chicken vindaloo spicy level 6, Mommy ordered the chicken tikka masala level 2 I believe. Two sides of garlic naan and one order of basmati rice. First, the vindaloo. Ohhhh the many flavor notes made my taste buds sing for more! I think the food actually touched my soul on the way to my tummy. Second, the chicken tikka masala which was shared with Lil Layla was perfect for us. Just spicy enough for full flavor. Even picky eater Layla loved it. Tiny lil place packed full of flavor. Smiles all around. read more

Chicken Tikka Masala is awesome here. Buttery, creamy, delicious. The atmosphere is cozy and everything I tried was delicious (Naan, Raita, vindaloo). read more

The food was AMAZING hands down the basmati rice the garlic naan, the chicken tikka masala was especially good. They say they serve "family style" but it's really only enough for 1 person. It's really small and they charge a lot for such a small amount of food we for 3 dishes and it was $60. And the girl who works up front I think it's the owners daughter legitimately has a staring problem while she's cleaning the table or doing something she stares at the customers HARD like she's never seen other people ever it's a little uncomfortable and when you asked for extra anything they get a little attitude like they have to travel across the world to get it l. So all in all the food is good but the customer service is the complete opposite read more

I have eaten here a few times over the last few years and have been satisfied with it UNTIL TODAY. We ordered the chicken tikka masala, aloo gobi, tandoori chicken, rice, and garlic naan. The tandoori chicken was simply ROTTEN. It had a foul taste and odor and there was no doubt in my mind that it was inedible and a health hazard. In addition, the chicken in the tikka masala was dry, chewy, and at least one piece had the sour taste of bad, old chicken. I sent the chicken back and needless to say will not be returning here. In addition, the men's room had NO SOAP! Had to take my child the women's room to wash hands!! read more

The food was very good. We had the veggie pakora which you must dip in the sweet sauce on the table. The tiki masala was creamy and tasty. There is no music playing which is a little weird but the place is certainly authentic and family owned and operated. More sauce than food in the dishes and they are little heavy but flavorful. Glad to have experienced it. Again, enjoyed the food but probably won't head back. read more

We recently moved to San Diego from O.C. and I was surprised to find so few Indian restaurants in North County. So, we saw the reviews and thought we would give this place a shot. CONS: The food is not good - the flavor is not there - it is greasy and mushy. We ordered the Malai Kofta - which we always love - except here - it was terrible! There is no middle ground on spicy. I realize indian food is typically spicy - I like a little spicy, but not inedible. As this is hard to quantify usually indian places will say on a scale of 1-10 how do you like it. I said 3 (with 10 being the spiciest - as the server said their food is typically very spicy - we normally go for a 5 but I was concerned). Holy cow! 3 was inedible. When I mentioned this to the owner she said - well if you don't want it really spicy say no spice. I informed her that I'd like a little spice - I don't want bland - she said well it is either spicy or not. So apparently they have no middle ground. The other issue I had with the food was that it was greasy and did not taste good (despite the spiciness - the flavor wasn't there for me). Then the people in the back were yelling so loud the table next to us commented on how it seemed something must be wrong as they seemed to be fighting. I told the server and she said, "no they aren't upset that is how they talk." It was not pleasant or relaxing. I'm giving it 2 stars only because the servers were very sweet. We will not be returning. So disappointing as I'm dying for some good Indian Food! read more

This place is where we go for all birthdays. I think my family goes here every other week for dinner, too. I love it!!!!!!! The owners are very nice (we go there so much I think they know our names now) and one time we went in when it wasn't officially open and they still served us! If the owners are reading this, this is from the teenage girl who is always here with the bald guy, the brunette lady, the mexican teenage girl, and the african american kid who is obviously adopted. read more

What an awesome hidden little gem this is. The British family loving every bite of their meal should have been my first indication that this place was going to be good! I've been so disappointed by other north county Indian restaurants, but Bombay Cafe restored my faith in finding GREAT Indian cuisine close to my Oceanside home! We ordered, devoured and loved each of the dishes we ordered. The onion bhaji was well flavored, super crisp and not at all oily & the chutney and condiments were bright and delicious as well. The chicken korma was sweet and full of flavor with just the right amount of heat (a 3 for the woman who now gets heartburn...sigh) and just a sprinkling of raisins and cashews in the wonderful, creamy sauce. The lamb rogan josh was spicy and perfect but it was the tandoori prawns that stole the show this time. Perfectly cooked, definitely marinated over night, the prawns were served on a sizzling platter with onions and peppers cooked in a mouthwateringly savory sauce. The rice and naan were perfect and the raita was the best I'd ever had in the states (sorry USA, but London is still the home of the best Indian food I've ever had) and had a wonderful flavor....not just the boring plain yogurt that most places serve and have the nerve to call raita. While there is little to no ambiance here, there is something just as charming that totally makes up for it....a window into their kitchen, where we could see the chefs practicing their magic with spices, sauce pots, pans and the tandoor itself! What a joy it is to watch....and to eat! We will be back for sure. The prices are very reasonable. Our entire meal, including an appetizer, 3 dishes, naan, rice and raita as well as drinks cost only $71. We have spent much more for much less, and we have paid almost twice that for Indian dinners elsewhere that weren't nearly as good. read more