When I first walked in the restaurant I immediately noticed how clean and fancy it was. Our server maddie was so wonderful and attentive to us. Our food was served quickly and the portions were huge. I would definitely go back again. read more

Great food, friendly staff, and a nice atmosphere. Went here the other night with my bf and it was our first time at Bombay. Our server was super nice and helped us with the menu and also recommended some great dishes. Will be returning in the future! read more

I want to start by saying that the food is incredible at this restaurant. But the service is a train wreck. You never see the same employee twice and today we attempted to go there for dinner and they didn't bother to open. There is always an issue and they look like they're hiring all the time. They should attend to pay their employees better possibly train them better and maybe they'll keep good employees because the food is such a sad thing to waste. I would never plan to take any one there for entertaining ever again because we had to go and completely change our plans tonight but tonight was not the first time we were disappointed. read more

The food is great, but they are very very rude! They charged me gratuity on a take out order and when i tried to tell them about it! The man tried to argue with me. read more

Cleanliness ***** Service ***** Taste *** Price $$ Shaji was an awesome server. Very helpful for first time visitors! Be careful when deciding how "spicy" to make your food. While an eight may sound like the perfect number, it takes your taste buds on a trip through Hell. Can only imagine what a ten is like. read more

This is the best Indian food I've had since eating in friends from India's home's. Definitely planning my next visit.

I ordered the Butter Chicken with a heat level of 5/10. Unfortunately I didn't think to ask if the chicken would be white or dark meat. Since I'm not a fan of the texture of dark meat I mainly ate just the rice and sauce from the meal. However, certainly the flavor was good and the side of naan I ordered was very delicious as well! If you are cool with dark meat chicken, I would certainly recommend it! read more

This review is not based on the food...I do give some feedback on that below, but this is based on experience. At 8 pm I called in a carry out order. I spoke with Sam. He seemed new, but also very nice. He read back my order and my address. I confirmed. 30 minutes, maybe a little more for our food to be delivered. I got a call back from him about a minute later to ask if I was paying cash or with credit. Cash. 47 minutes later (I initially wrote this when I was hangry, so I was tracking time) I called back as we didn't have our food. The woman on the other line said, "Amanda?" "Yes". "Ok, let me check. Hold on"...8 minutes later (as I said, I was annoyed being on hold for more than a minute) I was still on hold and hung up. I tried back a few times (I thought maybe we got disconnected) but each time I got two long, deep rings that I took as a busy signal. My dad called from the house phone and got through. Apparently the food was on the way. It was delivered at 9:11...get your stuff together Bombay Olive!!! In terms of the food, it was ok. We got chicken korma, veggie korma, 2 orders of butter naan, and a sweet lassi. The veggies seemed like they could have been a frozen veggie mix (green and yellow squash, peas, carrots, broccoli) with some paneer cheese. The sauce was good. We got a 1 and a 3 spice level. I am a total baby with hot spice. The 1 had a wee kick, but was good. If they had delivered it on time I would have said really nice things about Sam and given the food three stars. We won't ever get carry out from here again--and I probably won't be back. I currently live in Rhode Island and only get home twice a year, so I would choose another option over this. I am not sure If this would differ without the wait. My parents may be back, but dad used to be a chef and was pretty prickly about the late food (we had also just gotten back from 4 hours on the road). read more

The food here is great. We ordered multiple appetizers, the yogurt drink, garlic naan, lamb curry, and the boneless chicken with rice. All of it was fresh and delicious. The atmosphere is quiet and hidden away. I highly recommend this place. read more

I met the owner and his family. They are great individuals trying to help Carbondale and SIU revive again by creating jobs. Restaurant is great, food is great, and customer service is great. The owner actually cares about his customers. Great restaurant to visit if you live in Carbondale or visiting! read more

Meh. There were few patrons but the service was very poor. No one even offered if I needed more water and they did not serve any ice. Main course and bread were fair and the raita was a watery mess. Two stars for the samosas. read more

Passing through Carbondale I was not so sure I would find a good meal, but lo and behold we spotted Bombay Olive!! And thanks to my fellow yelpers we decided it was worth a try!! We ordered off the menu instead of going for the lunch buffet (which seemed to be very popular). My friend ordered the hot and sour soup at a 7 spice level-awesome-we shared the chicken and spinach dish along with the chicken and eggplant dish-both on point!!! Whoever's in the kitchen knows what they're doing!! They cook the ingredients until the spinach seems to melt into the chicken and becomes one great bowl of awesomeness! It was sooooo good I wish I had some now!! Oh yea and the restaurant and bathrooms were as clean as a whistle! read more

Went there for lunch today with a friend. The ambiance was great and the music in the background was very soothing. We were promptly seated. It was very prim and proper. Now let's get down to the business. I tried everything on the buffet except chole and chicken tikka masala. The naan was served fresh on the table. I pretty much liked everything I tried. Naan with lamb roganjosh was a great combination and so were rice/sambar and veg biryani/mixed vegetables. The gobi manchurian had a delightful flavor. I was mighty impressed with the tandoori chicken as well. Most of the other Indian buffets (and I have been to quite a few) where I have had tandoori chicken before I did not quite like it as much. This was an exception. It was succulent and was even better after adding some fresh lime. Last but not the least, Carrot halwah was great too. My friend said it reminded him of the carrot halwah he used to get in India. Service was great too. In short, it was a very nice experience and service was good too. I probably will visit them next week or so. The only flaw I could think of is that Lamb Roganjosh was written as Lamb Rogan Juice :-) but hey who cares as long as it satisfies the taste buds. P.S. They also serve ice cream if you have some room left to have one. read more

It's authentic Indian food, and definitely one of the better Indian restaurants I have dined at. There was no buffet, but the tradeoff is that they focus on their regular menu and offer a good variety of options. They have south Indian food available and made authentic as well, which is great considering a lot of Indian restaurants abroad tend to avoid that or make mess of it. Definitely worth a visit if you are in town- try their dosas and biriyani read more

I was in town from Portland on business and decided to give this a try. Excellent food, better than any of the Indian restaurants I've tried in Portland. Had the chicken 65 appetizer, chicken tika masala and butter naan. All we're excellent. read more

My wife and I adore Indian food, and were pleased that Carbondale had even one Indian restaurant. But we weren't thrilled when we went there. So, we eagerly gave Bombay Olive a chance, and they completely rewarded us with a great meal. Like some restaurants on the strip in Carbondale, it's a little hard to find. But the place is clean and brightly lit inside. And the food was great, unlike the other unmentioned Indian place. The food was hot and fresh and didn't seem to be microwaved, again, like the other place. I had the chicken tikka masala, and my wife had the vegetarian korma. Both were fantastic, creamy, spicy as we had ordered. Portions were substantial, and...good lord...they deliver. That might prove to be our undoing, but oh, so worth it. Great evening out, fantastic food. read more

Best Indian food in Carbondale and it's not close. Love the kolchi and the chicken tikka masala. Lunch buffet is affordable and well-stocked. Only complaint is that the past few times I've had the lunch buffet they haven't had naan (one time the tandoori was broken, the other time apparently all the naan cooks were out sick). I can't really tell if this is a regular problem or just my bad luck, but the rest of the food is good enough for me to come back anyway. read more

The food at this restaurant rivals Indian food we have eaten in large US cities and internationally, despite being in a small Southern Illinois town. All of the dishes we have tried have been excellent. The service is not as attentive as a typical Indian family restaurant, but the food is amazing. read more

The food is very authentic and fresh. I can't help but come here a few times a month. I highly recommend this place when you're craving authentic Indian food. read more

We had lunch buffet here good selection of vegetarian and non vegetarian food. I really recommend you all to try Tandoori chicken, chicken vindaloo and vegetable Pulao.I would like to come back for dinner, keep up the good work Chef's..... read more

As a actual brown person, here is my review: The food is amazing. Tastes like mama's cooking. The staff itself, doesn't impress me as much. To begin with, I ordered my meal and the water began explaining to me what my curry was. I didn't ask for an explanation. That would be similar to me going to McDonald's and being told what a cheese burger was. Unless I ask "what is this?" Please don't explain to me what my own peoples food is. I have a serious lactose allergy, when I received my food, I could tell there was some dairy in it. I asked the server and instead of offering to replace it or help me pick something else from the menu, he told me there was only a little bit so I should be fine. My server was not a doctor. If a customer says they have an allergy to something, please don't tell them to eat it. There is also a major lack in diversity in the staff. I've been to Bombay several times and each time only seen two white men serving people. These men also don't pronounce the food from the menu correctly. I constantly hear them saying "naan bread" which literally translates to "bread bread" also I hear "tikki masala" instead of "tikka masala". read more

I was not impressed with this place. Service was poor. The server rarely returned to our table, even just to refill drinks, and yet the restaurant was practically empty. But worse was that the food was simply bland and tasteless. I like my curry to have a bit of a kick. But this didn't happen. Disappointed. read more

Great food, have had quite a bit of the menu and have not disliked anything I have eaten there. Relatively pricey for the amount of food you get. read more

What a nice surprise to find such wonderful Indian food on a vacation. Pleasant and helpful owner (I have a allergy) and out waitress Bindi was sweet and on top of things. We did wait a bit for dinner but they are handling a large crowd due to the eclipse and seated us right away. Very happy we came in! read more

This is the best Indian restaurant i have been to. My husband has traveled extensively and says the same thing. We have been numerous times with groups larger and small, and have had very good service each time. I have to fight myself to not order the same things and try new items, but the cauliflower and potato dish and samosas call to me. read more

The food is good but it is difficult to enjoy it because the place is terribly understaffed. I have been there two times and both times there was just one server who was running across 6 or more tables and constantly apologizing for forgetting or delay in serving. It feels cruel to be eating with friends when the person serving you is struggling just to keep up. It is great to have a good Indian eating place in Carbondale, but staffing it inadequately ruins the experience read more

Having finished my meal a few minutes ago, my lips and tongue are still burning with the spices from the chicken curry. I ordered only a level 4 on a heat scale stretching to 10, so this is quite unwelcome. Even two glasses of water and "mantra," their pineapple drink, did not cool the fire. The service was slow and inattentive, despite only two other parties dining. If I were to give this place a second try, it would be at the Sunday or Monday lunch buffet, so as to be able to move on to other items if one disappoints. read more

I'll start off by saying this review is purely based off my dine in experience: The food has and always will be incredible. I highly recommend the butter chicken. That's the only good thing I have to say about the restaurant. The service is absolutely abysmal and the server is not to blame for it. We came to eat at 3pm and there was only ONE server who had to do the role of server, host, carryout, food runner, bartender. The poor girl was basically responsible for every single front of house duty while trying to provide service to 8 tables at once which is near IMPOSSIBLE to do. I did witness a "manager" walking through the dining room but he seemed as useless as a door knob and only conversed with a friend who came to dine in. The food took a long time to come to the table and I knew it was sitting in an expo window for quite some time via an audible bell being continuously rung to get the poor servers attention. Too bad she was too busy trying to perform every front of house duty at once to run our food in a timely manner. I really hope the lazy owners are paying her well considering she's doing the job of 3-4 people at once and can't provide the quality service required for good tips. Moral of the story- food is great, service is awful and I believe poor management is 100% to blame, not the staff. I would recommend only ordering pickup and hope that the server isn't busy enough to answer and take your order. read more

What a great new addition to the gustatory scene in Carbondale - a place we have come to consider a good-food desert. The food at this restaurant was delicious!!! We came down to Carbondale from suburban Chicago to visit our son at SIU. We LOVE this restaurant, and we have eaten at plenty over the years. We had the buffet and everything was fresh and delicious, and a great deal too at $9.99. The very knowledgeable manager described all the dishes for us and explained that most of them rotate through. The buffet included a fried cauliflower appetizer which was out of this world! There were two kinds of rice, including a delicious vegetarian biryani. The chicken tikka masala was very tasty. A paneer with shredded cheese was rich and creamy. A vegetarian dish was the spiciest item on the buffet of everything we tried. (Otherwise the food is not very spicy by Indian standards, so don't be afraid!) The salad items were fresh and there were multiple chutneys. There was also a fish entree and a soup that we didn't try. The plentiful butter naan was delicious. The custard offering for dessert was a nice way to end the meal. The extensive menu available for lunch or dinner is worth a try, too, and we are looking forward to checking this restaurant out for dinner. Note to Salukis: delivery is available! Yum! read more

It was my second trip here, the first being right after it opened and it was the lunch buffet. It was ok . This time it was dinner. We ordered off the menu and it was very good. I had the lamb saag and it was excellent, my husband also enjoyed his meal. The service was good. The only complaint was the wine. The only wine they had was Barefoot which is the cheapest worse tasting wine you can buy. They do let your buy wine at their liquor store and take it in the restaurant. read more

I'm certain the food tastes ok. But I worked installing something in the back and let me tell you I was appalled by the condition of the kitchen. Do not assume that it is the unfamiliarity of the cusine that is causing you to rush to the bathroom, NO your food isn't up to health code standards. Produce is stored on the floor next to chemicals, everything is dirty. Please don't eat here. McDonald's has higher standards. read more

I love Indian food and was excited when I heard a new place was coming to Carbondale. Even though several of my friends got to it before I did and said it was subpar I was still excited. Sadly it isn't very good - the food approaches being average at best (to be kind) and the service was terrible. I have not heard from anyone who likes this place. read more

I just want to start out by saying, that the food here is phenomenal. However, I came in a couple weeks ago on a Saturday night and was shocked to see (who I assume is the owner) being very unprofessional. The servers were running around cause the room was full of customers and he just stood at the back of the room and did not help them bring out any food. Also when the door would open to the back you could hear him raising his voice "come on come on" "go go go". The two servers apologized about the wait on our food and kept up on filling our drinks. The male server who helped me was very nice and helpful with menu items, the food is very good and portions very large. But unfortunately I cant give more than 1 star cause of how the owners unprofessional work ethic made me and other customers feel. I hope that the owner sees this and realizes that the customers do hear and see how he runs his restaurant.... read more

You can get better Indian food from the pouches they sell at the supermarket. Very disappointing. There's definitely a better option in town. read more

Resteraunt was not good as reemas indian cuisine hands down.. the owners were not very nice and not that helpful. Very overpriced as vivek and the others said read more

I was really excited hearing that a new Indian restaurant had come to carbondale. Hype was stirring and Bombay Olive has mostly good reviews online so I decided to check it out. Both the food and service were sub par, but the biggest problems I had was the actual seating. I realize that it's a small restaurant, but the "wedding reception" seating style (small tables and chairs placed rather densely across a small space) puts you awkwardly close to other parties and forces you to stare at a stranger while you eat, though I imagine getting one of the few booth style seats around the walls may displace that feeling. Rather off putting. Overall I consider eating there a mistake and won't be coming back. I'm rather sad that the hype was unfounded. read more

Order take out vs. going here for dinner. Really good food, but really poor service (from an apparent lack of training vs. lack of effort), and an oft changing menu result in a low grade. We've been there three times for dinner and the service got progressively worse each time we went. The first time we chucked it up to them being a new business. The subsequent two times, they should have gotten things together. The food is fantastic, but they changed the menu the third time we went in and all my favorites were gone. The coconut soup was magical. Now it's gone. The spice levels were inconsistent too. I can't handle much spice and had fallen for a saffron chicken kabob. Now it's off the menu too. I ordered a new dish and asked for a zero spice level. My dish was twice as hot as my husband's who ordered a three or four. Our third dinner took two hours, and almost 20 min of that was just checking out. That was during the World Series & the place was empty when we entered and had maybe four tables by the time we left. Apparently they can manage the logistics of a buffet, but their table service needs a serious overhaul before we consider going back. I'll do carry out next time. .. unless the menu's changed again. read more

this is probably one of my favorite place..buffet was very nice..especially mutter paneer,egg curry was delicious..totally all the food was really awesome..this is my favorite..... read more