karen 0 Sep 13,2010

Highly recommended

I've been going to Bombay on the Lake since moving to Toronto from USA. It took a long time to find an indian restaurant that wasn't in Mississauga or Brampton. It is consistently excellent. The owners are very friendly and attentive. The lunch specials are great. I eat there at least once a week. Not being a restaurant critic I won't critique the food but will only say everything I've ordered I've enjoyed. As for cost, it's reasonable as far as I'm concerned. Highly recommended.

Christine Feb 14,2010

We found this gem several months ago. We are huge fans of their
butter chicken, and chicken samosas (we get more than enough
food for 2 people). The naan is great and compliments the butter
chicken and rice very well.

They may not deliver in your area - but I guarantee you that it is
worth the drive to pick it up.

April Aug 29,2009

Small but nice restaurant. Execellent food and service. Very much appreaciated in the neighbourhood.

Dave Oct 03,2008

Food was great! despite what the last reviewer said!

I'm not an expert in Indian cuisine but I really enjoyed the food and service at Bombay on the lake!

Service was good and the waitress helped us order our meal with suggestions she had from the menu.

I enjoy spicy food and I was not disappointed! The Naan bread was fresh and the meal was excellent.

The Restaurant is small but it really gives an intimate dinning experience.

It's nice to see small restaurants like this on lakeshore and I would recommend this restaurant to anybody who has never tried Indian.

kbdhana Feb 10,2008

Beware!
Usually, I don't write reviews on restuarants as it is a personal choice about quality or affordability. But on this one, I had no choice but to warn potential food lovers of going to this restaurant....

Food quality was disgusting.. None of the curries we ordered tasted the way it shoudl.. Probably the new owners have their own new way of cooking north Indian food.....it seemed that the owners were themselves gujarati....

Service was another big drawback..Plus it's very pricy..I am sure for $20/pp you would get lot of other good options..

Food Tourist Dec 21,2006

Finally returned to Bombay on the Lake last night to find the chef and menu had changed AGAIN - no surprise! The owners were the only servers and they were quite attentive and helpful (only one loud phone call which didn't last too long). On her suggestion, we had the malai chicken appetizer ($8.99) which was incredible! Juicy, delicious, marinated chicken chunks with a side salad (no dressing) and two unnecessary (and mediocre) accompanying chutney/sauces. Slightly greasy, crispy veggie samosas ($2.49) were spicy but lacked depth of flavour. My friend enjoyed her masala tea ($1.99) but I thought it was average. Cashew and fig milkshake ($4.49) was slightly too sweet, its flavour and consistency thinner than expected. Flaky paratha ($2.49), dry as a result of tandoor cooking, lacked usual richness. Garlic naan ($2.99)(they didn't have rosemary for rosemary naan, ordered by my companion) was also slightly crispy and sprinkled with cilantro despite my "no cilantro" request. Average saag paneer ($7.99) wasn't the least bit oily. Lamb korma ($10.99) contained some chunks of meat that were too tough to chew, and overall, its flavour lacked sparkle.

Free spiced chickpeas (amuse bouche) provided a nice surprise. I would definitely return for the malai chicken, but little else.

Again, still no tip line on credit card transactions.

Food Tourist Nov 01,2006

I went to Bombay on the Lake last night for a solo dinner and it turned into a hilarious experience. First of all, the young woman server was terrific. The owner couple didn't do much as they hung out behind the bar or at a table loudly talking on a phone. Lots of loud conversations went back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room. The owners mentioned that they would like my feedback at the end of the meal. The food took ages to come out and the server apologized, saying the chef was angry.

The food was average. Too-sweet mango lassi was crunchy with sugar. Okra was too soft which makes it slimy. Dhal makhani was disappointing.

Tandoori roti was actually a whole wheat pita grilled and cut into wedges. I had to send the lamb chops back because they were so tough I couldn't cut them with the knife supplied -- plus the portion was tiny. The server happily replaced the dish with my choice - chicken tikka masala. The tiny cubes of dry chicken were overwhelmed by huge pieces of crisp greenpepper. I didn't send it back. When the owners came to get my report, I mentioned the dry meats. They said they would get the chef to come out and speak to me. When he eventually arrived, he sat across from me and talked to me for about 30 minutes.

The short version is that he's only been there for a week and he and the owners are butting heads. The owners want him to cook the way I experienced the food. Chef wants to cook bigger pieces of juicy meat in the tandoor, not use the freezer, make sure the tandoor is switched on at least 2 hours before use, etc.

In the end, the chef promised me a free meal the next time I go back, because he could tell I was the type of customer who would never return. So, I'll go back in a week or two and post an updated report. He suggested to avoid Tuesdays, but that they are in full swing Wednesday thru Sunday.

Food Tourist Nov 01,2006

I went to Bombay on the Lake last night for a solo dinner and it turned into a hilarious experience. First of all, the young woman server was terrific. The owner couple didn't do much as they hung out behind the bar or at a table loudly talking on a phone. Lots of loud conversations went back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room. The owners mentioned that they would like my feedback at the end of the meal. The food took ages to come out and the server apologized, saying the chef was angry.

The food was average. Too-sweet mango lassi was crunchy with sugar. Okra was too soft which makes it slimy. Dhal makhani was disappointing.

Tandoori roti was actually a whole wheat pita grilled and cut into wedges. I had to send the lamb chops back because they were so tough I couldn't cut them with the knife supplied -- plus the portion was tiny. The server happily replaced the dish with my choice - chicken tikka masala. The tiny cubes of dry chicken were overwhelmed by huge pieces of crisp greenpepper. I didn't send it back. When the owners came to get my report, I mentioned the dry meats. They said they would get the chef to come out and speak to me. When he eventually arrived, he sat across from me and talked to me for about 30 minutes.

The short version is that he's only been there for a week and he and the owners are butting heads. The owners want him to cook the way I experienced the food. Chef wants to cook bigger pieces of juicy meat in the tandoor, not use the freezer, make sure the tandoor is switched on at least 2 hours before use, etc.

In the end, the chef promised me a free meal the next time I go back, because he could tell I was the type of customer who would never return. So, I'll go back in a week or two and post an updated report. He suggested to avoid Tuesdays, but that they are in full swing Wednesday thru Sunday.

Okra dish was heavy on onion and also had a strong ginger flavour.

The chef also gave me a take-out container full of fried paneer cubes in butter chicken sauce (no chicken) to prove it was good...but the paneer wasn't exciting. However, the sauce was very tasty, much better than anything I had eaten already.

The decor is funny - black molded deco bar stools, fabric valances held up (or not) by wide masking tape, etc.

They don't include a tip line on credit card bills, so customers are forced to leave a cash tip (I definitely wanted to reward the helpful server).

DDD Sep 21,2006

Thanks for the tip TCP. We tried Bombay on the Lake last night. We had Butter Chicken - quite decent, Curry chicken - excellent (on the recommendation of the owner), Veg. Biryani - I thought was good, my wife thought it was quite mediocre (our gold standard is the veg Biryani at Biryani House yonge and Bloor). The nan is also quite good. They didn't have Raita on the menu, but we asked for some and they made some up which didn't quite make the grade, but at least they tried (they said they would have some for next time). We also had some daal which was very tasty.
It was not very busy at the time...the service was actually quite quick, we were in and out in about an hour. They were very friendly and were obviously trying hard to please. This is not a 'white tablecloth' type place...all in all, fairly spartan decor, but that's not what I generally go for when going for Indian food.
I would definately be back, I haven't found much other decent Indian food the west end (usually go either downtown/east or Mississauga). It's nice to have the option in this area.

tcb Sep 13,2006

we went for dinner the other night at the new Indian restaurant - Bombay on the Lake - on the south side of lakeshore between 9th and 10th street I believe.

Indian food would have to be both mine and my wifes favorite style of food and in terms of food quality, Bombay was probably the best Indian we have ever had. We ordered three different dishes (butter chicken, lamb curry, and pea curry) and all were fabulous, and all the sides, including the naan and samosas, were also excellent.

We are for sure going back for the food.

Now, onto the service. We went in the first 10 or so days of them opening so there were some kinks to work out. But it did take 2 hours for our meal and about 20 minutes for our first drinks (only two other tables were seated in the restaurant at the time, one of them left). So I would have to say they do need to work on that, and I did mention it to them because the food was incredible and I don't want them to go away, so hopefully they will start to pick up the pace.

Next time, we will make sure we have lots of time, and I would recommend that for anyone else until they get all the kinks worked out. But one good thing about it taking that long, and you could tell from the food, was that it was fresh and from scratch when we ordered it.