A New and Bigger Bombay Cafe--but the Same Good Food

When I moved to Los Angeles, Bombay Cafe was a wonderful discovery. I liked the informality of the place, the smells of freshly pounded and toasted spices wafting from the kitchen and the enthusiastic, chatty crowd. The inevitable wait outside for a table in the tiny place was sometimes frustrating, though, especially if I planned to take in a movie later.

Now Neela Paniz and her partner David Chaparro have moved their popular Indian cafe to bigger quarters, due south to Pico Boulevard, on the site of the old Bellini. Incidentally, All India Cafe, a Pasadena spinoff of Bombay Cafe founded by one of Paniz’s ex-chefs, wasted no time opening its second location into Bombay’s old space in the West Los Angeles mini-mall.

The new Bombay Cafe looks much like the old one: Bright red and white folk art prints hung on blue and yellow walls. The chairs are just as uncomfortable as before, but because there are twice as many tables, you probably won’t have a long wait for one.

The cooks get a bigger kitchen at the new location, though you can still savor the scents of toasted cumin, mustard seed and garlic. If you’re on your own or just feel like a casual bite, you can take one of 25 seats at the bar. Oh, there’s also valet parking.

The move seems to have inspired the cooks. On a recent evening, the food tasted better than I remember from my last visit to the Santa Monica Boulevard locale. I was disappointed, though, to find that the menu was exactly the same. I had hoped Paniz would take the opportunity of moving to try something new without, of course, giving up the dishes her customers come back for again and again.

If you go to Bombay Cafe, here’s what to order: the trio of homemade chutneys, her deftly spiced and fried samosas, maybe uttapam, a semolina griddle cake topped with tomato, onion, green chile and sprigs of cilantro, which is served with coconut chutney. You’ll want bread, too, preferably the naan stuffed with grated onions or, even better, paratha stuffed with potatoes and cooked in the tandoor.

I like the subtle spicing of palak paneer, cubes of handmade farmer’s cheese in a pureed spinach sauce, and the lamb frankies, supple flat bread rolled up like a tortilla and filled with an intricately spiced lamb masala. From the tandoor, you might try the sampler of jumbo shrimp, boti kebabs (marinated lamb) and yogurt marinated chicken.

Lunch is the real bargain here. Instead of the inevitable fixed-price Indian buffet, Bombay Cafe offers a menu of seven thalis, including two from the tandoor, a vegetarian version and a frankie thali. Served in a collection of small dishes, a thali gives you the chance to enjoy many tastes in one meal even if you’re eating alone.

And if you’d rather order in, you can get Bombay Cafe’s food delivered by calling Eating In at (323) 655-3663. On a rainy night, that may be very appealing.

BE THERE

Bombay Cafe, 12021 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 473-3388. Open Tuesdays through Fridays for lunch; Tuesdays through Sundays for dinner. Appetizers $5 to $8; main courses $10 to $15; thali $7 to $10. Valet parking.