D.C.’s Bombay Club Brings Indian Flair to Winter Restaurant Week

A chilly D.C. weekend was met with a delightful, authentic dinner experience at the 23-year-old refined Indian spot The Bombay Club. As soon as you step through the impressive double doors in the downtown restaurant, you are greeted by the attentive staff and guided to your table. With its warm lighting, shuttered windows and multitude of plants, The Bombay Club transports you to a private veranda on a warm summer evening. On select weekends, a live pianist adds to the ambiance. Once you’re done taking in your luxurious surroundings, you can embark on your culinary journey with The Bombay Club’s generous Winter Restaurant Week menu, available through February 7.

After settling in, my dinner date and I were ready to begin our evening with a couple of cocktails. Our waiter, Deepak, suggested the Bombay G&T featuring a spiced gin infused with green chili, cardamom and lime. It was delicious and displayed an utterly unique taste for a gin and tonic. From seven appetizer options, we decided on the lamb goolar kebab and crispy kale chat, another of Deepak’s suggestions. Both were great, but the kale chat was to die for, perfectly crisped and bursting with flavor from the date tamarind chutney dressing. It was just light enough to eat about two servings of without feeling bad about it.

It was difficult to narrow down which entrees to order as they all sounded intriguing, but we landed on the chicken korma and goan shrimp curry, both served with rice and fresh naan. The shrimp curry was coconut-based and spiced with dry red chili. After one bite, I was in gastronomic heaven. The chicken korma was milder but almost more decadent and made a perfect pairing with the gin and tonic. At this point, I was already getting full but knew the best was yet to come.

Rounding off our flight through traditional Indian cuisine were the desserts. We had four tough choices, but the ever-helpful Deepak guided us toward fig ginger sticky toffee pudding served with cardamom cream and the banana cardamom phirni. The sticky pudding was served warm and melted in the mouth while the cardamom cream was refreshing and unique. The cardamom and the fresh banana in the phirni worked together in harmony, allowing both flavors to shine.

I was able to enjoy The Bombay Club’s dinner menu at the start of this week and am already planning my return so that I may experience all of the different meal possibilities. The Bombay Club has both lunch and dinner Restaurant Week offerings with menus allowing guests to choose their own three-course meals at a fixed price. Their lunch menu is $22 per person, while dinner is $35 or $55 for the special dinner menu. You can also opt to enjoy the offering to-go with a reduced price, $60 for dinner for two at home and $100 for the special dinner at home. No matter if you dine at home or on location, I suggest bringing a partner to dine with so that you may taste more of the delicacies the menus have to offer.

Reservations to The Bombay Club are suggested. Learn more about their offerings by visiting www.bombayclubdc.com or following them on Facebook and Twitter @bombayclubdc.

The Bombay Club: 815 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC; 202-659-3727; www.bombayclubdc.com // @bombayclubdc

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