Bombay Palace, 286 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth (From Bournemouth Echo)

Bombay Palace, 286 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth

6:00am Wednesday 24th February 2010 in

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I ATTENDED the opening night, or I should say the re-opening night, of Bombay Palace curry house in Winton to see if a favourite haunt from my university days was still up to scratch and whether the aesthetic changes had made a difference.

We arrived at 5.30pm as the final touches were being made to the decorations and we were the first people to be seated in the tastefully re-done restaurant.

The menu still looks the same as before and I was assured the food would still be of the highest quality, as the long-serving chef was still at the helm in the kitchen.

I was pleased to hear that Bombay Palace have no plans to stop their ridiculously good value seven-course banquet meals on Tuesday and Thursday nights – a real winner back in the uni days when every pound spent on a restaurant meal was resented.

We had poppadoms to start with the usual pickle tray – including a very moreish mint yoghurt sauce – and then ordered our mains, rice and naans. I opted for a Chicken Tikka Bhuna Balti with Special Fried Rice and Keema Naan, while my brother was a bit more adventurous and chose the Raj Massala (an aromatic medium dish cooked with spices from the southern region of India) and a keema naan.

Our mains arrived fairly promptly and the short time they did take was filled with a very pleasant chat with the owner who explained the history of the curry house from its opening day back in 1990.

Both main dishes were excellent and served in the same plentiful portions as I remembered. The only criticism was that both dishes were a bit too mild (for what were supposed to be medium strength), nevertheless they didn’t disappoint in the flavour department.

The rice portion was sufficient to share between two hungry young men and I was very happy with the keema naans that were filled so much with tasty meat it was trying to escape out of the top of the naan.

If you’re craving an Indian feast that won’t break the bank then you can’t go far wrong with Bombay Palace – it’s unlikely you’ll ever leave there anything other than stuffed and satisfied.

Our meal came to a very reasonable £19.70 (excluding drinks) and I’m pleased to say that’s how I remember it circa 2007.