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A new Indian restaurant with a cinematic twist.
Perhaps because it is located next to a movie theater in Dublin, the name and theme of this place draws from Bollywood in Mumbai, India. So the otherwise plain dining room is adorned with posters of Indian films and movie stars, and the restaurant’s website is movie-themed, too. Though the website claims there are dishes from the “cafés of Mumbai,” the menu here, while extensive, is really just a survey of Indian cooking.
Indian curries, masalas, vindaloos, kormas and the like are based on spice mixtures of dried seeds, nuts and pods, which are available at your local Kroger in bottles and jars—pre-ground and pre-mixed. A jar of curry powder or garam masala is not nearly as flavorful as just-toasted and freshly ground combinations of cardamom pods, turmeric root, chilies, coriander, mustard seed and other fragrant spices that make their way into Indian cooking. Fortunately, the dishes I sampled at Bollywood tasted of recently made-up spice mixtures. This makes a simple chicken or lamb dish much better than you might find elsewhere, and it will clear your sinuses, too.
So where to begin with this big menu? Though the samosas and pakoras were fine, I’d recommend the various curries and one or more of the restaurant’s good breads, from plain naan to fried or baked offerings with various fillings or flavorings, such as onion, garlic or meat. The breads are very much needed if you order spicy dishes.
Among the dishes worth eating was a powerful lamb vindaloo—a paste of spices, garlic, onion and some vinegar. This version is hot and requires plenty of rice and bread to cool the palate. Lamb or chicken curry was good, too—milder than the vindaloo, but still a fragrant and spicy plate of food. If you aren’t up for that much “oomph” in your cuisine, try korma—a type of curry (really, almost any preparation here is a type of curry) usually made with yogurt or coconut milk. These can be mildly or even moderately spicy, but the dairy or coconut smooths out the flavors and adds a lovely richness. All these preparations could be had with vegetables alone, chicken, lamb, fish, shrimp and even goat. Now, goat is lean and can be a little chewy, but it has a distinctive and pleasing flavor. Give it a try.
If something a little less challenging suits your taste, the biryani dishes were worthy of attention. Biryani is a rice-based dish with any combination of vegetables, meat or fish. Vegetable biryani will remind you a bit of vegetable fried rice in composition and texture, but the flavors were of the spices of this cuisine. Another good choice was saags—spinach-based dishes, the best known of which is saag paneer, with cubes of white farmer’s-type cheese. Butter and/or cream were part of this dish, but not too much, and the shrimp version was particularly tasty.
I can heartily recommend the tandoori dishes—chicken, shrimp and fish rubbed with a bright red spice paste (from red chilies) and cooked in a cylindrical clay tandoor oven. A deft touch kept the ingredients moist, while they were fully cooked.
Bollywood offered a better-than-decent lunch buffet with a changing menu. A more extensive buffet is served all day on Sunday.
Bollywood Bistro
2584 Bethel Rd.
457-5000
Atmosphere: Plain, but adorned with movie posters.
Recommended dishes: Curries, lamb vindaloo, biryani dishes, saags, tandoori offerings.
Price range: Appetizers $2-$5; soups and wraps $3-$6; entrees $9-$16; breads $2-$6; side dishes $1-$4; desserts $2-$8.
Hours: Lunch buffet: Monday through Friday 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, Saturday till 3 pm and all day Sunday; dinner: Monday through Saturday 5 to 10 pm.
Service: Prompt and competent.
Reservations: Accepted.
Rating: ***
