[Smalley]

We have an Indian Restaurant in TV now and that's a positive for us all. We had lunch there today and enjoyed it. The room has booths and some open tables. The menu is large and includes good vegetarian choices as well as lots of chicken, lamb and goat. You can specify how spicy you want your dish. The aloe gobi....cauliflower and potato in a sauce was tasty. The bread....naan and paratha....seemed right out of the oven...were fresh and excellent. The Dal....a lentil dish...was too watery for my taste. Usually it's much thicker, like a spread which will stick to the bread. Next time, I'll try some spicier options and some other dishes. The Inidan Restaurant in Ocala, Amarit Palace is the gold standard but you don't always want a long drive for a meal. Check the hours of Bombay Palace; I remember closed on Monday.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Smalley

We have an Indian Restaurant in TV now and that's a positive for us all. We had lunch there today and enjoyed it. The room has booths and some open tables. The menu is large and includes good vegetarian choices as well as lots of chicken, lamb and goat. You can specify how spicy you want your dish. The aloe gobi....cauliflower and potato in a sauce was tasty. The bread....naan and paratha....seemed right out of the oven...were fresh and excellent. The Dal....a lentil dish...was too watery for my taste. Usually it's much thicker, like a spread which will stick to the bread. Next time, I'll try some spicier options and some other dishes. The Inidan Restaurant in Ocala, Amarit Palace is the gold standard but you don't always want a long drive for a meal. Check the hours of Bombay Palace; I remember closed on Monday.

I finally tried Amarit Palace a couple of weeks ago. I was not very happy about it. I asked for what I always get - chicken curry, medium-hot spice, with buttered naan and basmati rice. While I waited, I noticed no one brought me any papadum or tamarind sauce, so I asked about it. They brought me a little thing of mango chutney, and after I was halfway through with my entree they finally brought the papadum, which was brown (almost burned) and SALTED. Horrible.

The curry was so bland I had to actually ask them to spice it up. When they did, it was only marginally tastier. The naan was good, and the meal came with soup, and I selected the lentil soup which was actually delicious and the best part of the meal. The rice was plain - no peas, no cumin seeds, not a hint of saffron, which was disappointing.

I was so underwhelmed that I put most of it in a take-out container, thinking maybe I'd get through the rest of it for dinner. I ordered gulab jamun for dessert, and they were hard, too dense in the middle, and the sauce was just plain simple syrup, no rosewater, no pistachios, no nuttin.

Bombay Bistro was definitely better, and had better service (and obviously MUCH closer to home - I can park my golf cart at Walmart and walk across 441 at the light if I wanted to).

But of the three I've tried so far in the area, Shiva in Mt. Dora remains my favorite.

[mraines]

Originally Posted by Smalley

We have an Indian Restaurant in TV now and that's a positive for us all. We had lunch there today and enjoyed it. The room has booths and some open tables. The menu is large and includes good vegetarian choices as well as lots of chicken, lamb and goat. You can specify how spicy you want your dish. The aloe gobi....cauliflower and potato in a sauce was tasty. The bread....naan and paratha....seemed right out of the oven...were fresh and excellent. The Dal....a lentil dish...was too watery for my taste. Usually it's much thicker, like a spread which will stick to the bread. Next time, I'll try some spicier options and some other dishes. The Inidan Restaurant in Ocala, Amarit Palace is the gold standard but you don't always want a long drive for a meal. Check the hours of Bombay Palace; I remember closed on Monday.

I believe this is in Summerfield, not the Villages and you need a car to get there.

[BillyGrown]

It’s on the list to try out. Thank you for sharing.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by mraines

I believe this is in Summerfield, not the Villages and you need a car to get there.

Yes, it's across from Walmart on 441. However, if you're "adventurous" you can drive your golf cart (legally) to Walmart, and park it there. And then cross 441 on foot at the crosswalk. Bombay Bistro is in that strip-mall, behind McDonald's.

[Flyers999]

Wow. Can't wait to try it. I hope when I mention gluten-free or dairy-free they don't look at me like I'm crazy or pretend they didn't hear me.

I prefer buffets. I've been eating from salad bars and buffets my whole life and haven't died yet.

BTW when I bought golf cart insurance, the agent said that if I were in an accident driving across a street that was off-limits to golf carts, the policy would still hold. Really!

[CFrance]

Did Bombay Bistro get cutlery and dishware yet? When they first opened it was plastic forks and knives. They said silverware was on the way. We were waiting.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

I finally tried Amarit Palace a couple of weeks ago. I was not very happy about it. I asked for what I always get - chicken curry, medium-hot spice, with buttered naan and basmati rice. While I waited, I noticed no one brought me any papadum or tamarind sauce, so I asked about it. They brought me a little thing of mango chutney, and after I was halfway through with my entree they finally brought the papadum, which was brown (almost burned) and SALTED. Horrible.

The curry was so bland I had to actually ask them to spice it up. When they did, it was only marginally tastier. The naan was good, and the meal came with soup, and I selected the lentil soup which was actually delicious and the best part of the meal. The rice was plain - no peas, no cumin seeds, not a hint of saffron, which was disappointing.

I was so underwhelmed that I put most of it in a take-out container, thinking maybe I'd get through the rest of it for dinner. I ordered gulab jamun for dessert, and they were hard, too dense in the middle, and the sauce was just plain simple syrup, no rosewater, no pistachios, no nuttin.

Bombay Bistro was definitely better, and had better service (and obviously MUCH closer to home - I can park my golf cart at Walmart and walk across 441 at the light if I wanted to).

But of the three I've tried so far in the area, Shiva in Mt. Dora remains my favorite.

I’m sorry you had a bad experience at Amrit Palace. I’ve eaten there perhaps a dozen times, and it has always been wonderful. Their Samosa Chaat appetizer is delicious and a meal in itself. I took an Indian friend from The Villages there for dinner, and she loved it and thought it was the real thing. Well—most of the customers seem to be Indians. Their new menu, alas, no longer has Bhindi (okra stir fried in spices), as I always ordered that. I guess they were having a hard time sourcing fresh okra of the right small size. Their prices have also gone up. Dinner for two with tip is always over $100 for me.

I’ve never considered complimentary poppadums to be part of dining in an Indian restaurant. It’s sort of like going to non-touristy Italian restaurants in Italy and expecting to receive fresh bread and olive oil with spices in it for dunking, then discovering that’s an American thing, not an Italian thing.

Not speaking to YOU about this, but I’ve noticed that I need to be careful about restaurant reviews—especially the number of stars. I only want reviews from those who actually know that sort of food well and are fit to judge it. I’ve seen high Yelp ratings for pizza I know is mediocre because I’ve tried it, or giving Taco Bell a five star rating for its Mexican food or Panda Express a high rating for its Chinese food or McDonald’s a high rating for its burgers—or its shakes.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I’m sorry you had a bad experience at Amrit Palace. I’ve eaten there perhaps a dozen times, and it has always been wonderful. Their Samosa Chaat appetizer is delicious and a meal in itself. I took an Indian friend from The Villages there for dinner, and she loved it and thought it was the real thing. Well—most of the customers seem to be Indians. Their new menu, alas, no longer has Bhindi (okra stir fried in spices), as I always ordered that. I guess they were having a hard time sourcing fresh okra of the right small size. Their prices have also gone up. Dinner for two with tip is always over $100 for me.

I’ve never considered complimentary poppadums to be part of dining in an Indian restaurant. It’s sort of like going to non-touristy Italian restaurants in Italy and expecting to receive fresh bread and olive oil with spices in it for dunking, then discovering that’s an American thing, not an Italian thing.

Not speaking to YOU about this, but I’ve noticed that I need to be careful about restaurant reviews—especially the number of stars. I only want reviews from those who actually know that sort of food well and are fit to judge it. I’ve seen high Yelp ratings for pizza I know is mediocre because I’ve tried it, or giving Taco Bell a five star rating for its Mexican food or Panda Express a high rating for its Chinese food or McDonald’s a high rating for its burgers—or its shakes.

It's interesting that it's customary at Indian restaurants in America, but not in India. Regardless, it IS customary in America, so when it doesn't come, I'm disappointed. And the salted, overbaked papadum - blech. And served AFTER I was almost finished with my entree? Pointless.

I'm not fond of bland, almost-sweet curry. I like it savory and spicy. So when they ask me how I want mine, and I tell them "medium-hot" I expect it to be something other than bland, and almost-sweet. I like that Shiva's presentation fits my expectations. Every Indian restaurant I've been to up north has been slightly different from each other - some use more cinnamon, some use more ginger, some use a thicker "stew-like" red sauce and others use a thinner creamier variety. And actual Indians are common customers at most of them. The one that never had any Indian customers went out of business the same year they opened. No one was surprised.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

It's interesting that it's customary at Indian restaurants in America, but not in India. Regardless, it IS customary in America, so when it doesn't come, I'm disappointed. And the salted, overbaked papadum - blech. And served AFTER I was almost finished with my entree? Pointless.

I'm not fond of bland, almost-sweet curry. I like it savory and spicy. So when they ask me how I want mine, and I tell them "medium-hot" I expect it to be something other than bland, and almost-sweet. I like that Shiva's presentation fits my expectations. Every Indian restaurant I've been to up north has been slightly different from each other - some use more cinnamon, some use more ginger, some use a thicker "stew-like" red sauce and others use a thinner creamier variety. And actual Indians are common customers at most of them. The one that never had any Indian customers went out of business the same year they opened. No one was surprised.

Different strokes for different folks. I'd try all of them and see which one makes MY tastebuds happy. As far as the freebie food before the meal, I'm not in to that. It always appears to me an effort to dull the appetite so the food is more acceptable.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by CFrance

Did Bombay Bistro get cutlery and dishware yet? When they first opened it was plastic forks and knives. They said silverware was on the way. We were waiting.

Call them and ask!