Bombay Club (#257, 4/10/13) – 62
Don’t be misled, The Bombay Club is not Indian food. It seems to take its name from what you would imagine a British club-type place would be like in India in the late 1800s. It’s connected to the Prince Conti Hotel within a couple of blocks of Bourbon Street, but it doesn’t come across as being a hotel restaurant. The casual-style bar is essentially part of the restaurant which gives the overall place a more casual feel. There is live music most nights, just a small band playing basic jazz music (Louis Prima and the like); good volume so you can still talk.
The food here was very good – I had the stuffed shrimp, which was very good – the stuffing is quite rich (no surprise). Added some asparagus with it, which was also good. I also sampled the drum, which was outstanding – a massive hunk of tasty fish with bearnaise sauce. I would get that if I went back. So for food, I’m going with a 38 out of 50.
I always forget where drinks come into my ratings. Should that be under food or atmosphere? Regardless, they have a very extensive martini list here. If martinis are your drink, come by this place and at least visit the bar. While not a martini, I went with “Death in the Afternoon,” primarily due to the name. It’s a champagne cocktail with the bubbly being mixed with absinthe. I really want to like absinthe, but I continue to struggle to finding good combinations for it (the sazerac seems to the best use thus far). This drink was decent, but don’t think I’d go for another – an edit here, very interesting, “Death in the Afternoon” is a drink invented by Hemingway, and he even has a book by that name – a book that has now been added to my reading list.
The atmosphere is mostly described above, except for one quirk – the tables were very wide. I felt like a little kid trying to lean up to the table to be able to hear what’s going on across the way. Not a big deal, but weird. I would say out of 30 points for atmosphere, I’ll give them a 19.
Service is where the problems came up. As far as I could tell, they had a manager, a bartender, a hostess and two waiters. And it’s a decent-sized place. In other words, the service wasn’t good. Our waiter, Luan, was either incompetent, frazzled or overwhelmed. We ordered drinks which took forever, but still planned on having another. He came by the table, picked up our empty glasses without a word and left. Interesting. It also took quite a while to get the bill, even though I asked quite early (figuring it may take a while).
They even had a local celebrity sighting, as piano great Ronnie Kole came in with his wife. After much doting by the manager, Luan managed to ignore them for quite awhile as well. So for service, they’re getting a five out of 20.
Final score = 62.
Death in the Afternoon.
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