After 3 long days at the Farnborough Air Show, we had to pack up to go to Leeds. But on our last evening, we decided to go into downtown Wokingham to find an interesting dinner. Wokingham is an old market town, and still has that basic layout at the town centre (Peach Place), so after parking, we found ourselves in the central market area of Wokingham looking at a handful of good options for outdoor dining. We ended up selecting an Indian restaurant, Bombay Story.
While Bombay Story had a very nice, elaborate dining room, the weather was phenomenal, so we opted to sit out in the patio. It’s a rather large patio, with sixteen or so small tables that can be reconfigured as needed, under two very large umbrellas that seem semi-permanent (I guess they might bring them in for winter, but it would be a lot of work). Despite being outside, the waitstaff very efficiently serves the tables, quickly getting us both cocktail menus and some recommendations for appetizers.
A pleasant surprise we had at Bombay Story is that they have an impressive list of about 20 cocktails. I went for their Delhi Old Fashioned, which was a straightforward take on the classic cocktail: Bourbon, Grand Marnier and a dash of Orange & Clove Bitters. The clove added a nice note here, and was a nice “Indian” complement to the various appetizers.
My colleague went for a similar drink, the Bombay Cartel. A blend of Single Malt and Sauternes, stirred with Agave and a few dashes of tobacco and coffee bitters. This was a particularly good combination of both spirit (Bourbon) and sweet (Sauternes) notes, with enough bitters to round it out. And we were all intrigued by the nice dried leaf garnish as well.
As we were enjoying our cocktails, they brought out our appetizers. Bombay Story has a strong appetizer game, starting with some crispy mini papads in assorted flavours, along with lotus root chips, served with house chutneys. The papads and lotus chips were nice and crisp, and both the mint and onion-pepper chutney quite flavorful; this makes for almost a perfect appetizer combined with some nicely spiced cocktails like the ones we were enjoying.
Our second appetizer was a chicken papdi chaat: small chicken tikka pieces, with fresh coriander, date and tamarind chutney, beetroot, yoghurt and onions, served up on a crisped puri. The chicken was flavorful, the puri nice and crispy, and the yogurt and chutney a light, refreshing garnish. A solid appetizer.
For my main course, I looked over the menu. Bombay Story had a good selection of my favorite Indian dishes, but I in the house specialty section they had one that I don’t usually see on US Indian menus: Kaala Beef (black beef). Kala Beef is a robust curry made with tender beef slow cooked in a dark, flavourful gravy. The deep, smoky colour and rich taste come from a unique blend of roasted spices, grilled onions, and dry-roasted coconut. This was unusual for me, since in the US it is really rare to see beef in an Indian restaurant (the majority of US Indian restaurants are either run by Hindu folk, or patronized by them, and beef isn’t allowed, but you’ll occasionally run into muslim-owned places with some beef dishes). I really enjoyed this: the beef was tender, and the curry sauce smoky, spicy, and nicely layered with both herbal and pepper notes. I’d happily get this again.
It’s not often at an Indian place that I have “menu envy”, but one of my colleagues ordered the Rajputana lamb chops: lamb chops, marinated in ginger, cumin, and aromatic Rajasthani sula masala, then grilled. These came out from the kitchen looking absolutely perfectly crisped and well spiced, and my colleague Jeff even was generous enough to share a bit: these had the perfect level of lamb flavor, spicy, fat, and crisping, and were incredibly good. I’d also not hesitate to order these myself.
But the biggest surprise at Bombay Story is that their desert game was at least as good as their cocktail and appetizer games. They had a lot of really great looking desserts, most of which weren’t Indian classics (although part of me was disappointed they didn’t have a good kulfi). I had this absolutely perfect pistachio tira misu, that was everything I like in a good tira misu: nicely soaked biscuits (soaked with a mix of espresso and pistachio liqueur), a nice cream, and composed with just enough time that it starts to soften without getting soggy. This was a solid dessert…
…but two others at the table got another dessert, the chocolate chai brulée with Amarena sorbet. I didn’t try it, but they raved about it. A nicely executed spiced chocolate custard with the perfect torched brittle top. Add in a nice Amarena sorbet, and both folks that ordered this loved it.
So… we all loved Bombay Story. All our courses, from cocktail and appetizers, to mains and desserts, were flavorful and well-executed. Spicing was nicely applied, and the dishes thoughtful in composition. Add in a very pleasant staff, and I can see why this place is popular (it had a waiting list by the time we finished up). I not only want to go back, I’ll probably go out of my way to return if I’m again in the area for work or pleasure.
