Bombay by Night

A quarter of a century is just about long enough for an Indian restaurant in Melbourne to achieve landmark status. And indeed, Bombay By Night is a certifiable fixture in Caulfield South, with the kitchen at this old-school South Asian eatery down North Road doling out thousands of traditional dishes to thousands of diners over the decades. Melbourne’s food critics have given Bombay By Night the nod, while the restaurant’s valued patrons tend to vote with their bellies. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, book a table now and find out why Bombay By Night has managed to remain a dining institution for so long.

Bombay By Night is a family-run affair, and the present generation of proprietors at this long-standing Melbourne Indian restaurant – Arvind, Jaspal, and Ravnish Gandhi – extend as warm a welcome to newcomers as they do to their devoted regulars. First-timers are always impressed when they take their seats at Bombay By Night’s Caulfield South premises along North Road – this is a stylish venue in which to enjoy skilful Indian cookery that remains essentially classical in character without shying away from the possibilities opened up by the judicious use of exotic ingredients to achieve bold new dishes.

One way to crack into Bombay By Night’s rather famous offering is to get together a party of at least four and go for the fixed price set menu: onion bhajiya, kebabs, and Bombay-style chicken tikka to start, followed by the vegetarian navratan korma, lamb rogan josh, chicken makhani, aloo gobi and plenty of rice, naan, and roti to share about the table. Caulfield South locals and veterans to what some critics have pegged as one of Melbourne’s best Indian restaurants will, however, enjoy comfortably wading into Bombay By Night’s tastefully restrained a la carte menu (unlike other Indian restaurants, these guys keep it relatively short, which means a fresh and considered selection). We like the desi dahi ghosht, a family recipe of lamb cooked in a mint yoghurt flavoured with whole fenugreek and cardamom, the chicken Mumbai or the creamy, nutty, fruity traditional Muglai curry of chicken jardaloo korma. Vegetarians are recommended the home-style alu bengan (slow-cooked aubergine and potato with onion, tomato and home-roasted dry spices) or the Punjabi dingri mutter with mushrooms and peas.