Simon Haslam
Locals love this Indian restaurant, perhaps because Rahul and his wife Radhika were locals themselves for five years before they decided to bring the flavours of Bombay to Byron Bay. While Bombay itself (now officially called Mumbai) is on the west coast of India, it is very diverse in culture as people from all over the country have come to call Mumbai their home, and along with that, they have brought their local food.
Mumbai, like the Bombay to Byron restaurant, has many influences from northern India, southern India and all along the western coast of India. Dishes on the menu like Mutter Paneer, Palak Paneer, Butter Chicken, Lamb Rogan Josh and Lamb Korma are amongst the restaurant’s most popular dishes. Their lunchtime menu includes the popular Masala Dosa, Chicken Dosa, and Uttapam from the southern part of India and kathi rolls from Lucknow.
‘My wife and I both are from western state of Gujarat. Radhika’s maternal family is from Bombay, and hence the influence’ Rahul explains. ‘We started in June 2014 with an aim to provide the best quality, authentic Indian food, that is affordable, enjoyable, and value for money for the locals.
We are very grateful for the support and love that our community has shown us for the last nine years.’
In January, the restaurant was forced by impending redevelopment to move across the road from the North Plaza to 93 Jonson St, a move which Rahul said has worked out really well for them, with increased visibility and foot traffic they haven’t lost any of their local trade in the move.
‘We’ve got a stable staff, and we’re often in the restaurant ourselves, so we’ve been able to build a real connection with our guests, most of whom are regulars. We know what they like, where they like to sit, and they know who’s out the back cooking for them,’ Rahul says.
The restaurant prides itself on having a lot of vegetarian and vegan main courses, as well as entrees. ‘Being vegetarian ourselves, we saw sometimes we wouldn’t get many options to choose from in other cuisines, or in other restaurants. So, we make sure that our menu reflects plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.’
‘In particular we have a range of vegetarian entrees, something many restaurants don’t offer, like Palak Patta Chaat, Papadi Chat, Hara Bhara Kebabs, Jodhpuri Chilli Poppers, Achari Mushrooms and Paneer Tikka Sauflana.
‘For meat lovers, we have got everyone’s favourite Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala and Goat Curry, and all the meat is halal-certified. For seafood lovers we have got you covered with Tandoori prawn, Andaman Fish Curry, Goan fish curry, or the Bengali Prawn Curry (Chingari Malai), traditionally from Kolkata, made with mustard oil in a creamy coconut sauce,’ says Rahul.
And, whatever you’re eating, and wherever you come from in the local area, you can also be sure that Rahul and his team are pleased to have you in their restaurant. After all, they set it up to bring the taste of Bombay to Byron locals like you!
Bombaytobyron.com.au
Open seven days for lunch, dinner and takeaway
(no lunch Monday).
Shop 3 / 93 Jonson Street, Byron Bay. Phone 6680 7437.
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