3 stars for the food with an additional star for originality, service and decor.
We were a bit hesitant to try Bombay Spice after reading Mr K's review on their first location. It seems that the owners have taken Mr K's advice to heart and upped the level of spice.
Bombay Spice offers a healthy interpretation of Indian food by not deepfrying, not using butter, ghee (clarified butter), or cream.
Unfortunately this means that the Samosa loses all crunch with the filling steaming up the outer pastry. The potato filling was nicely spiced but that still didn't make up for the soft exterior.
The Chickpea Ceviche - a grander name for the Indian street snack Bhel Puri on the other hand would have benefited from more spices. The Pappadums that are offered with it is a nice crispy contrast to the cool and tangy combination of chickpeas, cucumbers, tamarind, mint and coriander.
Not sure why I ordered the Seared Scallops in landlocked Phoenix. I still remember Spike on Top Chef this season madly drying his frozen scallops and still did not manage get the crispy outer sear on his scallops. Similarly these had a nice dark sear but the exterior was not in the least bit crispy. The veggie skewer accompanying it had nice smokiness from being chargrilled.
The lamb chops or more appropriately lamb lollipops on the other hand was overly spiced. We wish it was served with some starch or even a few slices of cucumber for contrast.
A great alternative to the usually heavy Indian food. I will definitely give them another try in hopes that they get their spicing under control. I love the decor and the way the chef came out to describe food reminded us of ourselves at our ice cream shop. Hooray for independents with innovative original concepts!