Written by Saadia Ahmed
Bollywood Bites LA Review
Currently working in Westwood, a commercial and residential neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA, I am always looking for new lunch options. One day, I was craving Indian food and stumbled upon Bollywood Bites, located on Gayley Avenue. Having regularly watched Bollywood movies growing up, I am huge fan to this day and therefore, the name of this restaurant struck a chord with me. As such, I decided to give it a try.
As soon as you enter Bollywood Bites, you are greeted with a wall of fame with pictures of both Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities that have dined there. The ambience is very clean and colorful with bright orange and red walls and comfortable brown furniture. The walls are decorated with Indian cultural artwork, which gives an authentic feel to the restaurant.
Though the menu offers traditional Indian dishes including Samosa, vegetable pakora (fried vegetable fritters), tandoori chicken, Seekh Kabob (minced lamb on skewer) and butter chicken among others, what makes this eatery stand out is their lunch specials, which are available from Monday through Friday from 11 am to 3 pm. You have the option to choose between a two-item bowl, whereby you can choose from a selection of vegetarian or meat entrées with basmati rice for only $7.99 or a Thali combo, which comes with rice, naan, salad, dal (lentils) and a choice of vegetarian or meat entrée for only $10.99.
I started off my lunch with an appetizer called Samosa Chat Masala. What arrived was a mixture of half-cut pastries stuffed with potato topped with chick peas, onions, yogurt and mint sauces. I wish the pastries had been cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to eat. It felt like a warm and mushy l, yet yummy mess in my mouth!
For my main entrée, I decided to order the Thali combo with Chicken Tikka Masala, grilled boneless pieces of chicken cooked with tomato sauce and herbs. The servers were kind enough to let me substitute the Dal and salad with the Channa Masala (chick peas cooked with herbs) from the selection of vegetarian entrees, demonstrating the great customer service the restaurant has to offer.
As I tore each piece of the crispy Naan and mixed it with the rich, creamy, sweet sauce and pieces of the soft boneless chicken, each bite melted in my mouth, making me feel heavenly. The mix of the Channa Masala and rice was flavorful and scrumptious. While listening to the familiar Bollywood tunes they were playing and enjoying the muted Bollywood flick that was displayed on their big screen TV, I savored every bite of the mouthwatering cuisine.
As I like to say, no matter how full you are, there is always room for dessert! Naturally, I ended my lunch with Gulab Jamun, two milk balls coated in honey. They were soft, warm and extremely sweet, providing the perfect end to the meal. As I left the restaurant, I was so full that I felt I would slip into a food coma!
Given the extremely satisfying experience, I can see myself becoming a regular Bollywood Bites LA customer. I will certainly be going back to try more of the entrees the restaurant has to offer as I am sure they will be delicious!