Living in New York City, there are many Indian places to eat from, many of which focus on
vegetarian foods. So how does one take a spin on the typical desi food and give it a modern
twist? The Bombay Sandwhich Co. which was founded in 2012, by husband and wife, Shiv
and Shiva, whom decided to open a restaurant in Chelsea Market with a California take and
a Punjabi spin off of homemade food consisting of certain spices and flavors rite in the
heart of New York. Moreso, they now also have a branch in Midtown Manhattan. Bombay
Sandwhich Co is more a lunch spot, a place to get a quick bite on the go, so keeping that in
mind, space offers seating, but not for a large crowd.
We had the opportunity to try the food over the week and experience what makes them so
different than the rest. Talking to restaurant owner, Shiv, he explained how they didn’t
want the typical Indian food of samosas and bhel puri, but instead have something that can
resonate with the South Asian community in regards to flavor and spice and give other
customers what they are already familiar with- such as wraps, sandwhiches, platters,
salads, and smoothies. There menu offers a variety of foods with Indian spices from back
home, which is homemade, and when we say homemade, we mean freshly grounded spices
sprinkled rite onto your food!
Shiv and Shiva definetly have done a phenomenal job incorporating Indian spices into
modern day food, but the real question is,, how does it taste?
We asked Shiv for the most popular dishes on the menu and decided on six items from the
menu, which he recommended. They were: honey-fennel grilled cheese; kale & hearty salad;
channa masala bowl; vegan mango lassi; yogi speacial and masala chai.
The first thing we ate was the grilled cheese sandwhich while it was fresh and hot off the
griddle and let me tell you it was delicious. It was sweet, savory, crunchy, and gooey all at
the same time, and the portion was good. Next thing we ate was the channa bowl, which
reminded me a lot of a bhudda bowl- it consists of a lot of items. Although I noticed the
ratio to rice and channa were kinda off, I figured everything else on the bowl may make up
for it. I had to try each item seperately so I can acutally taste the flavors, some were
bold, some were super spicy, and some just didn’t seem to stand out. When I tried it all
together, I just wasn’t a fan. I felt like it was just too much on the bowl and I really
couldn’t enjoy the bowl, I was picking one side then the other. The spices were definetly
there, but maybe a bit too much going on all at the same time. However, the portion of the
bowl is fairly large and can fill you up!
Next, we moved on to the salad, which was nice and light. The salad has a housemade
dressing which is really light, close to barely there which is good, because you get to enjoy
the components of the salad itself!
As for the drinks, I loved the Yogi Special, it definitely took me down memory lane and
reminded me of what my dad would make when I was younger. It was light and had the
perfect nutty flavors with spices. As for the mango lassi, it wasn’t too thick, nor was it
too sweet. It pairs perfectly with a meal and doesn’t make you feel bloated afterwards.
However, I wish I could say the same about the masala chai- because that was a
dissapointment. The masala chai tasted watered down, I was expecting a richer taste with
a subtle kick of spice. Although the spices were there, it just wasn’t milky enough for me.
So, there you have it, our experience at the Bombay Sandwhich Co. Please do keep in mind,
that each person has different preferances, what I may dislike one may love and vice
versa! 🙂
