Bombay Club - Jan 07 Restaurant Week

This was my first time at the Bombay Club. It's seems more formal than Georgetown's Heritage India -- perhaps the high ceilings give the room a little more gravitas, but I think it goes beyond that. The waiters didn't seem so well-worn, the host was more convivial and the service was simply a cut above Georgetown's Heritage.

The food, however, came in a little below that lofty standard. Like with lunch at Kaz, Matt & I took one look at the $30.07 restaurant week menu and decided we could do better for less money by just ordering a la carte.

To start, I had the Peri-Peri fish, which I found to be medium-low on the indian food spice barometer (a mid-level vindaloo comes in as "hot" in my world), but was well-seasoned with a variety of dried spieces (including the Peri-Peri pepper for which the dish was named) and sauteed lightly enough that it didn't feel drenched in butter or oil.

I chose Goa Fish curry for an entree, a dish that alwasy tempts me. In some regards, it serves as my indian food barometer. In this incarnation, the mild white fish came in a too-mild, too-thin red-brown curry sauce. Though tasty, I prefer the heartier green curry I've had at some other Indian restaurants in the District.

Matt started with a moist, delicious lamb kebab, which I think came above a whipped carb of some sort. It was the thick, rich mint sauce that the lamb, served on the side, that really made the dish. It reminded me of the mint sauce they serve at Naan & Beyond, but an upscale, better-composed version, with a more creamy, yogurty consistency. For Matt's entree, he chose the chicken korma. It was interchangable with any number of standard indian chicken dishes I've had -- good, but unremarkable, a step up from the $10 indian buffet, but definitely in the same ballpark.

Also, the dal was a little soupy for my taste.

All in all, after this largely restaurant-crushing review, I enjoyed the place and will return. I've got my eye on a chicken dish with green chiles that is described as "not for the faint of heart." I guess we'll see if that's me.