I tried going last night around 7:10 and there wasn’t a single seat. They told me a 45 wait. I knew there was going to be a wait, but my friend didn’t really feel like waiting that long. We went to Siam garden instead.
Hopefully this week I can try it out.
I’m glad they’re doing well already in that space. I liked Pho Le, but Red Bank has needed a good Indian restaurant for a long time.
I only glanced in there when I checked for a table. The spot appears to be laid out well. I wouldnt call it spacious, but it is better than some places that have the next table on your lap lol
So I finally got to Bombay river last night. I need to do a full report but it’s pretty decent
I got the trio (lamb ribs, shrimp and chicken) and she got the murg ka korma. This pic is pretty crappy but it is all I took.
To compare Bombay river to neelam, please see pic below. This is the 38.95 dinner for two from neelam. So it stacks up against the two dishes we got for 22 and 18 almost exactly in price, but there are some differences.
Neelam comes with naan and it is good! Look at that basket! That basket of naan at bombay cost me 8.00 (2 orders of garlic naan so 1 per slice.) I believe we got two sides of chutney comped which was a nice touch (tamarind and mint.) The bombay garlic naan was good and I liked the cilantro kick.
No papadum at bombay river.
Neelam comes with 2 soups and notice the two hearty sides of vegetable korma for each person…not sure if this was on the house but we got them. These are on the left along with the lamb Rogan Josh. Neelam dish also comes with a tea or coffee as well.
So as no surprise, the dollar does go a little farther outside of red bank. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that down town RB rent isn’t cheap. Overall, bombay river is a great addition to red bank. It is comfortable and not too claustrophobic, service was very good, and the owner Sam actually came up to talk about dishes which was nice. He seems quite passionate about his cooking. I liked his enthusiasm.
One trivial aspect, but important in my eyes, is the water service. At bombay they give you a glass pitcher of lemon water. I like to be able to pour water when eating spicy food and not sit around for the wait staff. This is a nice touch. And yes, I realize water does nothing to tone down the heat but I still chug it 
As for food quality and flavor, if I had to stack the trio at bombay against the mixed tandoori at neelam, I’d go with bombay. The bombay trio is a pungent dish and I’d say not for Indian food newbies. I got mine extra spicy and as a special request they caramelized the onions for me. That was nice job by the kitchen getting that right on the money! It came with 2 shrimp, two lambs ribs and probably 7 pieces or so of boneless chicken. To be honest , the chicken may have been the best. The ribs were super tender but I think my request for having it extra spicy detracted from the strong lamb flavor I love.
So all in all, I like this spot and will be back to try some more dishes. I think next up is a crab dish or two but if we can round up some HOs, I would love to try quite a few things.
@gcaggiano shout out for finally getting me to try neelam. It is nice to see a third local Indian spot and this should make competition interesting.
Ps, Deepak if you read this chime in. I’d love to see some kind of dinner for two menu featuring some of your best. Don’t worry, I will still be eating at Haldi Chowk 
Roti/chapati?
Dhosa?
Awesome review @corvette_johnny - I have to get to Bombay River soon.
I was looking through the menu online and I was wondering if a more apt comparison might be with Aarzu in Freehold. Bombay River also claims to serve gourmet Indian food and there are definitely some interesting things outside of the normal dishes on their menu.
I think you will like it Dave. As long as you realize you are paying some extra to be in red bank, the food is tasty and quality stuff! I enjoyed my meal there and I definitely want to try some other dishes. These crab dishes intrigue me. I don’t see much crab on Indian menus. As you know, I like my shellfish @gcaggiano and I are trying make it here this week some night, so if you’re around, I can try to work things out. The earliest I can do is probably 6 but that is rushing it.
Ps, and yes I need to try aarzu. It has been on my radar for a long time. I hear great things. Hopefully I can get you there soon. On a freehold topic, did the Caribbean place shut down?
So has anyone tried the poke spot yet? Vk I think you’re the man for the mission.
But does my colon agree? That’s the question.
I’m not up for cleaning under the rim if something goes wrong…
Raw tuna has never made me sick…not once. Chicken, on the other hand, well that’s a different story.
And his pal, Gumby…
Do they have Pickled Herring poke?
So I ate at Temple today. I will let my full review (coming shortly) do the talking, but man, I don’t have many nice things to say. What a dud.
Yup
My friend Justin and I were originally going to a food truck festival in Keansburg today. Because of how hot and humid it was, we then decided to go to an actual restaurant instead. Somewhere. Anywhere. We ended up in Red Bank and felt like Chinese. Having passed Temple many times and heard decent reviews, we figured we would give it a try. I will add that the full name of this restaurant includes the phrase “Gourmet Chinese Food”. I want you to keep that in mind as you look at the pictures and read the descriptions below. This “gourmet” approach is apparent as soon as you read the menu, and see the prices. There is Duck l’Orange, Grand Marnier Prawns, and Filet Mignon Egg Rolls. They do offer Americanized classics such as chicken and broccoli, but even the menu description tells you this is better than any other version you have had.
Due to the heat, I could have really used an ice-cold beer. They do have a full bar when you walk in, but a sign read “Liquor License Pending”. Did they lose it and were trying to get it back, or was there never a bar at all? Either way, it was a tease and a bit disappointing. But that issue will not affect the final score—I’ll leave their food to do that.
We started out with pork dumplings. Given the option to have steamed or pan-seared, we went with the latter. These were actually quite good, and the highlight of the meal. They were crispy on the bottom and soft and chewy on top. The dough was homemade and the filling was flavorful without being too salty. Hey, we were off to a good start. Justin even said they may have been the best dumplings he’d had. Unfortunately, that was the high water mark of this experience.
I was really intrigued by a dish called Crispy Peppercorn Chicken. I will present you with the menu description: “tender white meat chicken lightly dusted and quick-fried tossed in a finely chopped hot pepper relish”. I have bolded such words for a reason, because as you can see in the picture below, that chicken was battered and deep-fried, not lightly dusted and quick-fried. When I think of that second phrase, I imagine pan or stir-fry. I was also envisioning a peppercorn crust or coating since it said “dusted”. Also, there were no peppercorns anywhere to be seen, and the relish described was nothing more than slices and bits of raw jalapeno peppers.
Misnomers aside, I cannot say I was excited to see a mountain of deep-fried chunks of chicken in front of me, garnished with two tiny strawberry slices (not entirely visible in the picture), there for no apparent reason. They weren’t even ripe. I cannot complain about the portion size, but the chunks were so large it was nearly impossible to eat with chopsticks. It also became heavy halfway through, and I could not finish it. The chicken was adequately cooked but with no spice to this supposedly spicy dish, and everything else falsely advertised, I was sorely disappointed.
Justin had the Sesame Shrimp. Again, portion size was through the roof. At least his looked more appetizing than mine. The shrimp were indeed jumbo. Alas, he encountered the same exact problem here: a deep-fried mountain. Just because it was surrounded by broccoli florets does not make it any more appetizing. The sauce drizzled over the top did a lot to break up the dry monotony of this dish. But it was not enough to elevate it. I traded a few of my gourmet chicken nuggets for one of his shrimp. He did not like mine, while I still thought his was better than what I had. There was a bit more flavor and pop. They say you have to know what to order in certain restaurants. Perhaps we just managed to land two duds here, but based on this not-so-cheap meal, I wonder.
The only thing I will give them is nothing was greasy. Not at all. But maybe we should have bitten the bullet and gone to the food truck festival. I would have taken a hot dog sitting in three-year-old dirty water as opposed to navigating through this deep-fried extravaganza. The dumplings saved this place, and our meals were not horrible. But do you want to go to a restaurant for something merely edible? Temple gets 2.5 out of 5 stars from me, which is being kind. They should either drop the Gourmet from their name or ditch the deep-fryer. No reason to give them a second try. I’d rather order takeout from my local greasy spoon.
Original review taken from my blog here.
That’s tough man. Have heard about this liquor license quirk for a while too.
It’s odd bc their sister spot in manalapan is supposed to be quite good.
In the immediate vicinity the only place I really find above average is little schezhan in ls, which I know you like as well.
Either way thats a dog of a meal you had and def not worth what I’m sure was a super inflated price you paid for it.
$17 for my chicken, $22 for the shrimp.
Ugh. I’m angry for you!
