South London’s Indian restaurant that changes its menu every three months

I felt like I spent an evening in an Indian state when I went to a Rajasthan themed restaurant in Wimbledon.

Bombay Delight is at 271-273 The Broadway and I went there with my mum for a mid-week meal.

As soon as I walked in, it felt like I had traveled from South London to a restaurant in India.

We could smell the spices from the kitchen in the atmosphere and were greeted by the wonderful manager Vishal.

The menu was different from the one I looked up online.

One of the reasons this restaurant stands out is that, as Vishal explained, every three months Bombay Delight changes its menu to focus on food from one of India’s 28 states.

And this time it was the Rajasthan special, which was described as ‘opulent’ and certainly lived up to its name.

For starters, I ordered the Surmai Ke Sooley which was pan marinated surmai fish served with house salad, coriander and mint chutney.

Despite the fish being slightly oversteamed and quite dry, the sides made it all redeemable.

My cousin ordered the Rajputana Lamb Chops which were a pair of perfectly marinated French cut lamb chops with mooli (white radish) and green chutney.

What really stood out to me was that everything looked authentic, from the dishes to the plates and cutlery to the elephant artefacts holding the patterned lights.

Even our drinks were served in authentic china glasses.

Our server Janice made us feel at ease with her kindness and professionalism.

For our food, we ordered Lal Maas – a famous Rajasthani lamb curry prepared with chillies and hot spices – a meal not for the faint of heart.

I had the Jaipur Safed Kukkad Korma which was chicken with nuts in a really creamy gravy.

I thought the mains were great after the starter, especially with the Lachha Paratha (naan) side.

But the best part of the night was definitely the desserts because there is always room for dessert.

I enjoyed creamy and delicious kulfi that had a tasty hint of ginger, while my cousin had two solid balls of milk fried and dipped in a sugar syrup with a spice called cardamom and rose water.

It was a perfect end to an amazing meal and topped off the evening of authenticity.

As soon as you step out of Bombay Delight, you are essentially out of India and back to the hustle and bustle of the streets of South London.

Overall, it was a great experience and unlike other Indian restaurants, it didn’t generalize by going with a typical Indian cuisine, but zoomed in on regions and states and the food from that area.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the nuanced flavors and specialties of India’s various regions.