• CLOSED: Bombay Aloo

  • (52)
    23

    Closed

  • White Vegan
Vegan
Indian
Buffet
Beer/Wine

All-you-can-eat Indian buffet restaurant featuring a small selection and includes a few raw items. Sample items such as tarka dahl, chickpea aloo, vegetable korma, veg curry, pakora, samosa, and onion bhaji. Self service. Oct 2018 reported fully vegan. Reported closed, Jun 2020.


Venue map for Bombay Aloo
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52 Reviews

First Review by Deano

Captain Mainwearing

Points +48

Vegetarian
17 Sep 2014

A Buffet to remember!

The Bombay Aloo is a wonderful restaurant that always has a superb tasty range of buffet dishes on offer. Here are the best simple and delicious meals I’ve had.
They also serve a great pot of tea.
Pleasant surroundings.
Excellent food at an affordable price.

Pros: Incredible range buffet, Taste!, Price!

Cons: None

indiana14

Points +20

Vegan
28 May 2014

I wouldnt eat here..

Phones this restaurant to enquire about vegan options after hearing from a friend that the vegan options had improved. The man who answered told me that it was very inconvenient not to use milk in the dishes and so they only had one dish - a curry which was "vegan, but it might have milk in it"! I asked if he could find out for certain which dishes would be suitable and he said "no we wouldn't be able to do that". Oh well..in that case I wouldn't dare eat here.

Cons: Rude staff, Don't know ingredients of dishes on menu, Not accommodating to vegans

cmwilmowski

Points +134

Vegan
22 Sep 2013

Affordable, tasty and almost entirely vegan.

Great for a quick bite - especially if you're visiting Brighton and looking for a tasty, affordable meal. The staff are more than happy to point out what isn't vegan - which is only a few items (naan bread, one of the battered items, yogurt and the korma curry, but double check when you're there). As much as you can eat for around £5 - but cheaper during the day and for takeaway. I think it's £2 for a curry and rice box. Quick service, don't expect anything amazing but sometimes you just want to eat quickly and move on!

Pros: Quick, easy and cheap., Almost everything is vegan.

itsmeagain

Points +482

Vegan
16 Sep 2013

budget price food

Average sloppy joe type Indian food at a budget cost. Huge chunks of boiled spud in each curry, most of which are utterly tasteless and bland.Tasteless bhajis and a similar potato creation that is utterly unseasoned and tasteless.
Food definitely not great but filling if you are really hungry.

Pros: cheap

Cons: bland, tasteless

veggiebubble

Points +109

Vegetarian
05 Aug 2013

Good budget Indian

The food is far from perfect but it's pretty tasty and very good for such a low cost place. I sometimes get takeaway from here (£2 a box for a pretty reasonable amount) or go for the £3.50 offer mid-afternoon.

Pros: Price, Good for all you can eat

Cons: Food quality not brilliant

Anneluren

Points +45

Vegan
07 Feb 2013

Good, afordable food

I've eaten here quite often, they have discounted meals between 15-17. The food is good, plenty of vegan meals, and the naan bread is really good. The staff are friendly and happy to point out the vegan options.
The restaurant is a pleasant place to eat, not noisy, even though it is pretty much right next to the main thorough road in town.

charasi-i

18 Oct 2014

Nikki1801

Points +963

Vegan
19 Jan 2013

Nice buffet

We ate here about a year ago and we were veggie at the time, so I can't comment on dairy etc, but we thought it was good value and there was a good amount on offer. The staff were friendly enough and the place was busy, so it must be doing alright!
We're vegan now though, so if we did go back we'd check what was available before starting to be sure (after reading these reviews)

upior

Points +119

Vegan
30 Aug 2012

Good value for money

I used to love this restaurant. Each time when we were in Brighton we were eating there because it's in the centre, it's not expensive and the food was always good enough. They also always pointed out which dishes are not vegan.
Unfortunately last two times when we were eating there I ended up being unwell. I heard few times the waiters saying that they do own also a meat reastaurant so I do not trust them anylonger. After being unwell twice after eating there I don't think I will visit them again.

Pros: central location, cheap, friendly staff

Cons: don't trust them any more

AnaEatsPlants

Points +1651

Vegan
10 Aug 2012

Excellent value

I really love the value of this place, and for that alone it deserves voting up. They don't serve gourmet Indian cuisine, but it's only £4.95 for ALL YOU CAN EAT (or £3.50 all you can eat for a couple of hours in the after noon!)...

The staff are friendly and clearly point out what is not vegan if you ask - everything is vegetarian. There are quite a lot of options, including chopped salad, breads, deep friend onion things, various curries, dhal, chutney dips etc.

I wouldn't say 'wow, what amazing food', but it's a sweet place and an amazing option for anyone who wants to eat out on a budget.

Pros: Value, central Brighton

Beckslondon

Points +13

Vegetarian
09 Jun 2012

Great gem of a place.

I don't understand why this place is getting such a poor write up for lots of reviewers. The place has a great selection of food, and you can go back as many times as you like no quibble. They don't even mind if you ask for tap water and the price is so cheap it's a steal! Me and my husband go there every time we are in Brighton and found the food always ok, and staff friendly enough. Not on your case but then it's not the oxo tower. I don't know what people expect. You get at least 5 dishes to chose from, nan bread, popadoms, Onion Bhaji, chutney, salad. Come on....this place does not advertise as vegan, so any vegan complaining should understand it's not trying to be vegan. I'm sure you can work out a Korma contains dairy, only criticisms are its too small so you can't always get a table!

Pros: Value for money, Good selection of food, Prompt service

Cons: A little on the small side in there!

irowan

Points +37

Vegan
11 Feb 2012

Good value

My partner and I have frequented this restaurant many times over the years. The food is quite basic in buffet style with most of the dishes vegan (ask the waiter when you go in). There isn't much selection for the buffet and you won't be blown away by the quality but it is great value for money - filling, cheap, and cheerful. As such, it is often busy and the staff are friendly.

Pros: good value, filling, friendly

Nostoc

Points +81

Vegan
06 Oct 2011

Great all-you-can-eat curry house

No frills veggie curries with a few sides & fruit salad thrown in. Very cheap basic food, mostly vegan. Nothing to complain about

Pros: Price

Cons: Naan's not vegan

Bekkz

Points +32

Vegan
21 Jun 2011

Not for vegans

Food here is lacking flavour and thickness in sauce.
Furthermore, after asking which food is suitable for vegans, some foods such as the naan breads and the korma, where left out of the list of things unsuitable. It seems that not all staff know what each dish contains. And after eating the naan bread, I think it's safe to say I will not be going back to this restaurant. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant for vegans, due this and the fact that they do not separate their vegan &non-vegan food. (Their naan bread, which contain egg, is in the same dish as their rice.)

Pros: Quite easy to find

Cons: bland food, Staff don't fully understand veganism

emsr2d2

Points +66

Vegetarian
01 Jan 2011

Cheap and cheerful!

Bombay Aloo is one of my favourite standby places to go in Brighton. It's all vegetarian and genuinely All You Can Eat. Most of the day it's around £5 but between (I think) 3.30pm and 5pm it's £3.95.

There are usually around five different curries (a korma, a chef's special, chickpea, and a couple of standard mixed veg), a tarka dhal, rice, pitta bread, bhajis, deep-fried veg, a huge bowl of poppadums, plus an array of salads and chutnies. The drinks are fairly priced and of course they do Indian beer (Kingfisher and Cobra).

There are a couple of extra dishes listed on the drinks menu but you can only order them if you are also having the all you can eat buffet as well. I guess that's to avoid having people go in just to get beer and a small snack.
There are around 12 tables for either 2 or 4 people but it's rarely so full that you can't get a seat.

It's an absolute bargain here - I usually end up going back up to the buffet about four times and am completely stuffed by the time I leave - not bad for less than £4 at the right time of day.

The only complaint is that the curries are a little thin (watery) sometimes - that is certainly the case for the tarka dhal - it's practically soup but that in no way takes away from the value for money.

Highly recommended.

Pros: Price, Convenience, All vegetarian

Erdbeere

Points +36

Vegan
04 Oct 2010

Quite worth it

It's amazing. You get a whole buffet for very little money! It's true, that the food isn't that extraordinary,but by that price, I don't expect it otherways. Stuff kindly shows, what is vegan and you get a glass of tab water free.I like it there.

Pros: Value its money, nice atmosphere, helpful stuff

Cons: -, -, -

Jan

Points +56

Vegan
25 Jul 2010

cheap and cheerful

Have been here twice and was disappointed with the food both times. It's a buffet style set-up with a decent selection on offer. However, you get what you pay for. Although it's relatively cheap to eat out here, my boyfriend and I felt the food was a bit bland. Good it you want a cheap meal but go somewhere else if you want good quality indian food.

Pros: cheap, choice

Cons: food bit bland

Loulou

Points +137

Raw
13 May 2010

Good, cheap food

Indian buffet with about 6 options for a main meal (4 of them vegan). The staff knew what were suitable for vegan when asked but if would have been good to have this info on the cards next to the name of the curry. Sadly the onion baghis are made with eggs which I was disappointed about. Filling, cheap food but if you want amazing Indian go rather to Planet India.

Phil X

Points +27

Vegan
18 Aug 2009

Good & Inexpensive

I've been to Bombay Aloo several times for the buffet and once for a party in the room upstairs. For the price I find the food very agreeable.

Some people I've met who are used to hotter curries were unimpressed by the food here, however I found it to be a nice change from the "typical" Indian food we see everywhere in the UK.

The curries and dishes are full of flavor and there is generally only one dish (the Korma) which isn't vegan.

The only disapointing thing here is that the naan bread and onion bharjis are not vegan.

Overall though, I've had a good time. There arent many places you can get a range of vegan dishes on a buffet and considering it's £4.95 you really can't lose!

Pros: Good food, Exceptional price, Friendly staff

Cons: Naan & Bharji's not vegan

Miggi

Points +2647

Vegan
13 Jul 2009

Brilliant cheap all-you-can eat curry

We've been going to Bombay Aloo for well over ten years and always enjoyed it. Favourites are the spinach & potato, chick pea, chef's special sweet potato and wonderful daal. Non-vegan items are marked.
The staff are really friendly, you can depend on it, and you can't beat the price - where else can you fill up for less than a fiver in the centre of Brighton?!

Pros: Affordable food in Brighton, Tasty, Friendly

rosie

Points +482

Vegan
16 Apr 2009

Bombay Aloo

If you want to fill up on very, very cheap curry then it's a great place. Most of the curries are very similar though - and generally based on root veg and cabbage. It's not a taste sensation but it is very cheap filling food.

Pros: very cheap, quantity

Cons: limited range

LauraFox

Points +47

Vegan
11 Apr 2009

cheap meal out

I visited Bombay Aloo in March 09, i stopped by to get a take out box- cheap food, although what was on offer was a bit samey, i tried 2 of the curries and couldnt tell the difference! Staff were helpful and if i remember right it was only the korma and naan bread that wasn't vegan. Good if you want a cheap meal but i won't be rushing back.

Pros: Cheap

Cons: Samey food, Oily

Shockingfish

Points +118

Vegan
08 Dec 2008

Great value for money!

This place is good value for money. While not every thing is vegan there is a good selection. The service is always good and the only down side is that the food is basic.

Pros: value, all you can eat

Cons: a little limited for vegans, food is basic

raphalla

Points +619

Vegetarian
24 Nov 2008

Food so-so but inexpensive

The food is so-so, buffet only, but you can have an inexpensive quick meal, eat as much as you want.

Pros: Price

Sernicki

Points +390

Vegan
07 Jan 2008

Basic food

I have been to this place a few times over the years and you get what you pay for. As mentioned in other posts it is a basic food curry house where you can eat as much as you want for a fiver (£3.50 during happy hour). The food can, at times, be very oily and greasy and limited with a lot of potato and rice on offer. Check with the waiter for what is vegan. Although good for the price there are new bench marks set in Brighton and if i travel there i think i would splash out the extra couple of quid on some of the vegetarian/vegan alternative places where the food is a lot better in quality and taste.

Pros: Very cheap, Buffet

Cons: Oily, very basic, better on offer

Deano

Points +123

Vegan
15 Dec 2007

Amazing value

During happy hour you can eat as much as you want for £3.50 - and, as slap-headed illusionist Paul Daniels would say...that's magic.
Okay, it's not gourmet food but where else offers better value? I've been here loads of times and never had cause for complaint.
The curries can be a little bland - and you might have to dig deep in the cauldrons to find some veg - but the dal is fantastic. And there's plenty for vegans.

Pros: Great value, Loyalty card scheme, It's in Brighton

Cons: Curries sometimes bland




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