Bombay Sweets

I love Indian food and this place is my favorite place in Houston. Perhaps it's because of the good deals - I go for the buffet - or the fact that it seems to always be full of locals and people like me alike. Either way, I always make a monthly pilgrimage back for my Indian fix.

What I love about the place is that they make your naan piping hot (they'll call it out and you pick it up at the counter where you paid first) and you get a large selection of food on the buffet. There's your salad bar with chutney (among other things) as well as two kinds of rice (regular basmati and a seasoned rice) and countless curries - including my favorites, anything with paneer in it. A plus is that the items are labeled with which is cooked with onion and garlic. However, beware, for if you do get the items that have that "contains onion and garlic" sign, there's going to be a lot of onion in it. If you love onion, go for it! I can't deal with very spicy foods very well, so I love that yellow sweet grain stuff (I really should remember what it's called) and the jalebi between bites. They have self-serve water and though the staff isn't too friendly from the start, they're definitely helpful when you ask for it and I hold nothing against them.

The place isn't the cleanest but that's fine - I didn't go for that, I come for the food. What really makes this place a solid favorite is their amazing dessert display. Without fail, after my stomach's been filled, I always get a small box of Indian sweets to take home and savor for the rest of the week.
Updated from previous review on Monday May 21, 2012

I have been eating here almost once a month for the last 20 years. They have good the best selection of Indian sweets to take away and often have samples near the register. The buffet also has one or more of their syrupy specialties. There is a small salad cart with chutneys and pickles and the usual buffet line with dal(lentils) chole (chickpea) and various vegetable dishes with eggplant and more exotic vegtables. The saag(spinach) may have fresh cheese (paneer) in it. This is not a vegan restaurant, but has many vegan items on the menu. The tandoor bread is spectacular! A hot piece in a basket comes with the buffet. They will call you to come get it. It can get crowded inside and there is extra parking around back when the front lot fills up. The walls are painted pepto bismol pink and the place is a little grungy, especially the restrooms, but I have never had any "after effects" from the food handling in all these years. Would highly recommend the food and commend the owners for keeping the price low, year after year.

My husband and I eat here a couple of times a month and really love it. The restaurant is a bit shabby in appearance, but the place is clean and the food is always exciting and different. They change out some of the dishes regularly so you won't get bored. MANY Indian folk eat here, so you know it's got to be good. We have taken many friends to this restaurant and they all want to go back. Everything is so tasty even carnivore friends won't miss the lack of meat on the menu.
Buffet price is reasonable and I'm getting hungry for going there right now! Only con is the 'shabbiness'. Try some of their candy/sweets behind the counter too. I always take home some of their potato and pea samoosas for snacking on in the next few days.

I just LOVE Bombay Sweets! I have been going there for more than 20 years now, and remember the days when they used to call themselves Annapurna as I recall. They are my neighborhood, affordable, and family ethnic vegetarian gathering spot that seems to be ALWAYS OPEN and always nice. Everyday ALL DAY vegetarian (predominantly vegan-friendly buffet), service with a smile, and fresh delicious Naan Indian Bread made fresh for each new customer ordering the buffet. Love the music and miss the now closed Paan Shop, an Indian fresh leaf and spice breath freshener.
Everyday on the well-maintained buffet line I always find ALWAYS delicious and flavorful Chana Masala (savory chickpea dish) spicy Sambar soup, nice white fresh Basmati Rice as well as a daily all-you-can-eat mixed yellow rice usually called Panjabi or other. Both rices festively sprinkled with fresh cilantro leaves to honor guests. I am there once a week, sometimes thrice, sometimes shopping at the neighboring grocery store Patel Brothers for pressure cookers and frozen and fast-serve Indian Food as well as fresh authentic Indian ingredients for cooking from scratch, plus a wide array of beautiful incense aromas.
Back to Bombay Sweets... I always feel like I am on vacation to an exotic destination when dining there. Anyone who complains doesn't understand how lucky we are to have such a gem in our midst. I always encounter very happy fellow diners, predominantly Indian, but also many Anglos, sometimes wearing their first Saris from Diwali Celebrations, also Chinese and European visitors who understand the importance or delicious homestyle vegetarian Indian food. You will need to educate yourself a little or ask a lot about dishes containing dairy. Basically Dal is usually vegan, Paneer means cheese etc. Once you understand you can recognize them easily. If you can't get there for early lunch by 11 AM, try 4:30 PM The Golden Hour when the buffet is completely and freshly re-stocked, including fresh veggie green salads buffet plus Indian chutneys and pickles. For Vegan non-buffet items (menu orders) please try Tiki Chat, Pau Bhaji and Masala Dosa. Mmmm so good. Enjoy and be open minded.

I was very surprised to read negative reviews of this place. I really like the food here, and I eat a lot of Indian food. This place is always crowded for lunch, mostly with Indian people, and my Indian friends love it. The buffet is vegetarian, and many of the dishes are specifically prepared without onion or garlic. This place also has a bakery with a huge selection of Indian pastries, and sells assorted chaat by the pound. Besides the buffet, you can also order off the menu. Physically, the place is kind of a dive, and there's only buffet or coutner service.

Priced too much for low quality Indian sludge-fare. The buffet reeks with nasty raw onions, and made my sister really sick when we ate there. She actually threw up. I know what Indian food is supposed to taste like, and this is not it.
[edited by staff- see tos]

I have friends who eat here regularly because it's cheap. Well, the food is mediocre but I thought it was good enough for budget eating. I can't eat here anymore and I can't recommend it to anyone since the time I lifted a forkful of pullao almost to my mouth and saw a roach, fried right into the rice. EWWWWW. Don't eat here. There are too many clean, good places to eat in this town for close enough to the same price.