Review: Bombay Aloo Indian Vegetarian Restaurant, Brighton

No trip to Brighton would feel complete to me without visiting Bombay Aloo, a great value Indian buffet restaurant. Their loyalty card (offering discounts after more than 6 visits) sits in my wallet all year, in preparation for any last minute trip to my favourite seaside resort. I usually visit Brighton (and hence this restaurant) about 3 or 4 times a year.

It is unusual to find a 100% vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet. Perhaps that’s why I like this restaurant so much. The buffet includes five different curries, in addition to onion bahjees, naan bread, pakora (battered potato), rice, papadoms, salad, pickles and mango chutney. You can eat as much as you like for £4.95, which is amazing value. If you arrive during ‘happy hour’ (3.15 pm to 5.15 pm) it’s even better value, at only £3.95! I’m always shocked by how much some of the customers manage to eat (sometimes 3 large plate fulls) and it makes me wonder how the owners manage to make a profit! Especially since most of the people eating there seem to drink only tap water!

I only eat very mild curries (I don’t like very hot and spicy food) but there is still plenty here for me to enjoy. The pakoras are wonderful (if incredibly unhealthy) and I also really like the onion bahjees, papadoms and vegetable korma. The quality of food at this restaurant isn’t 100% (the naan breads are usually quite tough and the korma isn’t the best I’ve ever tasted) but taking into account the great price, and the fact that you can eat as much as you like, I still think that this is an excellent restaurant.