Warming and delicious Indian cuisine at Bollywood Restobar, Innaloo

Bollywood Restobar, Innaloo

I am an avid Dimmi user and not surprisingly I received an email recently telling me that I was among their top 1000 restaurant bookers in the country. Testament to my appetite! But more importantly, it's a testament to such a great reward system they have that I have used and probably abused haha! To my delight, Bollywood in Innaloo was on their list of restaurants that we could redeem our points at - it was a no-brainer decision.

Curry (especially a table full of it) makes me ridiculously happy and grateful

I have heard people sing great praises about Bollywood and expected nothing short of fantastic. I visit the cinema complex that Bollywood is housed in quite regularly but have never set foot inside the restaurant and it puzzles me why. The decor is stunning; majestic yet contemporary looking with ceiling to floor murals, deep metallic hues and a bar adorned with a bright, neon pink colour. I'm impressed - and I haven't even opened the menu yet!

Complimentary snack

I really appreciate restaurants that provide you with small snacks to nibble on whilst waiting for your meal. We all welcomed these mini poppadoms with open hands and stomachs and enjoyed dipping into the duo of sauces that came with the crisp little discs. The dark red sauce is sweet and reminds me of the sweet and slightly tangy plum sauce in Chinese cuisine and the green sauce is refreshingly cool and minty.

Butter Chicken - $23.50

The second no-brainer was ordering the Butter Chicken - probably the epitome of Indian cuisine in a western culture but nevertheless delicious. Every chunky piece of chicken was tender and tasty, drenched in a rich, fenugreek flavoured tomato gravy with a slightly thick and creamy consistency. I loved the flavour and aroma of the gravy and had a great time soaking the last grain of rice and flake of naan bread I could fit into my stomach with that delicious sauce. I was fairly certain this would be my favourite dish of the night.

Chicken Korma - $23.50

Typically we follow a format of ordering a chicken, lamb, beef and fish dish when eating curries and this was exactly what I had intended to follow through with. Bollywood Restobar's menu has an absence of beef so this protein was replaced with a second chicken dish - a chicken korma with a much milder taste than the rest of the dishes we ordered. The cashew nut gravy is creamy but not as flavoursome as I had hoped for it to be as I love me some nuts! The menu describes it being cooked with a 'subtle combination of spices', but perhaps the subtlety was overly so - especially after the huge hits of flavour my taste buds have been knocked out with by the other curries.

Lamb Vindaloo - $23.50

I am slowly turning into a chilli fiend and enjoy playing around with hotter tastes, but always regret it when I end up hissing like a violent woman with beads of sweat gleaming across my nose. The lamb vindaloo is at a level of spiciness that I can happily tolerate, but of course the definition of hot is a personal thing and subject to your own tastes - applicable from food to weather and right across to people. The menu states that the lamb is flavoured with vinegar and hot spices and sure enough it leaves a satisfying sensation of slight burn on my tongue.

Maseledaar Fish - $24.50

Trying new dishes I have never seen before on menus is forever my approach when dining out and this seafood dish is what caught my eye when scanning the menu of prawns, lobster and goan fish curry. I am so glad I was in charge of ordering, because this ended up being my equally favourite dish as the butter chicken :) Described as semi-dried snapper prepared in a kadhai sauce, I had no idea what to expect and picturing a grilled-style dish with fish fillets. The dish ended up looking very similar to a typical curry, but tasted amazing. The kadhai sauce is heavily tomato based (which sounds kind of standard and boring I know), but there was something about it that made me tip my rice into the curry bowl and eat straight out of it when I asked whether everyone else was done with it.
It was very oily for me - but I simply did not give a damn when I was stuffing my face silly.

Butter Naan - $3.50

Garlic Naan - $4

Overall the naan breads were good, ticking all the boxes of aroma and flakiness that ensued when we greedily tore them apart. The butter naan satisfied with all its visible buttery goodness that shone in the light, but the garlic naan - although with visible garlic flakes scattered over the bread - did not have a distinct garlic flavour even though it had a fragrant garlic smell. Although slightly underwhelming, the thick curry batter that I covered all my naan breads with probably would have masked any garlic hopeful thoughts I had anyway.

Kashmiri Naan - $5

If you haven't already tried sweet naan, you need to get your hands on some. It hasn't got the same flaky characteristic of naan bread as it is stuffed with a filling of banana, cashew nuts and dried fruit, so it looks more like a flat-pressed toastie. I really like the slightly sticky and chewy texture of the naan, and on its own it is good enough to be a dessert to end any curry journey.

Steamed Basmati Rice - $3.50

Kuchumber - $4.50

This small side salad of diced onion, tomatoes, cucumber, cut chilli and coriander tossed with lemon and spices is a great relief to the thick and creamy curries. The salad itself still gives a slight chilli hit but the zesty dressing is a great accompaniment. Plus, you need to try and have some veggies somewhere!

Bollywood Restobar interior

The ambiance of the restaurant is great; it is spacious and comfortable but also grand in demeanour. The hospitality was welcoming and friendly, our dishes were cleared in a timely manner and whilst we were encouraged to stay for dessert, the staff were totally understanding that we could stuff ourselves no more than what had already been done. There is a separate dessert menu riddled with full page of sweets, but it was a no-go for us after the successive no-brainers we had prior to dessert. There are times when 'no' is the more mature and sensible option!