Bombay Express

Amazing Indian fast food esp the Bombay fast food. Their highlights are Pani Puri, Sev Puri, Pav Bhaji, Puri Bhaji/chole and esp the Bombay Sandwich. It’s 100% vegetarian and freshly made and tastes incredible. The taste is incredible. The prices are very reasonable and they also give you free bottled water which is amazing. Overall you will simply enjoy Bombay Express for lunch snack or dinner as the menu is varied and will keep you full and satisfied. Parking is aplenty and free. The smiling gentleman who takes your order is such a nice person as well that you feel so welcome. Nice ambience and nice food. Must visit for Austin and regulars.

Atrociously long wait time today. I ordered 3 rotis and a regular Kachori. It took them 45 unbelievable minutes to get it served. Terrible!!! Not acceptable at all… People who ordered masala dosa after me all got served before me and they even left before me getting my food.. The manager should address this with the lady manning the counter post 6pm…

They should either change the restaurant name or the dishes. Samosas came in made of wheat flour and black channas in papdi chat. The papdi although had no taste. Poor preparation. Probably stay away from this place.

I absolutely love this place! The food never fails to amaze me; it's always packed with flavor and makes my mouth water! It really is my comfort food. :) Not only this, but the owner is extremely kind and truly so very hospitable. I absolutely love Bombay Express!

I say this with absolute sincerity! I give this place a 20/10. $13-18/person The owner is such a sweet gentle man and I will dine here as long as I can. My car had some issues and he happily looked at it and told me exactly what I needed to fix. He also gave great recommendations and served us everything we asked for and then some more. The dosa was delicious. Nice. Crispy. Flavorful Puri Chole were great. We like it a little spiced and salted, so just added on top Idli was soft. Fresh. Sambar chutney were fresh. Samosa chat was good. The samosas by itself were delicious! The Bombay style grill sandwich was good. Maybe they can try adding a little more chaat/sandwich masala, but it was good. This is a business that I 10000% support!

A consistent North Austin veg staple, if you're looking for a late night Indian or allergy accommodating option, this is your spot. I've been coming here since I was a kid! That's how good this place has and always will be.

We had a fantastic experience at Bombay Express! The masala dosas were absolutely amazing — crisp, flavorful, and packed with the perfect amount of spice. One of the highlights of our visit was how accommodating and patient the staff was. We had a **personalized order of poori**, and true to their promise, it was made with **less oil** and still tasted incredible! The attention to detail and willingness to cater to our preferences made the whole meal feel even more special. It’s rare to find a place that combines such great flavor with genuine hospitality. Highly recommend for anyone craving authentic South Indian food with a personal touch. We’ll definitely be coming back!

Place was neat and clean. Service was with a smile. We had brunch and ordered for 5 people. Food tasted fresh. Aaloo parathas were great and I made sure that it was with whole wheat aata and not maida. The owner confirmed that they use whole wheat for parathas and pooris and that is why they don't serve Bhatura but serve pooris instead. The food in the thali was great and fresh tasting, not too full of spices and not too spicy hot. Masala Chai and aaloo Tikki chat were also very tasty. Owner was friendly and helpful. Overall a great experience. Will definitely visit again.

It is a fairly small restaurant the employees were very nice and the cashier was very nice and friendly I noticed they have some photos of the menu items on there menu board which is a digital menu board which was nice I just ordered the Mango Lassi and it was pretty good and it was at a decent price i guess anyway it was good

I visited this place for the first time in four years, and it appears to be under new ownership. Notably, the prices have increased, and the thali is noticeably smaller compared to my previous experiences. Upon tasting the food, it became apparent that the recipes have also undergone changes. Unfortunately, this is no longer my favorite spot. Despite my initial disappointment, as the meal progressed, I found myself appreciating the overall taste; it was still quite good. Surprisingly, the puris were even better than before. While it may not rank as high on my list as it once did, I believe it's still worth including in my dining rotation. I would rate it 3.5, rounded up.

Eerily quiet for a weekend dinner time, but hey, at least it made the dining room feel SUPER open and spacious. While communication is a bit of a struggle and there was a lot of confusion over what I ordered, it's worth working through. Just accept whatever ends up getting served and you won't be disappointed. The samosa are a must, if nothing else; flaky, crispy pastry wrapped around an almost creamy, spiced mashed potato filling with peas. It's classic, it's comforting, and it's simply done right. Especially with that sweet/tangy chutney, those two generously sized triangles could be a substantial snack or light meal by themselves.

I went here after a long time. The interior has changed a bit. The tables and the place are cleaner. We went for breakfast at 9am on Saturday and ordered a masala dosa. They took some time, but got very fresh and hot dosa, and sambar. The taste was very good. Taking a star off as they can either make the ambience and serve better or reduce the prices.

Cozy little counter service spot tucked in close to the Wally. Clean, cool and comfortable with a nice selection of authentic north and south Indian dishes. Among my favorites is the grilled paneer sandwich which has been brining me back here for years every time I'm in Austin. Masala Idli and spicy paneer roll are also very nice, as are the dosas. Not fast-food quick but well worth the wait for freshly prepared food. Plenty of free parking. Avoid the trauma of the I35+Parmer interchange and come in from North Lamar.

As the name suggests, it's counter service, not table service. The food was a fair bit spicier than most Indian food I've had in the U.S. and India, which I liked, but not my adult daughter, who loves Indian food, but couldn't stomach much of what she ordered. So, unless you like super-spicy food, you'll want to ask that they tone it down. Everything on the menu is vegetarian, but vegans should be careful about being misled by the "Vg" mark, which doesn't actually mean it's vegan, it means vegan OPTION, so you need to ask for the vegan version. The only downside for me was the plastic trays for thali, plastic cups for curry, and plastic utensils. Besides being cheap and degrading to otherwise fine food, it's just really wasteful. For this reason, I don't plan to return.

A decent place to get good street food. I'd give it a 4/5 star for authenticity, service, and taste. I got the samosa chaat. The chaat definitely had the right mixture of ingredients with layers of chickpea curry and crunchy samosa and was tangy and spicy. I just felt like it was missing the Dahi (yogurt) in the dish and didn't have quite the "umami down-right -addicting flavor." Prices were affordable. Will come back and try other dishes to give a more thorough review!

Forgot to snap pics of the food but believe it was super delicious! Wish we had one of these in Phoenix because it's not easy to find quality Indian food

Great food, humble service and casual place. They are open until midnight everyday. The uncle is very nice and generous. They were kind to customize the food for my toddler. The palak paneer tasted pretty homely with soft paneer cubes in it. The spicy paneer wrap is pretty spicy. The aloo parantha or hot tawa roti smothered with ghee or even the pav bhaji were all scrumptious. The portion size are generous. We also picked up dry snacks and they were good. Also they serve free bottled water. I have never found a restaurant in USA, that serves free bottled water. This clearly shows how awesome the people are. I wouldn't mind giving them a tip or all the extra marks for the hospitality.

I've been looking for authentic Indian street food for ages. Plenty of wonderful videos on YouTube to show you what your missing. This place has it. Don't be misled by the word vegetarian. This place is freakin awesome. If I ever had to give up meat permanently, I'd move to India. Southern India. And be fine with it. It's hard to describe the sweet, the savory, the sour, the salty, the perfect blend of spice from dish to dish. Each complimenting the next. Order big. Eat well. Not knowing what you'll bite into next, but knowing it will be good. Take the leftovers home and eat well again. These people originated from the country that invented spices. Us Euro-gins have only had a few centuries to master these flavors. These folks have had millennia. They know what they are doing; let them show you.

Bombay express used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I tried the puri bhaji after a long time. The puris were hot and great, but the bhaji felt stale and as if it was mixed with remains of sambhar, lots of pickles served maybe just to give you an option to eat with the puri. Sadly I won't be going on. Service was fine, ambience is not as before.

I was dissatisfied with the quality of foods ordered. One order we placed was for Dahi vada and our party specifically asked for more chutney. We weren't given the chutney until we reminded them of it on several occasions. Secondly, we ordered bhen puri, and this order had unusually thick sev, and practically no vegetables. One of us asked for a Jain and vegan Chole puri, but they placed onions and pickles containing carrots (both of these are root vegetables). Their menu shows "VG" as "Vegan" and "VG OP" as "Vegan Option". However several dishes labeled as VG, contain paneer, yogurt and other dairy items. This is inaccurate because they are considered "Vegetarian". This menu needs to change that designation.

Okay wow, talk about bang for your buck and AMAZING flavor! My husband and I came across this place last minute on the hunt for some good Indian food and boy are we glad we found it. This place is vegetarian, which we didn't realize until we got there but it was so good I honestly didn't care that there wasnt any meat. We got a jalapeno cheese dosa (absolutely massive and so good!), samosas (2 per order and also amazing) and the thalli which is weekends only and is a sampling of a lot of different things. AMAZING! Will 100% be coming again to eat their tasty food

Skip this place, save your time and money. I expected better based on few reviews and was utterly disappointed. Khasta kachori had gone bad, and chole poori left a poor taste.

Might need to try other items but the Bombay Sandwich and Pav Bhaji I got was not good to me. The Bombay Sandwich lack masala and is light on the chutney spread. The main taste you get is the potato, which needed a bit more in my opinion, and the white american cheese. White onions and two thin slice of pink tomato. Pav Bhaji was also oddly served with generic brand hamburger buns. They were grilled and buttered but I think this was a big missed opportunity here because it could've been Hawaiian bread and that would still be more suitable. The bread was a bit too airy. The potato masala had much more tomato ratio in it than I prefer. It was on the sour end and again, to me lacked spices. Whole peas were also mixed in. Ok the side was diced onions with a layer of spice on top. It lacked the right bread, the right Bhaji, the layer of butter and cooked green chili.. all missed opportunities. I feel that these items would be made by a college kid on a budget. Even a bbq gathering with friends I could scramble up with better ingredients and presentation. Ambience aside and yes it's very cheap but I think it's because they really take the least expensive COGS tonsmke it happen. In terms of service, it's slow. Stood in a line of 4 with no acknowledgement for some time as they work on one customer at a time. Normally if a customer orders, they stand aside to wait while other gets served. Seemed like they only have the bandwidth to handle one "case" at a time so watching them slow at scooping and gathering, charging, paying, packing hurt my heart.

Adore this Indian restaurant! Portions are great, service is quick, I love everything about it!

Very yummy and quality food! I would come here 2-3 times a week for the daily thali with roti and dal. So good! Very friendly and nice Indian staff and management as well.

Authentic food, service from the uncle/manager was amazing! Area is clean, nothing fancy.

Not worth a single penny. Everything served is frozen and cold. Very bad food. Stay away from it. Staff is very rude.

Pretty good spot for casual Indian food! Favorites were Vada Pav (spicy and tasty, 2 per order) and Special Dosa (Spicy, unique potato filling inside crispy buttery dosa). The sev puri was tasty but also spicy and seemed like it has sriracha in it. Plain butter dosa was good. Pani puri was good. Samosa were good. Pav bhaji was least favorite. It looked really tasty because of the color, but honestly it was bland and a little too tart.

Amazing food & hospitality! 5/5 We got the thali which was SO GOOD and so much food. Paneer tikka masala was creamy & rich and perfect. Served with fresh white rice & roti. We also got the Mysore masala dosa that was crispy & served with yummy potatoes. Sambar was spicy and delish. We loved the coconut chutney too. The owner really takes care of all of his customers. He brought us his homemade gajar ka halwa - it was divine with yummy khoya bits inside Thank you for sharing your authentic Indian cooking & hospitality with us. Our new favorite spot in ATX!

I feel bad giving it a 2 star. But lately ever order I order has something wrong with it. These guys were so good. In their quality of food and service. They know jain food and have many jain customers. But every time I order jain .... sigh there is always a blunder. Sometimes I don't get the paneer in my jain paneer sandwich. I get potatoes in my pani poori order. All of this after the person at the cashier takes the pain of mentioning all my requests somehow the kitchen never follows it. I have time and again called to let them know issues with my order but they have somehow not heeded and made efforts to correct the communication gap they have. Sure they are swamped with doordash and grubhub orders but what's the point if you don't read any special requests. If anyone at Bombay express is reading I am willing to retract this review. I do still come to eat food at your restaurant. I appreciate the veg only factor but I swore never to order a togo. If I find that the communication gap has improved this review will be corrected to update the corrected situation.

Having lived in nyc and chi, good chaat is hard in Austin to come by. Of the options, this one is our favorite for paapdi chaat etc. The service is hit or miss - friendly or rude - but the food has been consistently good! At these prices for these large quantities, it's a go-to!

Decent vegetarian food..things to try... Thali with Paneer Makhani (worth totally) Dahi sev Puri and Bhel Puri Vada Paav Chaai ( good combination of tea masala) Things to avoid.. Special Dosa Chole bhature Samosa Sandwhich Don't Don't.....( Instead check attached image, that's how a Mumbai samsosa Sandwhich looks like :))

It exactly taste like home food and South Indian food also taste good we love to visit more

Ordered via uber eats. The 3-piece kachoris were good but the papdi chaat is not what I expected. It came with Dahi/yogurt, tamarind chutney and mint chutney (provided separately). I may order the kachoris again but certainly not the papdi chat.

AMAZING place! We're not super familiar with Indian food so we asked for recommendations and can't rave about it enough. My friend and I split their lunch plate and a dosa. The owner (I think) was so incredibly helpful and patient. He made sure the spice level was okay with us. He brought us little mango yogurt drinks (SO good!). When we told him how much we loved the saag paneer on the lunch plate, he even brought us a little extra to take home with our leftovers. We're still not entirely sure of everything we ate, but we liked it all! The creamy soup that came with the lunch plate was so good. The roti was fresh and delicious. The dosa was crispy and HUGE. The food was delicious, but the owner is the biggest reason we'd be repeat customers! Unfortunately, we're only here for a quick trip, but if we lived here, we would be back (and soon!).

I always enjoy Bombay Express. The dosas, sambhar, samosas, fried idli, and thali are all good! Sometimes there is a little too much oil in some of the food, but overall, I really enjoy coming here. The service and food are both great!

So good! And I want to say that their offerings seem to stand out from typical Indian dishes that you may think of. Normally I just ask for whatever the special is so I don't know too many details about sides. However, I know that their paneer dishes are fantastic, I particularly love the spiced potatoes they serve as a side, the samosas are delicious, and lastly I love their mango lassi drink! I love how flavorful everything is and it's relatively healthy and doesn't leave you feeling weighed down afterwards

New ownership. Food has gotten tastier but service is horrible now. Don't expect a "welcome" or "thanks for spending your money here".

This place is ONLY good for chaats. Vada pao was very good and fresh. But Mysore masala dosa and masala dosa not good at all. The potatoes inside the dosa were bland and just boiled. The sambhar was so boring, it didn't have any daal. Coconut chutney had no tadka or flavor.

MASSIVE THUMBS UP! * * * * This is not your standard American-Indian curry house. No Madras-Korma-Vindaloo here. No Tandoori. No Mulligatawny. This is Authentic Indian FUN food. The menu is over 50% Chaats - which means appetizers. None of them are Pakora. Chaats are the best part of Indian cooking. You know the line "Don't fill up on appetizers. There is a whole meal coming." Fill up on appetizers. Even if the meal that is coming is excellent. Chaats are THAT good. They have all types of chaat here. Many take the form of an insanely good light starchy topping - (fried potato slivers, or puffed rice) served with spicy dumplings of various persuasions and savory sauces. There are all sorts of different fillings and all sorts of different sauces, many of which are sweet. You can get tamarind, mint, mango, yogurt. Note that those are very approximate sauce identifiers because all the sauces have two or three flavors blended together. The appetizers tend to combine the salty potato-y appeal of potato chips or french fries, with the fire of good Szechuan food - and a sweet and savory undercurrent. Salty and hot and sweet and savory and substantial and light all at once? My id goes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! * * * On the Non-Chaat side, about 60% of the menu is South Indian staples. That means Dosa, Dosa, Idli and Dosa. Dosa are giant South Indian crepes, the size of a roll of carpet. (Okay - not that big - but big enough to fill your plate and stick out six inches over the edge of the plate on both sides). Two thirds of that is empty - and one third is filled with very hearty stuffing. One dosa, and you waddle back to your car, fed for the day. Idli are heavy but yummy South Indian rice patties. Both dosa and Idli are addictive. If you don't want to go South Indian or chaat - the North Indian specialties are unusual and absolutely intriguing. They feature a North Indian "burger" entirely made of spices and chickpea flour that is love at first sight. You will never be able to eat a plain old North American veggie burger after you have had Vada Pav. Vada Pav is simply that much better. They have a number of "who wudda thunk they could make that into a sandwich" North Indian specialties, plus a North Indian no-egg omelet. They have Thalis and one curry for those people who want something more typically "Indian restaurant". But the Chaats, the dosas and the North Indian exotica are definitely the way you want to go. (And their sweet lassis are pretty special too.) * * * One indicator that you aren't in a made-for-the-Brits-and-Americans curry house, Is that there are very few Anglo customers. They were doing a booming business on the Sunday night we were there. Nearly all the clientele were Indian families. It is also the only Indian restaurant I have found that has the official Austin South Asian community newspaper. * * * Bombay Express is unlike any other Indian restaurant I have found in the Central Texas area. There may be places like it in London, but there is sure nothing like it here. Run, don't walk, to check it out. Life is too short to just eat Saag Paneer.

Best little authentic Indian food place. Vegetarian and brings me back to my moms homemade food. Mango lassi -- excellent. Chai --- perfect. We drive 30 minutes just to eat the kasta kachori here. Today the Thali was so good and great value. Love the pani puri as well. Definite go to for some good indian street foods/chaats and dosa

Really nice employees. Only wish the serving size was a bit bigger for the curry of the day. The masala dosa had a good serving size.

Generally the people working at the cash register are very friendly. I do like the older guy who is very polite and good to talk to. Food is very authentic and I love daily special.

I have tried almost everything on their menu and can say that its great if you are missing Indian street food like Pav-Bhaji, Bhel, Chaats etc. Great vegetarian food . This place is family owned and they try to maintain the standards. Its a self service place so you need to order your food before you sit down. The service is quick , and the place is clean. The Chai(Tea) is really nice and yes I like their Bombay sandwich too. Dablei is Ok, it basically lacks the actual flavors in the filling , and sometimes the Chaat is also kinda low on spices(Talking of the Indian chaat flavors). I think it's just a hit or miss sometimes. Prices for real cheap. It isn't fancy or anything special on decor but people love the food here. Ample of parking outside in the complex. The staff is nice and friendly.

If you want to try the north Indian street food like Chaat, rolls and sandwich and breakfast like dosa is very good

This place is amazing! Food is cheap, super good, authentic, and vegetarian. Host was very very nice to me and you can tell the restaurant cares a lot about good food. I'm so happy to find this place and will definitely want to try more things

Oh Goodness! the taste of each of the items here is phenomenal- truly authentic, bursting with flavors, fresh and clean! I had the following here: sev puri chole puri bombay special masala dosa mango lassi ras malai dahi puri i know that's a lot, but as an avid food enthusiast, i wanted to try most items on their menu since you dont find these chaat items on other restaurants. The place is nice and spacious and self service to order. the only disappointment is ras malai- hence the one star out! It milk balls were dry, hard, and did not taste anything close to ras malai. Else, it was a good experience. i would come here again to try the samosa sandwich, aloo tikki and chole puri!

Kimberly K invited a group of us yelpers to join her in a Friday lunch here ... I had never heard of the place, but I am always up for anything. Boy was I enlightened! I wasn't aware of how the food is regional in India and now I am. My mind was blown ... everything was amazing! Philip B, Kimberly K and Misha S and I all decided to just order whatever we all thought sounded good! It was the best way to do it. Then we were served up family style. There wasn't one thing I didn't like. There was this on dish that reminded me of a frito pie - it was definitely Indian street food and simply fantastic. So go here and just order a bunch of food and make out like a bandit! It's really inexpensive and tucked away in the back of a shopping center off I35 in north Austin, but totally worth seeking out!

The food is super bad. It's not the same as before. We tried the dosa,spl. thali and panipuri. Everything is bad. The cook might have changed or something. But I am never coming back. Disappointed

Should have listened to the recent reviews. This place used to be 5 star. Now it deserves less than 1 star. The food is now just terrible. Sad that it's gone downhill but also glad that I never have to go back.

I saw this place out of the corner of my eye, intending to eat someplace else. I like good quality Indian food and I was looking for someplace with guilt free eats. I saw that Bombay is vegetarian and Express ... I'm on a schedule today. The food arrived really quickly. I got the meal of the day: about a cup of cheese paneer and cauliflower with potato curry with hot soup. Lots of flavor and not too spicy. Soft music -- and I arrived around 4pm so it was quiet. I noticed they have desserts also. Very affordable, by the way. If you blink you'll miss it, so call them if you have to. They are very hospitable.

Worst masala dosa. The stuffing was completely bland and had no taste what so ever. Vada pav was not like vadapav, i guess people who would not know what is a vadapav would might like it.

The only chaat place in Austin where you get vada pav and kachoris. Although not as authentic as what you get in Mumbai, it's nice to have an option to eat these snacks in Austin :)

This is one of my favorite go-to spots in Austin to satisfy my craving for Indian vegetarian snacks and meals. In case you are not familiar with Indian food, the items listed under Chaat are considered to be snacks in India. However you can even make a meal out of it! The interior is spacious. Service has been good during each of my visits here. Items under Chaat and Taste of North India are what I like to order. Specifically the papdi Chaat, khastha kachori, pav bhaji and poori aalo. They are not spicy or overbearing but definitely flavorful. If you like Indian desserts, do give the gajar halwa a try! Also a special mention- in case you order items to-go you will not be disappointed with soggy food by the time you reach home. The sauces, yougurt, lentils and crispy items are individually packed and can be assembled yourself.

Decided to give this place a try - and I'm glad I did. The food was tasty and portions were large. The owner went out of his way to make a good experience for me while I dined in. I'll be back!

We popped in here for a quick bite for dinner on our drive home from Dallas to Fischer. We don't have much variety out there. So we always try to find something ethnic on our way through Austin. We found it 1 exit before we had to get off the freeway. The owner was fantastic. He guaranteed we'd love everything and if we didn't he'd trade it until we found something we liked. Wow that's was a great offer. But we didn't need to use it. We enjoyed everything we ordered. We had a masala dosa, parathas, roti & samosas. It was all spices great and had excellent flavor. The owner cane to check on us twice. He even took a moment to explain what the dishes were at the table next to us. What a great way to try new dishes. I'll be bookmarking this in my yelp for when we go back through Austin again.

"Feel good Indian homely food", that's what you get here. I come here whenever I am too lazy to cook and just want to have some simple flavorful food. They serve meals all day which works extremely well with my late lunch timings! They serve a lot for a small price. I have only ever had their meals and rasmalai so I can't vouch for anything else on their menu. The rasmalai is amazing btw. They also have a sweet staff. They once gave us all free methi paranthas and some more to take home. They were delicious !! I love this place. Keep up the good work ! :)