Travel to India By Way of Bombay Garden

North Brooklynites who consider Manhattan’s Sixth Street—or Curry Row—a destination spot solely for its Indian food options don’t have to worry about whether or not the G or the L trains are running on weekends to come; they can stay in Greenpoint instead. Here on Manhattan Avenue, you will find Bombay Garden, Greenpoint’s new and only Indian food restaurant. Open for a little over a month now—the grand opening was on Friday, June 18 and everyone received 30-40 percent off—Bombay Garden has been successful so far.

Mohammad Azad, who is originally from Bangladesh but has lived in Brooklyn since 1999, is no stranger to the restaurant business. In fact, he owns another neighborhood Indian restaurant, Curry Heaven on Grand Street in Williamsburg (513 Grand Street between Union and Lorimer Streets), which has been open for almost a year. After working in other people’s Indian restaurants for a long time—his last stint at Bombay Grill on Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue lasted almost six years—Azad decided he was ready to open his own. “I just love to serve Indian food to people, so that’s why I opened the place,” Azad said.

Azad was made aware of the lack of Indian food restaurantsin Greenpoint, so he took it upon himself to close this gap.“I opened [an Indian food restaurant] in Williamsburg and when I opened it, people [kept] complaining that Greenpoint doesn’t have one,” Azad said. A few years ago, there was Imperial Palace, a delicious Indian food restaurant on Manhattan Avenue between Meserole and Norman Avenues. But Imperial Palace was seldom crowded and eventually closed. Finally, Greenpointers can put Indian cuisine back on their list of options when trying to decide where to eat in their nabe; Thai, Italian, Japanese and Korean already among the choices.

Inside, Bombay Gardenlooks like a formal place to dine. Long, white polyester linens cover every table and blue cloth napkins are stuffed in glasses, waiting to be used. The outdoor garden, as promised in the title, is not only less formal but even better than you might expect. Based on the garden alone, the restaurant could be called “Bombay Paradise” and it would be no exaggeration. Eating in the backyard, you feel like you have been transported, maybe not asfar as to India, but to a place that feels a world away from the anxieties and bustle of New York City.

Azad includes all of his most beloved dishes on Bombay Garden’s menu: bhuna, a type of curry in which the spices are cooked in oil with no water, and kadai, a chunky, spicy, tomato sauce, both great with chicken, lamb or beef; anda vegetarian favorite, saag paneer, which is cheese with fresh spinach. As advertised on the front of their menu, Bombay Garden specializes in vegetarian meals. Highlights are vegetable samosas, malai kofta and mushroom saag.

Bombay Garden is located at 651 Manhattan Avenue between Bedford and Norman Avenues. They are open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. for dinner.

Share