Mumbai Bistro

Food is not bad! A little tacky on the inside, but it is in the city so what can you expect. I have had worse Indian food, but I have also had better. All in all, the food is decent and I would probably recommend it to others.

Love this place. It’s my neighborhood go-​to for takeout. The food is really good quality and the staff is friendly. I have always gotten the buffet items — the dal is delicious and I can also vouch for the saag paneer.

I’ve been a repeat offender of this place. It’s solid Indian fare, that tastes great and is inexpensive (pay by weight). I am usually leery of weighing stations because, I don’t like the idea of my price being contingent on how greedy I am. They make a variety of dishes but the standard is the buffet style set up, which has basmati rice and whatever vegetarian and meat options for the day. They have a mango chutney that’s absolutely delicious!
One complaint– their naan is great, but sometimes you can tell its not fresh. For example, today I ordered the garlic naan and its fairly obvious that it was made yesterday.
Honorable mention is the fact that the food doesn’t send you running to the lavatory, which– If we’re being honest, is a concern with spicier cuisine.

Great tasting food, not the best, but very good.

I work nearby and get food from them about once a week. Everything I have gotten has been tasty and well made, and the prices are very reasonable. I generally get take-​out, but there are some tables to sit inside as well.

Some of the best Indian food I’ve had. The samosas were good everything we ordered was great. Good vegan options too.

Great cheap option when you need your Indian fix. Not the absolute best Indian I have every had but it was still satisfying and fixed my korma craving. I also had the garlic nann which was not that good– hardly had a garlic flavor. My buffet take out including the garlic nann was all under $ 7 (they weigh it for the price) so I couldn’t beat it. Would go again!

Our service was great! We were able to keep our tab open as we kept ordering more and more food. The food came out quickly and they brought it right to our table. The restaurant was very clean and not too crowded so we easily found a spot for all of us.
There is a self serve section where you pay by weight but you can also order by item. We ordered Chana masala and mixed vegetable curry. Both were very tasty! The mango lassi was also delicious!
If you’re in the area and up for some great and quick Indian food this is the place to go for sure!

Good delivery option, but stick to the chicken and be wary of ordering anything too exotic.
The best thing about Mumbai Bistro, besides the fact that they deliver, is the price: it’s actually reasonable, unlike the $ 15-​an-​entrée Indian places that seem to dominate Center City. You get a decent bit of food too for what you order and it’s easy enough to order two entrees for what would normally be the price of one elsewhere. The most reliable of these is the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Chicken Makhni. I stick to these two now when I order because…
There’s a lot of really weird, off-​color flavors in some of the dishes. The chicken vindaloo I’ve gotten has been really oily and the flavors of most of the other curries, while alright, are definitely not the most «authentic» Indian that I’ve had. The lamb has been especially disappointing when I’ve ordered it: chewy sometimes, rubbery other times, and usually filled with lots of bone pieces everywhere. Avoid if you can. Even the mint and tamarind chutney of all things tastes off and isn’t worth ordering.
The naan is okay – filling enough and alright for the price, but nothing to write home about. If you stick to one piece of naan per entrée and order two entrees, you can order a nice full meal with 2 breads and 2 meats for the price of 1 meat and 1 bread at other places. Just be aware that the flavors may be a little lacking.

Interesting place — this is mainly a takeout place. If you eat in, you use plastic ware — plates, forks and cups.
They have a small buffet which is priced on weight and then you can order from the menu. I chose to do both.
I ordered the veg curry, naan, and veg samosa. The food was good. From the buffet I had some basmati rice and aloo gobi — I’m a little disappointed in the buffet because the food was not hot, not even warm. That was a damper.
It was very inexpensive and tasted authentic. I would have liked the buffet food to be served hot and fresh!

Discovered this place on lunch break with my coworker when we were looking for something something quick to satisfy our Indian cravings in Center City. It’s tucked into a cozy corner in the Gayborhood and is surrounded by a number of other homey local businesses and boutiques.
When I first came in, I noticed that their buffet options were a little limited, and I was feeling a little picky. Saag Paneer (minced spinach and cheese cubes with spices) is one of my favorite Indian dishes, and I was a little bummed that it wasn’t available at the buffet (which is super cheap – $ 5.25/lb!), but ordering it as an entrée would have been a great economical option too, at only $ 4.75. The dishes available at the buffet were still great, though! I got both the Chicken Tikka Masala and its paneer counterpart, and they were flavorful and went well with rice. Their Gobi Masala (cauliflower and potatoes with spices), in my opinion, was the best thing I had there. It had a slight kick to it, but overall it had a good texture, was filling, and was definitely healthy and fresh. I also had a mango lassi, which was surprisingly creamy and a fresh way to round off a rich meal.
They don’t use butter or ghee, and the vegetable oil they use to cook has 0% trans fat. Something great and healthy to keep in mind!
Overall, the food was filling, healthy, and pleasantly affordable. I’ll definitely be back!

Finally found an Indian restaurant I can’t get enough of! Praise to the heavens!
For my vegan foodies, vegetable biryani is mind blowing. Veggie samosas are hit or miss but mostly good; can be greasy at times. Great spot for lunch or take out. I’m a fan!

I have eaten Indian food (yes I am Indian) my whole life so note I may have a bias or more critics while writing this review. The reason I went to this place in the first place was because it was highly recommend by a coworker.
First, I absolutely love the area where this place is located!
Second, entering the restaurant I realized I was looking for a quick food and I was very picky this day.
I decided to go for the buffet that is weighed by the pound. I Was not satisfied by the food because it did not have an authentic Indian food taste (also was not spicy at all and could not alter it with condiments). But I did note the food did have healthy, fresh. ingredients. I think the restaurant was altered to catered to the environment of the restaurant (healthy proactive neighborhood) so I commend that!
Enjoy and cheers!

Weak. The food was somewhat seasoned, but you can’t really tell the difference between curry chicken and tikka masala. Saag paneer was pureed. Chana masala was ok, but watery. Curry was very oily. The worst was the naan. Inedible. Tough on the edges dry in the middle, rock hard in several places. Veg samosas were good. Mango lassi was bottled, not fresh.
Definitely wouldn’t do it again

Found this place thanks to my Unilocal gal pals Anupma, Farha, and Sari. The idea of by the weight buffet Indian food is amazing because, especially with Indian food, just one curry is beyond boring.
This place is $ 5.50/lb I’m pretty sure which is enough to fill a standard to-​go box and spend roughly $ 7 I’d say. Garlic naan $ 1.50 and raita $ 0.75. Good price!
I had the saag paneer and the navaratan koorma. Both were made properly with good spices. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many places in Philly seem to not know how to make a saag paneer which is so basic.
What made me really like this place though was that their paneer was really paneer! All these Indian places these days are using some sort of fake paneer that is terrible! Yay!
They also have a rotating menu so not every day has the same curries out. Neat! Check their website before. Also they have brief, but helpful descriptions of the food and also tons of gluten free and vegan options which they have indicated.
Will be returning, but not ready to give the 5 stars yet.

I work in Center City-​Philadelphia and I am always looking for good spots to order lunch from. Also, I’m always on the hunt for an authentic chicken biryani since my favorite spot shut down «Palace at the Ben,» I am so called a Biryani hunter. While browsing Unilocal to find the lunch of the day, I decided to give Mumbai Bistro a try.
My chicken biryani tasted like home cooked biryani and the portion was decent. For less than $ 8, it turned out to be good, and I would order it again. However, my hunt for a delicious biryani still will not ends here.
I tried for the first time the RasMalai and I absolutely loved it, probably it became my favorite indian dessert. It was soft balls or dumplings made from cottage cheese which I’m usually not a big fan of, but being soaked in the thickened and sweetened milk gave it a whole different taste and texture. The RasMalai was served chilled and garnished with nuts– I think I tasted crushed pistachios, almonds and definitely cardamom. My favorite spice: cardamom, the scent of it was just lavish!
Lunch for four people for $ 45! Good food and good prices! No restaurant can beat that in center city.
Four Unilocal

The food is fairly average Indian food — I’ve had better but its satisfying enough and for the affordable cost, I would recommend it. It would be hard to find a more inexpensive place for this volume of food, even if it isn’t the highest quality. I did particularly enjoy the malai kofta, and this is something I’ll order the next time I’m craving quick, cheap Indian food. It’s buffet style/​by the pound so you pay for however much you get.
Very limited seating inside, but most people seem to get the food as takeout during lunch breaks and what not.

So since my initial review, I came here 2 more times. That’s three times within one week because it’s just so good, so cheap, and delicious. I’ve had the lamb korma, the biryani, lamb curry and chicken tikka masala. I can’t even say which one is my favorite because they’re all great, but if I had to pick one I’d say the lamb korma. The garlic naan is also a must.
To keep it more affordable and so we could order more main dishes, my boyfriend and I made our own rice in the rice cooker right before we left to pick the food up. The food was ready and so were we before the rice was even cooked. Now that’s awesome.

I’m a little puzzled by all the rave reviews for this place. Don’t get me wrong, I still continue to go here despite the «meh» food, but the attractiveness of Mumbai Bistro lies nearly entirely in the location and the price (which is why it gets 2 stars instead of 1).
I am definitely glad that there is place in walking distance from both Jefferson and Pennsylvania hospital that serves ready-​made Indian food I can grab on my lunch break. The standard hospital cafeteria fare can grow old quickly, and I often fantasize about a delicious curry when I contemplate grabbing something predictable from the hospital café.
And I suppose it’s a smart business strategy to serve Indian food that is palatable to pickier eaters or people who don’t normally enjoy spicy cuisine, but for someone like me who loves Indian food for its vibrant and complex flavors, the food served here is a bland facsimile of familiar favorites. The malai kofta and the mixed vegetable curry are probably the best meatless dishes served here, but even those lack the expected richness and texture. The Gobi Malasa tends to be overcooked and mushy and the paneer masala is downright watery. The naan is somewhat soggy and seems like it has been microwaved.
I don’t like giving bad reviews, and I want this place to remain in business, but I think there are some very easy fixes they could do to improve the food here, namely not watering down dishes and not using a microwave to heat up naan. I think it is great that they do not use butter or ghee, but I’ve also made vegan Indian food in my own home that was more flavorful than this, so I don’t find the health claims to be a valid excuse for blandness. I think the concept of a cheap vegan & celiac-​friendly buffet that is 5 $ a pound is a fantastic idea, but I don’t think that it should come at the cost of flavor and consistency.
If you work close by and you’re really craving some cheap and fast Indian food that meets your dietary restrictions, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to come here, but if you have your choice of Indian restaurants, I’d definitely recommend choosing a different one.

I am fairly critical of Indian cuisine, so giving this place 5 stars means a lot!
The going rate for Indian dishes in Philadelphia is around $ 11, and this place has dishes for $ 4.50?! Unheard of! I have yet to find a high quality Indian place anyways, so I am much more happy paying $ 4.50 than $ 11 for the same quality dish. Yes, the food is not perfect, however it is on par with most other Indian restaurants here. However, I very much liked the malai kofta and paneer masala I ordered! I definitely suggest this place for chill, quick Indian food.