The best Bombil Fry in Mumbai

Editorial picks

Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works

1. 1

   Number 1.Highway Gomantak

   Gandhi Nagar, Bandra East Bandra, Khar and Santacruz

   Open

   11.30am to 10.30pm, shut Thursdays

   Where

   44/2179, Pranav CHSL, Service Road, Gandhi Nagar, near MHADA, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051

   Order the bombil fry alongside a surmai or pomfret curry thali, and eat it the minute it lands. Thursday is the weekly shut day, and foreign cards are refused, so carry cash.

   What to orderBombil fry with fish curry thali

   0 votes

   Worth it, Highway Gomantak.00 votes. Not worth it, Highway Gomantak.00 votes.

   Want to try, Highway Gomantak

2. 2

   Number 2.Gajalee, Vile Parle East (the original)

   Navpada, Vile Parle East Andheri, Juhu and Vile Parle

   Open

   11am-3.30pm and 7-11.30pm daily

   Where

   Kadamgiri Complex, Hanuman Road, next to ICICI Bank, Navpada, Vile Parle East, Mumbai 400057

   Bombil fry with the green coconut chutney is the plate that built this place, and it still sells by the hundred. The batter runs thin; skip the Chinese-leaning dishes and book ahead.

   What to orderBombil fry with green coconut chutney

   0 votes

   Worth it, Gajalee, Vile Parle East (the original).00 votes. Not worth it, Gajalee, Vile Parle East (the original).00 votes.

   Want to try, Gajalee, Vile Parle East (the original)

3. 3

   Number 3.Gomantak Boarding House

   Dadar West, off Shivaji Park Dadar, Matunga and Parel

   Open

   11.30am-4pm and 7.30-11pm, shut Mondays

   Where

   301, Miranda Chawl, N C Kelkar Marg, Dadar West, Mumbai 400028

   The bombil fry thali is what the queue outside is for, semolina crust, soft centre, fish curry to spoon over rice. Bring cash, since online payment is not accepted, and Mondays are shut.

   What to orderBombil fry thali

   0 votes

   Worth it, Gomantak Boarding House.00 votes. Not worth it, Gomantak Boarding House.00 votes.

   Want to try, Gomantak Boarding House

4. Chaitanya Assal Malvani Bhojangruh

   Dadar West, near Siddhivinayak Dadar, Matunga and Parel

   Open

   11am to 11pm daily, queues from about 1pm

   Where

   33, Raobahadur S K Bole Road, opposite Aagar Bazar, Dadar West, Mumbai 400028

   Start with a plate of bombil fry, then a surmai thali with ghavane. It opens all day, but from one o'clock there is an hour's wait on the pavement.

   What to orderBombil fry, then a surmai thali

   0 votes

   Worth it, Chaitanya Assal Malvani Bhojangruh.00 votes. Not worth it, Chaitanya Assal Malvani Bhojangruh.00 votes.

   Want to try, Chaitanya Assal Malvani Bhojangruh

5. Pradeep Gomantak Bhojanalay

   Borabazar Precinct, Fort South Mumbai

   Open

   11am-4pm and 7-10pm, shut Sundays

   Where

   15, Sheri House, Rustom Sidhwa Marg, next to Fort fire brigade, Fort, Mumbai 400001

   Ask for the bombil thali, and check the specials board for the morning's catch before ordering. Closed on Sundays, cash only, and after quarter to one you will be sharing a table.

   What to orderBombil thali with bhakri

   0 votes

   Worth it, Pradeep Gomantak Bhojanalay.00 votes. Not worth it, Pradeep Gomantak Bhojanalay.00 votes.

   Want to try, Pradeep Gomantak Bhojanalay

6. Jai Hind Lunch Home

   Hill Road, Bandra West Bandra, Khar and Santacruz

   Open

   11.30am-4pm and 7.30pm-midnight, shut Mondays

   Where

   10/110, Rizwi House, next to Hill Road police station, Hill Road, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050

   Order bharla bombil, the fish rolled around tiny prawns and rawa-fried. Three pieces to a plate feels short, so order two. Mondays are shut and there is no parking to speak of.

   What to orderBharla bombil

   0 votes

   Worth it, Jai Hind Lunch Home.00 votes. Not worth it, Jai Hind Lunch Home.00 votes.

   Want to try, Jai Hind Lunch Home

7. Satkar Rice Plate House

   Goregaon East, by the station Malad, Kandivali and Borivali

   Open

   11am-3.30pm and 7-11.30pm, shut Mondays

   Where

   Shop 15, first floor, Dreamland Building, Station Road, opposite Goregaon East station, Mumbai 400063

   Sixty years old, first floor, and the bombil fry arrives three crisp pieces to a plate. Maps will send you the wrong way, so ask a shopkeeper; Mondays it stays shut.

   What to orderBombil fry

   0 votes

   Worth it, Satkar Rice Plate House.00 votes. Not worth it, Satkar Rice Plate House.00 votes.

   Want to try, Satkar Rice Plate House

8. Malwani Aswad

   Vile Parle East Andheri, Juhu and Vile Parle

   Open

   Lunch and dinner, but plates sell out early

   Where

   Shahaji Raje Marg, opposite Bhuta High School, Vile Parle East, Mumbai 400057

   A dozen tables, no decor, and a bombil fry thali with wade and sol kadi. Dishes run out fast here, so arrive at opening for lunch or dinner rather than late.

   What to orderBombil fry thali with wade

   0 votes

   Worth it, Malwani Aswad.00 votes. Not worth it, Malwani Aswad.00 votes.

   Want to try, Malwani Aswad

9. Tendulkar's Matsyagandha

   Mitha Nagar, Goregaon West Malad, Kandivali and Borivali

   Open

   11am-3.30pm and 7.30-11.30pm, shut Tuesdays

   Where

   B-11/5, Mitha Nagar Road, Municipal Colony, off M G Road, Goregaon West, Mumbai 400090

   Husband and wife cook and serve, so the stuffed bombil is dine-in only and takes time. Six tables mean a wait at weekends, and the kitchen shuts entirely on Tuesdays.

   What to orderStuffed bombil

   0 votes

   Worth it, Tendulkar's Matsyagandha.00 votes. Not worth it, Tendulkar's Matsyagandha.00 votes.

   Want to try, Tendulkar's Matsyagandha

10. Naik Kitchen (the Anantashram menu)

    Kandewadi, Girgaon, by Khotachiwadi Girgaon, Bhuleshwar and Mohammed Ali Road

    Open

    11am to 3pm and 7 to 10pm

    Where

    Damodar Building, 1/5, Nikadwari Lane, Kandewadi, Girgaon, Mumbai 400004

    Cooks from the old Anantashram kitchen make the Gomantak thali here, bombil fry included. Four chairs only, so most people take it away, and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays run vegetarian.

    What to orderFish thali with bombil fry

    0 votes

    Worth it, Naik Kitchen (the Anantashram menu).00 votes. Not worth it, Naik Kitchen (the Anantashram menu).00 votes.

    Want to try, Naik Kitchen (the Anantashram menu)

11. Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort (the original)

    Cawasji Patel Street, Fort South Mumbai

    Open

    11.30am-3.45pm and 6-11.30pm daily

    Where

    8-B, Life Insurance Building, ground floor, Cawasji Patel Street, Fort, Mumbai 400001

    The bombil comes lightly salted, fried to order, with coconut chutney. Go to the Fort original rather than a branch, book a table, and expect prices well above the Gomantak canteens.

    What to orderBombil fry with coconut chutney

    0 votes

    Worth it, Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort (the original).00 votes. Not worth it, Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort (the original).00 votes.

    Want to try, Mahesh Lunch Home, Fort (the original)

12. The Flying Butler, Viviana Mall

    Majiwada, Thane West Thane

    Open

    Noon-3pm and 7-10.30pm daily

    Where

    Shops 76 to 78A, ground floor, Viviana Mall, Eastern Express Highway, Majiwada, Thane West 400606

    Thane's reason to bother is the bombil Malvani thali, fry and curry together with bhakri and sol kadi. Stay with the coastal thalis; the Mughlai and Hyderabadi ones are filler.

    What to orderBombil Malvani thali

    0 votes

    Worth it, The Flying Butler, Viviana Mall.00 votes. Not worth it, The Flying Butler, Viviana Mall.00 votes.

    Want to try, The Flying Butler, Viviana Mall