Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven

-1 Star for not having chicken breast, and the nan bread was "ok". In London most Indian restaurants use chicken breast, and others in the area do too.

Everything else we tried was delicious... charred corn, tandoori shrimp, tikka masala, brown rice with quinoa and the drinks. I will be back, but with different expectations.

After an excellent first dinner here when they first opened, Bollywood Bar and Clay Oven disappointed on a return trip that made me downgrade my rating.

For our first visit, my friends and I decided to come to Bollywood mainly for the head chef Niven Patel, a James Beard Award Finalist. Such pedigree in Santa Rosa is uncommon so was definitely interested in checking it out. The food was actually quite good. In fact, I could not get enough of everything that came out especially the different naan.

Because I was so impressed with the first visit, I came back with hopes of the dinner recapturing the magic. Unfortunately, there was so many things that went wrong.

From the beginning, the server seemed to be unsure about the menu when asked about the family style tasting menu. When we got food, for some reason, perhaps the choices? it was just not as great and seemed really not giving much for your dollar. The highlight was still the ghost pepper naan and saag paneer. Otherwise, the smoked lamb shank had barely any lamb to share. The shortrib uttapam barely had any protein!

For our dessert, we had ordered a gulab jamun which was supposed to come out with a hibiscus meringue. Instead of mentioning anything, they gave it to us and only after we brought it up they said that they had run out of it. We also noticed they forgot to bring out another dish we ordered, but we told them to just cancel it.

As detailed above, the service was sorely lacking. Parking is limited but there is some metered parking. Otherwise, you can park at a nearby street and walk a couple of blocks in.

Overall, I still hope that Bollywood returns back to its much better quality of service and food. Until then, I would look for other options.

Called for takeout last Saturday 1/26 at 7:35pm. I googled Bollywood bar in Santa Rosa and their phone number listed is 707-236-8680. The lady that picked up put me on hold for 14 minutes! Finally, I knew she forgot about me and called on my husband's phone (while still on hold on my phone). She hung up on both my phone and my husband's phone. I called back again and told her that I have been on hold for 14 mins now and she told me that "Sorry, we are having issues with our phones right now" instead of apologizing that she forgot about me. I placed an order of 7 items with her and she told me 20-25 mins. I arrived to pick up at 8:10pm and that's when it went downhill...the restaurant could not find my order at all!

The manager, Prince, came out with an ipad and could not find my order. He asked me to repeat the items I had ordered..Tandoori chicken wings, local vegetables, wild mushrooms, chicken tikka masala, corn, garlic naan, rice and told me they will cook it as quickly as possible for me! He was trying to figure out what happened and I told him is the phone number I called on google not correct? He grabbed a business card and it was NOT correct. Interesting enough...the business card number does not match what was on google.

GOOGLE: 707-236-8680
BUSINESS CARD: 707-535-0700

BTW, Bollywood's website ALSO has the same phone number as google.

I sat at the restaurant and waited another 25 mins for my food to be ready. I called the phone number on google again and the same lady picked up. I asked her what restaurant it is and she told me "Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven". Somebody took my order and no one will own up to it! The manager told me he will review cameras to see who took my order and forgot it. 1 star for the kind service the manager provided as he told me he will get to the bottom of it and also gave me a discount.

FOOD: Tandoori chicken wings does not taste like tandoori. It is spicy chicken wings. Chicken Tikka masala was average, nothing special. Local vegetables were fried & super dry.

Am I seriously about to gush about cauliflower? Why yes I am! But first....

Upon recommendation from a friend, and with no New Year's day plans, hubby and I came to try Bollywood. We were greeted quickly and despite no reservations, were seated within 5 minutes. Maybe we were lucky because the restaurant was pretty full with diners.

The ambiance is spectacular! Casual, clean, inviting.
Decor and artwork were vibrant with culture and color and my eyes were drawn from ceiling to floor with things to see. The spice wall was visually intriguing and I meant to ask about the "ribbon spools" (I have no idea what they really are!)

Space is small so the seating is close.
Our server was super friendly and helpful, guiding us through some recommendations and dishes to consider. ( I was hungry but just had no idea what I wanted to eat.)

I hadn't eaten all day so I had to pass on starting with a cocktail (I'm a lightweight!) but will not make that mistake next time. What I saw at the tables on either side of me were a variety of beautiful drinks. Mango Lassis to Kerala Margaritas to Gujarti Swizzles all ended with empty glasses.

But, my five stars come down to the food. For my dinner, I ordered off the "snacks" menu: CRISPY CAULIFLOWER - paneer + pickled shiitake + lettuce. Stay with me. I know it's just cauliflower and trust me, I questioned my enthusiasm countless times during dinner! I have concluded that it was the most excited I've been over a dish in a long while. The sweet/spicy, seasoned florets were fried perfectly.
Caramelization produced a slightly sticky texture that blended nicely with the crispy edges and soft insides. Cubes of paneer were like hidden prizes and the mushrooms added an earthy balance to everything else on my plate.

Hubby ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, basmati rice and naan with ghee. He couldn't finish and that's a rarity. Chicken was surprisingly plentiful and he enjoyed the dark meat that doesn't always show up in CTM. Medium spicy is default and it was just the right amount of heat!

So in conclusion...
The ambiance is pleasing, the service is friendly, the location is festive and the food is tasty! Cannot wait to return.

Like it's namesake, Bollywood the restaurant is a, playful, kinetic, delicious fusion. Even those who dislike or are unfamiliar with Indian or south Asian food will find something to like here.

The custom cocktails, each with its own Bollywood twist, are both impressively creative and very tasty. Among the starters, the lamb samosas combine flaky, tasty pastry with a perfect portion of deliciously seasoned ground lamb. The crispy cauliflower was a huge surprise -- flavorful enough to make giving up French fries actually seem possible. And the naan breads are flavorful and perfectly prepared, thanks in part to an honest-to-India clay oven.

Both the decor and the service enhance the food and drink. We ate and drank at the bar, and the folks who served us we're welcoming, engaging, professional, and fun. And the room is as visually interesting, colorful, and unexpected as the big song-and-dance number in a Bollywood romcom.

We can hardly wait to go back, for happy hour and to try some of the great-looking curries and entrees we saw go by us. Check out Bollywood, and see what happens when talented, clever pros play with your food. Another Chandi Hospitality Group home run, and a definite win for downtown Santa Rosa.

When I was here it was when indoor dining was allowed in this county - unlike the rest of the Bay Area and Sacramento. So it was kind of nice! I still felt safe regardless. Came here for happy hour - I was only one of two tables that was dining inside. Loved the ambiance with the airy feel and fully stocked bar. They also have an outdoor seating area.

The happy hour runs from Tuesday - Saturday from 3:00 - 6:00. Daughter loves Indian food and while they have classics here, it came with a twist.

We had the albacore tuna bhel ($8) served with cubed raw tuna, puffed rice, avocado and vegetables. Loved the flavors, however the texture was something for me to get used to. Crispy cauliflower ($8) was my daughter's favorite - very generous serving served with paneer ("no that's not tofu!") and pickled mushrooms. Also had the local vegetable pakoras ($5). At first I was a bit taken aback by the darker color as I thought it was burned, but turns out this is normal since they use chickpea flour. Also had the garlic naan ($3) which was more than enough!

At the time, the Henhouse IPA ($4) was on the menu and lemme tell you, beer goes really well with Indian food. Especially if it's on the spicy side. Would totally return!

I gotta say I was a little skeptical as I was not super impressed with the previous ventures from this restaurant group, that being said, they are a family owned business and I'm a fan of supporting mom and pop shops so I decided to go for it... I was pleasantly surprised.
My small party of three enjoyed exploring the menu and ordered a variety to share family style. I have to say, everything we had, from the unique cocktails to the appetizers, naan and mains, it was all very tasty.
Some of the standouts included: crispy cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and rock shrimp appetizer. The leek and moong bean samosas and chicken tikka Masala were also delicious but I'd never had the other dishes anywhere else so it was fun to try the new flavors.
This is a much needed addition to the Santa Rosa restaurant scene and I am thrilled to have ventured in. I look forward to returning soon.

Absolutely Love this place , it has only been open for 4 days and we had so much fun and ate so much off the happy hour menu. Ghost pepper Naan, Garlic Naan, Wings wings, wings. Yum yum yum
The drink they make with Gin was so refreshing.
The Manager was great !! We also celebrated two friends birthday. So this place decor with the bracelets was so unique, the spices and the painting of Priyanka Chopra is soo beautiful. I hope this place doesn't change.

Was not a huge fan, I think mainly because I have had such great Indian food and this was good but portion for value was in the small side. I am excited that the place is exposing more folks to Indian cuisine because it is a fantastic option, but just a little upscale for me.

Tasty, interesting cocktails and a good vibe, but over priced for portion size.

THIS PLACE (insert the heart emoji here). Bollywood has been on my Yelp bookmarks for over 8mos now. Today, I finally made it in. This place is absolutely freaking phenomenal. I LOVED everything about Bollywood. They have a beautiful full bar. Their decor it tasteful, modern and practical. The ambience is relaxing. The music was to their culture and I truly enjoyed it.

THE FOOD : OUTTA THIS WORLD !

FLAVOR....FLAVOR.....FLAVOR

It was some of the best food I've had in a very very long time. It's truly a palate pleaser. The flavor is beyond exquisite. So many spices make all of their dishes pop. It's all about the spices you guys. I sampled 5 different items. Even the rice was packed with flavor. My shrimp curry was not cooked to death. It was nice to eat a shrimp that was softly cooked and not cooked to death.

YOU MUST TRY THE CRISPY CAULIFLOWER.
No really, do it! It's not only Gluten free, iys vegan too. There is a little spice, a gentle warming to warm your mouth. It comes with butter lettuce leaf and you assemble your own wraps. Its delicious and only $11

The service was great and I was well taken care of. They even hooked my up with 10% off my entire order for checking in on Yelp.

The bathrooms were very clean. The over all establishment was very clean and organized. I cant wait to come back.

YOU GUYS ROCK !