After a loaded day at work, I decided to spend the evening at Delhi NCR’s first pizzeria and taqueria, Bomba. The restaurant now has two outposts in the city. I chose the one in Greater Kailash 2 that was closer to home. The other one at MG Road was the first of the two to come up.
All recipes at the restaurant have been curated by Alisha Mehra who also owns it. She combines her love for tacos and pizzas at Bomba, a concept that is exclusive to the eatery.
It only took me a hot minute to leaf through their compact menu and arrive at my order. As I awaited the dishes to land on the table, my eyes oscillated from one end of the restaurant to the other. The drawings on the walls made me feel like I had crawled inside a sketch book from when I was 10 years old.
The Star Dish
Nothing beats a well-prepared pasta. Swayed by my love for pasta and mushrooms, the first dish I ordered was the truffle wild mushroom spaghetti and that ended up becoming the star of the Bomba show for me.
It came along as the right amount of creamy only that the spaghetti was a little more chewy than I would have liked it to be. The dish comes in a hearty portion that is enough for two people to relish.
While I wouldn’t say that you must visit Bomba only to try this dish, if you are visiting, then don’t miss it.
What’s More?
Soon after, the other dishes also began to fly in one after the next. While I had heard praises about their pizzas, it was finally time to put the talks to the test. The 12-inch giants are available in two different crusts: thin and Neapolitan.
For starters, I played it safe with the wild one that is considered to be one of the best vegetarian pizzas at Bomba. The bianco base, topped with wild mushrooms, truffle oil, crispy garlic, and shaved parmesan served as a great start to the meal.
I enjoyed the burrata on thin crust too. The sweetness of the balsamic drizzle combined with oven-roasted cherry tomatoes and paprika croutons made the pizza flavourful. However, I felt the rocket leaves were a little too many and served as an abrupt punctuation to the experience. I was left forking them away to the sides of my plate.
When it comes to pizzas, one can rarely go wrong with a four cheese one. Bomba’s fab four pizza that drips with cheese is an absolute delight for cheese lovers like me. Pork lovers must try their OG hottie 2.0. The rich, fiery flavour of the nduja steals the show in this one.
While the pizzas left me stuffed to the gills, I couldn’t have missed the tacos. The spiced jackfruit barbacoa paired with the kick of the Bomba hot sauce was hands down my most favorite from their rather compact vegetarian taco roster.
The taqueria’s repute grew with the pork carnitas. It is a slow-cooked pork tacos that is paired with the Mexican salsa macha and pineapple salsa. The chipotle prawn is another standout from the menu.
While the pizza vs tacos contest was close, the pizzas won it for me. If I find myself at Bomba again, it would only be for their pizzas.
From their desserts, a no-brainer choice should be the skillet baked cookie. While you can choose to pair it with vanilla ice cream that is served on the side, I liked it standalone. It reminded me of a pizookie (a pizza cookie) that was one of the first desserts I learnt to bake when I was 16 years old.
Drinks Menu
The non-alcoholic beverage menu features coolers, coffees, and teas. While I initially wanted to try the passion fruit and lychee cooler, I decided to hedge my bets with the lemon and mint iced tea that honestly tasted like regular iced tea.
While I couldn’t try it, the Bomba filter coffee shaken is a standout coffee from the menu. Along with coffees, they also offer a range of herbal teas including chamomile and mint, jasmine, and rose and hibiscus, among others.
You might want to keep a lookout for a bar that is set to come up on the second floor of the restaurant.
Vibe Check
Bomba’s interiors are lively, clean, and cool. Murals of bulls locking horns, birds sucking nectar from flowers, and a hopping deer drape the white walls of Bomba. A huge hippo that is their mascot is the showstopper of the walls.
Being very curious about this choice, I was quick to ask Mehra, “Why the hippo?”
“It is just a giant hippo that can eat lots of pizzas,” she laughed. The ambience features large glass windows, rattan chairs, olive green sofas and randomly placed plants.
The two-storeyed eatery brims with people over the weekends. One of the servers told me that it is only when one doesn’t find a seat on the ground floor that they compromise with one on the second floor.
Final Verdict
A cool ambience, competent pizzas, mediocre tacos, and great desserts, make Bomba a must try. I have to admit that the restaurant has no surprises or anything that you haven’t tried before but if you are looking out to try a new pizza place where you can also satiate your taco cravings, it’s a nice spot.