Owners closing Bombay Cricket Club to retire
The Bombay Cricket Club was one of the first restaurants reviewed on this site – early 2005. At the time we said
The Bombay Cricket Club has a bit of a reputation for being its own fascist country. This reputation is frequently deserved. Be prepared for long waits almost any night of the week. Make a reservation, but make sure everyone in your party is there on time. You won’t be seated until all have arrived. Since there is little room to wait, you have to stand in the doorway blocking everyone, which just pisses the owner off. This is not a good thing – make him wait too long and he’ll throw you out and give your table to somebody else. Get there late for a reservation? Good luck. Come on a busy night without a reservation and you’ll barely be acknowledged, just summarily turned away. Want food to go? You might get it if everyone is in a good mood and they aren’t too busy. Other nights you’ll just be waved out the door. One final note – this is not a good place to bring kids – they won’t have the patience – the kids or the staff.
Harsh? Yes, but totally earned. However, as social media sites like Yelp proliferated, the restaurant adjusted their attitude, and continued to be filled every night. The restaurant which opened in 1995 was one of the best Indian food restaurants in Portland. But time has moved on, there are better places now, and after 21 years, the owners have decided that it is time to retire. Their announcement on Facebook was direct and to the point – I’d expect nothing else.
We will be closing August 31st to retire! We appreciate everyone who has supported us for the past 21 years! We are here for two more weeks.
Though I haven’t been for years, I have good memories of this Bombay Cricket Club, and am sorry to see it go.
itothepizza says
And this is the same Bombay Cricket Club that the dyspeptic Ken Gordon claimed was not across the street from his former place in SE. “What Indian restaurant”?