02 October 2007

Bayleaf India Bistro
















Columbus' newest Indian restaurant is Bayleaf India Bistro on Polaris. The menu features piles of vegetarian selections from a cuisine type noted for vegetarian options, and when the dining room is fully realized, the 132-seat facility should be packed with crowds sampling the tasty, carefully-prepared offerings.

Although the menu isn't 100 percent vegetarian, there are more vegetarian possibilities than some other strictly vegetarian outposts. The staff told me that there would be paintings in soon, and the dining room showed no evidence of its previous occupant, Ted's Montana Grill, the TNT carnivore pit. There was no liquor license when I went, although that will probably also change soon.


There is more information on the chefs and the owners in the article from ThisWeek. My meal started out with the complimentary highly-seasoned pappadams with mint chutney, a sweet red sauce and a soy dip on a silver tower. There were also great breads, including garlic naan, onion kulcha and whole wheat potato, pea and herb aloo paratha.

The first course (pictured above) was paneer shaslik "Raiwalla," an item that shares its name with an Indian town on the Ganges River. The appetizer is made of paneer, a mild whey cheese, layered with green pepper, tomato and onion with a citrus, yogurt and mustard tandoori masala sauce. This was one of many vegetarian appetizers, and I chose it because it was listed as the chef's specialty.

Other options for vegetarian appetizers include cashew rolls, stuffed hot peppers, chilli paneer and the Indian standby samosas. Many of the soups can also be prepared vegetarian, including the corn chowder.

Many of the entrees are made in the tandoori oven. One of the earthen pot dishes, made for people looking to watch their calories and cholesterol content, is a paneer dish made with mint in a cilantro curry with pepper and sour cream.

There are 10 vegetarian-only items as well as many vegetarian-optional selections available as main courses. I tried the vegetable dumplings in hot garlic sauce. The vegetables were shredded and breaded like veggie "meat balls," and the rich, spicy sauce is poured all over the dumplings, which are served atop Basmati rice.

There are also desserts, and most of the menu is available for take out. I'm sure I will eat at Bayleaf all the time once they get the liquor license. Check out the pictures below.




Bayleaf Bistro

Bayleaf India Bistro on Urbanspoon

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I visited this Bayleaf india bistro for the first this past weekend. Food was average, service was horrible. I could have easily walked out in front of the owner without paying. The breads were not tasty at all. It's cool there using cooling dishes to serve there food in, but what good is all that work if the food and service are not what you would expect. Will not be going back.

deraj1013 said...

That's too bad. I've always enjoyed their food, and I've never had problems with the service. I consider the variety on the menu to be leaps and bounds better than any of the other Central Ohio Indian establishments, and I have eaten at most if not all of them. But to each their own. Hopefully it was just an off night.

Anonymous said...

BayLeaf was yesterday cited for food violations! This is extremly bad..........I do not think many people will go back.....but atleast I would not.

deraj1013 said...

I'll have to look into that. Specifically, what was the violation, and has it been addressed yet? I mean, a temperature violation at the buffet is a little less serious than other types of restaurant violations. You've probably eaten at more restaurants with violations than you even keep track of. What was the specific violation, or are you just spreading misinformation?

Anonymous said...

as i was reading through the commetns that people sent, i hav to agree with them. the resturant just has too many violations in just 2 weeks! they even showed it on t.v.. now , u dont call that rumors! and the resturant just opened in sept. and it ALREADY has violations? this resturant is not takin anything seriously.i havent even tried this resturant yet and people are tellin me all horrid things bout them, i believe them! mark my words this resturant wont last more then a year!

deraj1013 said...

I found the specific violations. Here it is. I'll bite...it seems like this might not be a great idea to eat here because of the vegetarian unfriendly food violation. Oh well. You're right, I'm wrong...congrats on your moral victory, and make sure to get your Indian food from Flavors of India or Cuisine of India from now on.

deraj1013 said...

It's really crazy that I keep getting posts from an anonymous person complaining about their experiences at Bayleaf. For my own edification, could you please use a log-in before offering a negative critique of Bayleaf? Normally I wouldn't ask for this, but my keen instinct suggests to me a jealous restaurant owner is trying the Web 2.0 approach to putting competitors out of business. Obviously, this problem would be completely eliminated by identifying yourself in future posts.

A fair review of Bayleaf from somebody who isn't this anonymous poster or myself

deraj1013 said...

OK-Maybe the first post is real. But the others seem a little forced.

Anonymous said...

I think Bayleaf India Bistro is among the better places to eat in Columbus. I am a doctoral student at OSU and to there to enjoy the food with my American friends...
Tastes differ and I guess other posters on this board have different tastes. This is not worth arguing about...instead enjoy if you like it! JMHO

deraj1013 said...

Hey, arguing is what this interactive Web thing is all about. Everybody can have their say. And the marketplace will sort it out, I hope.

Gaurav said...

If you are a vegetarian Bayleaf bistro sucks a big time.I went there today to get the buffet and it was the worst food I had eaten in year.Please dont go there ..........save your stomach, money and time.

Anonymous said...

What was the food violation? Can anybody tell in detail?

deraj1013 said...

The only information is in the link in the comments section. It seems like a minor issue to me at most, but what do I know?