Photo by Teddy Wolff
Bombay Bread Bar
195 Spring Street, New York, NY
Feb, 2018 — Sept, 2019
A love letter to the glorious food and culture of his native homeland, The Bombay Bread Bar brought Floyd back to his roots with its soulful, authentic Indian cooking, bursting with the bright and vibrant flavors of India that touch all of the senses.
Nestled in the heart of Soho on the corner of Spring & Sullivan in what was formerly Paowalla restaurant, the space was completely transformed by film set decorating powerhouse Kris Moran, whose credits include Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street and more. Implemented in only one week, Moran’s dazzling design drew inspiration from India’s cultural identity and Floyd’s emotional connection to Bombay and Goa. She used both traditional elements of Indian history, art, and culture, as well as young Indian artists telling their own cultural stories in exciting, fresh, graphic ways, culminating in a striking floor-to-ceiling mural by 26-year-old Desi pop artist Maria Qamar (@Hatecopy), her first in NYC. Complemented by new uniforms, music, the space oozed with energy and celebrated an endless beauty of Indian culture.
The journey of this restaurant mirrored Floyd’s lifelong journey — one that bandied between modern fine-dining establishments and his love for casual fare. The Bombay Bread Bar set out to then serves New Yorkers the most soul- satisfying Indian cooking, featuring breads and chutneys cooked in a wood-fire oven, small plates including Onion Rings “Bhajias” and Goan Crab Cakes over avocado-tamarind chutney, and large plates including his Nana Esme’s Fish Curry and Short Rib Nihari. Dishes landed on colorful, patterned oil table coverings, and mingled with all new thirst-quenching cocktails (favorites included his Kambucher Kooler, Durga Complex, and “Hanging out with Ravi Shankar,”. The dessert menu of seasonally rotating kulfis were a must-order, with stuffed Pistachio Cream Gulabs Donut and Grilled Pineapple also meal-ending Indian delights.
Press
“Embracing Bombay Bread Bar, Floyd Cardoz’s Naan-Proliferation Eatery”
— by Zachary Feldman, May 25, 2018
“…the 57-year-old Mumbai-born chef seems to have hit another stride, converting his sleepy one-and-a-half-year-old Soho restaurant Paowalla into the boisterous and flamboyant Bombay Bread Bar this past February.”
“Floyd Cardoz Pivots Again, for an Elusive Ingredient: Fun”
— by Priya Krishna, Feb 15. 2018
“The most promising news of all? Mr. Cardoz has decided to re-create that braised lamb sandwich from his school days. And this time, he won’t modify the recipe just to make New Yorkers comfortable with it...”
“Indian Breads Star in Floyd Cardoz’s Colorful New Soho Restaurant”
— by Stefanie Tuder, Feb 27, 2018
“Blink and diners might have missed it, but chef Floyd Cardoz’s former Soho Indian restaurant Paowalla has already switched over to Bombay Bread Bar, a more casual, raucous venture focused mainly on the restaurant’s popular bread offerings.”
“Floyd Cardoz Wants You to Party at Bombay Bread Bar”
— by Chris Crowley, Feb 27, 2018
“Cardoz has always had a way with bread (his fans still talk about Tabla’s bread bar, seven years after its closing), and carbs are, it goes without saying, a focus…”
“The Darjeeling Limited Inspired Color-Saturated Interiors…”
— by Noor Brara, Feb 27, 2018
“… the space is a veritable feast for the eyes.”
“Bobbi Brown says this $25 lemon juice is worth it”
— by Molly Shea, March 9, 2018
“It’s the most delicious Indian food I’ve ever tasted. I order a vegetable plate with their beautiful coconut sauce on the side…”
“The Most Important Person at a Restaurant? The Hollywood Set Designer”
— by Kate Krader, Mar 26, 2018
“Paowalla’s transformation to the Bombay Bread Bar would be notable under most circumstances, but that it happened in a week—the amount of time it takes most restaurateurs to settle on a paint color—is astonishing.”
“Naan, dosa and beyond: A beginner’s guide to Indian breads”
— by Max Falkowitz, Apr 4, 2018
“I wanted to make [Indian breads] less intimidating,” Cardoz said in a phone interview. You could call that the mission of his decades-long career as a champion of Indian cooking in America.”
“The Bombay Bread Bar - Review”
— by Daniel Meyer, Apr 25, 2018
“If Paowalla was mild-mannered Stanley Ipkiss from The Mask, the Bombay Bread Bar is his frisky, cocksure superhero alter ego… This is plate-licking food—the kind for which you overhaul your restaurant.”
“Ditch your boring breakfast for these tasty global feasts”
— by Lauren Steussy, Feb 19, 2019
“… for their weekend brunch, the Soho restaurant serves up variety in its tiffins, the stackable round metal containers typically used as lunch vessels in certain parts of India.”
“The Bombay Bread Bar”
— by Matt Tervooren
“This place has bread in its name, and you should get a lot of it here. The best is the laccha parantha - doughy, but crispy at points, and good enough to be eaten with or without the various chutneys.”
“The 24 Best Indian Restaurants in the Country”
— by Khushbu Shah, Nov 27, 2018
“You don’t really name a place a bread bar if you don’t have the carbs to back it up. Cardoz does not disappoint…”
Videos
Chef Floyd Cardoz joins me on Basics with Babish as we make 3 different Indian breads: naan, roti, and lachha paratha.
HowTo make the Elephant Mule cocktail at the Bombay Bread Bar.