After opening the same restaurant in New York City, the team behind Babu Ji brought their fun Indian food to the Bay Area.

Located in the Mission District, Babu Ji is an eclectic funky restaurant serving familiar Indian dishes but with a twist. They offer a tasting menu or an à la carte menu. We decided to try the tasting menu since many of the dishes we wanted to try were offered.

Gol Gappa (7/10).

Gol gappa are Indian street food consisting of fried puri shells filled with various sauces. The idea is to eat the entire crispy shell in one bite where all these numerous types of sauces explode in your mouth, a fun bite to start the meal.

Hung Yogurt Croquettes with Beetroot Ginger Sauce (7/10).

The yogurt croquettes were spiced with green chili and ginger which added a lingering heat that complimented the sweetness of the creamy beetroot sauce. However, eating more than one of these croquettes would have been too heavy and slightly even too spicy for my liking.

Indo-Chinese Style Cauliflower (7/10).

The cauliflower were coated in some sort of batter and fried and then tossed in a tomato chili sauce. I thought the coating was a bit overpowering since I couldn’t taste the cauliflower.

Tandoori Chicken (7.5/10).

Standard tandoori chicken, nothing too exciting.

Various Curries with Naan and Rice (7.5/10).

This was our main course where we received various curries with a bowl of cumin basmati rice and naan. My favorites were the butter chicken (flavored with tomato, ginger, and fenugreek), beef korma (flavored with cardamon, clove, and bay leaf), and the refreshing raita (yogurt and cucumber dipping sauce). My least favorite was the seafood turmeric curry as it lacked flavor and the seafood wasn’t cooked nicely. The naan was pretty tasty though.

Chai Kulfi (7.5/10).

The meal ended with a chai kulfi, an Indian ice cream popsicle which was actually pretty delicious. Creamy with a nice touch of sweetness.

While majority of the food was tasty, I felt that overall the food wasn’t anything that exciting or innovative. I think I had higher expectations since they already have another Babu Ji in New York City. I feel like I could have tastier Indian food at other restaurants so my rating is a 7/10.