Boma and Tusker House

[Brer Me]

After hearing all the good reviews about Boma, this trip I had an ADR for Saturday, July 11, as this was my arrival day. However, my flight was delayed by over an hour, and other travel delays made me over an hour late for my ressie. (travelling alone as trip is part business, part pleasure).

I decided to go to Boma anyway, on the chance that they'd still have room for a party of one. Happily, they did. Even though ressies expire if you are more than one hour late, I did not have to even wait 5 minutes for my table, despite it being a busy Saturday night.

Since it is a buffet, table service is limited, but my server, Steve, was still exceptional. I was made to feel very welcome as a solo diner, and he personally escorted my to the buffet area to briefly show me where everything was.

The positive reviews are correct. Boma is excellent, if you enjoy slightly adventurous dishes. The variety is impressive: meats included roast beef or sirloin, roast pork, little ribs, chicken, and probably several more that I did not need to try. The beef has several "dipping" sauces that are all very different and good, such as tamarind BBQ sauce, and another made from pecans (?) and spices.

The chicken pepper pot or hot pot soup is excellent, and not very spicy. I find I cannot provide many more examples, as I took a little bit of many things, that were all so good, and can't now describe them individually.

If you are not an adventurous diner, be aware that some of the flavors may not be what you are used to, such as lsome sweet with savory flavors, sweet potatoes in a few dishes, and spices that may be new flavors. I was a little suprised that the food I had was not very spicy, as in hot spicy. I love to try new foods, and I enjoyed every single dish I put on my plate. Quality is very good, and the buffet offerings are delightfully varied and plentiful. Oh yes. The dessert table is dangerous. Watch out for the banana bread pudding and vanilla sauce. oh my.

Enjoying Boma as much as I did, I also tried Tusker House today, at AK, having read somewhere that it is a bit like Boma Lite. That is a good description, in a good way. I had a great server here also - he too escorted me to the buffet area to show me around. (Also, with no ADR, I was able to be seated around Noon, and the place was nearly half empty).

I had the roast sirloin (excellent) and roast pork loin (also very good) served with a smooth fruity sauce (optional). Also tried a bit of the salmon and the seafood stew, both were very good. The salmon was very fresh tasting and mild.

Also tried an orzo dish, cold curried rice with golden raisins, a cabbage and mixed veggie dish (yum), and a tofu and veggie stir fry type dish. All very good. Many of the dishes are similar to those at Boma, though the variety was not as great (very good variety, just less than Boma). Have a decent selection of desserts - here they too have a banana cinnamon bread pudding with vanilla sauce. It was very good, but seemed a little different than Boma's. Seemed like cinnamon rolls turned into bread pudding, whereas Boma's seemed made from scratch. Still dang good. The little lava cake was so-so. Should have more bread pudding. I rate Tusker House very highly as well, and would definitely eat there again. If you cannot get into Boma on your trip, at least go here, and plan to do Boma the next time.

I also recommend to small parties, that even if you don't have reservations, try anyway, as none of the restaurants I've been at yet have been full.

[copperbrick]

Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful review! MUCH appreciated.

[wilma-bride]

Thanks for the reviews - we are trying Boma for breakfast in OCtober, not sure if our party are adventurous enough to try dinner.

[MarkinNM]

Thanks, saw on the travel channel about Boma about 3 months ago and just have to try it, booked for Sept.......

[dd50]

Boma is the one that I am really looking forward to when we go. We are also going to Tusker but for a character breakfast. Great review. Thanks for sharing.