bomba downstairs

just excellent food, this restraunt is without a doubt up there with the best in spain. we have tried tapas across spain recently and it is a great we can experience great food locally. terrific crisp flavours that just awaken the taste buds. great, passionate staff is just added pleasure. can't ask for more.

spot-on with everything including the allergies!. this was my first foray into spanish food, and chose this restaurant because they seemed confident they could handle all my allergies. not only did they do that, but our meal was an amazing taste sensation! we shared between 2 the catalan stew, which was an incredible melting-pot of all things seafood, not to mention the seafood itself which tasted fresh and cooked to perfection. even the salads were fantastic! we had the valencian honey salad, which i couldn't get enough of. the service was unsurpassed. our waitress, nola, had incredibly in-depth knowledge about everything on the menu which was great for a spanish-noob like me, and she and the kitchen did a hugely impressive job of working around my allergies. extremely happy with our dining experience, we'll be back.

went here last night with a friend. we were offered a table for 2 but needed to be out in 1.5hours due to a booking or offered a 2 on the bar. we opted for the bar which was really nice. we had some croquets, paella and bugs. all the food was delicious. the service was great. the atmosphere buzzing and vibrant. really enjoyed the whole experience.

our first time here, and the food here was pretty tasty. the lamb ribs and bone marrow on toast was super delish. we also really enjoyed the crocquette and patatas bravas. the only hiccup was when they sent the wrong paella to the table, but we were full then anyway so it didn't matter to much.

the food was excellent. it was perfect. however our night was not great. we arrived early planning to go upstairs for a drink which we did. we arrived promptly for our reservation. restaurant was half full. we had booked weeks in advance. we were offered the worst table in the room. seriously why offend your guests who book and arrive on time with the worst table? the wait staff were not happy we refused it and from then on we felt the service was stand offish and cold. why not leave the crappiest table for those who arrive late or last? unlikely to cause offense when it is the only table. just saying. we love anada but won't be back to bomba as we did not enjoy the experience.

friendly service and great food!. back a second time after a great initial experience. once again, the paella did not disappoint and the tapas were tasty my favourite being the hervey bay scallops. the bread this time was a little too salty for my personal liking. the john dory was cooked nicely and the wagyu rump was juicy and tender for those who like their meat pink. for dessert, the orange and vermouth sorbet and the rhubarb ice-cream was absolutely delicious, the chocolate croquetas were a little salty for my liking. overall, had a superb night with friendly service and reasonable pricing...would return again!


-----10 mar, 2014-----

nice paella. home baked sourdough was really fresh and moist! came for dinner without a booking and sat at the bar...no complaints. we ordered a couple of tapas - scallops, croqueta, quail - tasty. my favourite was the seafood paella which they cooked on order as the wait was longer. prawns were really fresh and rice was cooked to perfection...love the mildly burnt rice taste towards the bottom of the dish! looking forward to returning and trying their other dishes.

we booked in advance and upon arrival were seated in a terrible spot next to the door when there were other tables still avaliable. thanfully the wait staff noticed our displeasure and moved us. the fried oyster and goats curd with crushed peas were delicious!

delicious food and a brilliant atmosphere at this eatery with an authentic spanish menu and great vibe. loved the duck, bomba and cream catalans. definitely will be back.

the food and service was ok but not outstanding.
what really annoyed me is that the "set menu" does not mention the cost is per person. when i asked the waiter i was told it was enough for two ppl to share but then had to pay 2x$59. that is definitely deceptive!

love my tapas and been eyeing this place off for ages. had a seat at the bar and started with an oyster 1/5 and the crispy fried prawns 3/5 followed by the brocolli and goats cheese on toast 3/5 and the bone marrow on toast 4.5/5 (this was the dish, or morsel of the night!), leek and cheese croquettes 4/5 and grilled octopus 2/5. we definitely ordered our mains badly and got the bay bugs which were 3 small mouthfuls in total. the spicy sauce was non existent and the bay bug meat seemed very dry (i'm not too familiar with them so perhaps they're always dry?). overall it was an ok meal but we regularly eat at movida and perhaps our expectations of spanish food are too high? would have the bone marrow on toast again in a second but not overly wowed.

loved this place, the food and the service is amazing. reasonably priced and the food is delicious. i always come here when i’m in the city of melbourne and i’ve always been welcomed with great hospitality from the staff. always a pleasure to come back to bomba

express lunch - was exactly as anticipated, quick. for $15 really you can't complain, and we left more than satisfied. i would say the portions wouldn't be enough for men or anyone with an appetite. don't expect anything amazing, but for a nice dining experience outside of the office - it was worth it.

nice but something lacking.... my friend and i went to bomba last friday (09/05/2014). the food and drinks were great aside from the paella with sausage and pork crackling. the tapas items ordered were lovely, the quail and croquetas with leek and machengo cheese were the best!

unfortunately, the jamon we ordered never turned up but we weren't charged for this in the end. the paella as mentioned was so salty that we couldn't finish it! nothing was offered to compensate for the half that was leftover.

we sat next to the window - the tables were set out in such a way that we had to wait for the waiters to serve a large group on a table opposite ours before being able to squeeze past to be seated. i felt that the waiting staff didn't make us feel too welcome. it was also pretty dark inside.

i might try bomba again down the track but for tapas, but my first two choices would be mamasita and movita.

from the team behind añada, bomba was born. serving also tapas-style spanish cuisine, bomba felt a lot more casual. we ordered the chargrilled quail, baked hervey bay scallops, leek and manchego croqueta, crab, lamb ribs, and a couple of desserts. none of the dishes disappointed us, but my favourites were the croqueta and lamb ribs; the croqueta was so cheesily creamy on the inside with a thin crispy shell, and the lamb ribs were very succulent. despite being a very busy night, service was prompt and friendly.

we were looking for a bite to eat before we saw little shop of horrors and i found bomba on zomato with a 4 star rating and pretty good reviews so booked a table for my wife and i.we were very pleasantly greeted and shown to our table, the restaurant was busy and the décor was mainly wooden, basic, but very tasteful and nice. our waitress was fantastic, really lovely, said she used to eat there before she worked there. the menu was a bit hard to interpret but she spent plenty of time explaining the size and make up of each meal plus tips on how to pick and choose enough food for two.we ordered everything to come out together. from the tapas we each had a harvey bay scallop, and quail with pistachio and buckwheat, we also shared a moorish lamb cutlet.  we ordered two riciones being the pork jowl and the charcoal grilled wagyu rump cap. we also shared a verduras, the potatoes bravas. so before our food arrived we were given a plate of some lovely complimentary bread and olive oil then most of the food followed at a very decent pace with the beef coming last.the quail was sublime, beautifully cooked, as was the lamb cutlet. it looked very black but quickly realised it was the spices and not over cooked at all, quite rare actually.  the braised pork jowl was divine, melt in the mouth with the cauliflower puree tasting a bit like sour cream and a perfect match for the sauce.  the potatoes bravos were also really nice.  only the scallops caused my wife and i to mark down our score - we both agreed they were cooked nicely but not really much flavour or interest. on their own probably quite nice but up against the other food they were clearly not in the same league.a couple of champagnes and wines each and the total bill just over $120 so really positive experience and one i'd definitely do again - mainly so i could try some of the other tastes on the menu that also looked really nice......