Bollywood Bites Serves Indian Street Food in Sherman Oaks

Sure there’s standard Indian comfort fare at Bollywood Bites, but chef/owner Sanjay Patel goes outside the box with his menu at the Sherman Oaks eatery.

The short-lived home to Andre Guerrero’s Ramen Room is now the domain of Bollywood Bites, a restaurant specializing in Indian street food. The eatery is the second outpost for chef/owner Sanjay Patel; the original location is in Westwood Village.

Bollywood Bites excels at wrapped flatbread sandwiches. Naan wrap features tandoor-fired naan. Kathi roll is a Punjabi “burrito” made with roti. And the Frankie is similar but cooked on both sides instead of just one. Choose a filling of well-spiced lamb thigh, chicken breast or mixed veggies.

Their tandoor clay oven produces proteins like bone-in chicken (or boneless white meat), shrimp, lamb chops and salmon. Other interesting dishes include lamb saag co-starring spinach; butter chicken in a tomato cream sauce; and Goa-style coconut fish curry cooked in ginger, onion, garlic and coconut milk. Sanjay also helps prove that the chicken nugget is passé by serving a shrimp-based alternative.

India’s Chinese population helped inspire some interesting mash-ups over the years, and Bollywood Bites serves three different Indo-Chinese dishes: pan-fried Manchurian cauliflower coated in corn flour and tossed in special sauce; fried rice; and chili chicken tossed with “special sauce” and Indian spices. Thali is a full eight-compartment platter that’s great for lunch featuring a choice of entree, dal (lentils), basmati rice, salad, raita, naan and gulab jamun (syrup soaked milk balls).

The space features a bar for beer and wine, small covered patio, colorful red-and-orange walls and flat-screen TVs for Bollywood music videos. The decor is nearly as high-energy as the food.

13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, 818-855-1718