All aboard for two new restaurants at the Somerville train station

Workers and commuters in Somerville now have two restaurant options located in the historic building at the borough's train station.

Bombay Canteen, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, serves street foods found in cities such as Mumbai.

Don Oscar’s Cafe, a grab-and-go spot that opened about a month ago, focuses on quick eats such as empanadas, sandwiches and pastries.

Here's a closer look at both restaurants.

Bombay Canteen

Open eight months, Bombay Canteen is owned by Rashmi Vijay Vyas, Ms Namita. A, and Lalitha Siva. Vijay Vyas, Rashmi's husband, is the manager and ran a similar restaurant, Talk of the Town, in Iselin for 10 years before it closed.

Vijay Vyas' family has a background in food. His grandfather owned a restaurant in Mumbai, where Vyas is from, and his father is in the spice business.

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Bombay Canteen brings something new to Somerville, Vyas said.

“This is a restaurant town,” he said. “Most of Main Street has all the restaurants, and none of them are Indian. I thought it was better to focus on vegetarian and vegan options that will be helpful for the community."

The restaurant's vegetables come from local farmers' markets and the spices come from a local Indian store, Vyas said.

Dishes include vada pav (one of the most popular street foods in India), which is a mashed potato dumpling fried with chickpea flour and put between bread. The sliders are served with homemade garlic chutney, which Vyas said is the restaurant’s specialty.

Another street food served is paneer methi tikki, a fried potato patty with spices with a mint cilantro sauce and a tamarind sauce.

Pav bhaji, a vegetable curry served with rolls, is also a staple. Chote bhature is deep-fried bread with a spicy chickpea sauce.

When deciding where to open a restaurant, the train station was a spot that Vyas couldn’t pass up.

“I can get more commuters and more people can stop in and that will be good for business,” he said. "My aim is to globalize Indian food more over here, like Chinese and pizza and everything. I want the same for Indian food.”

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So far, things are going well.

“I’ve been getting a good response from the commuters,” Vyas said. “I can say I’m on a good path.”

Go: Bombay Canteen, 1 Veterans Memorial Drive; 908-393-2535, bombaycanteen.com.

Don Oscar’s Cafe

Don Oscar's Cafe is owned by Manny Ramirez, a contractor who grew tired of not having enough quality and quick options for lunch.

“The idea behind all of this was, ‘Where can I get a breakfast or lunch that is like my mom's cooking or my wife’s that I can just get in one-two-three?' ” Ramirez said. “For me, this is to provide workers or commuters a decent lunch that will get you through the day.”

Ramirez looked around for a location to start and ultimately settled on in front of the train station. He and his construction company then helped renovate the building for both his cafe and Bombay Canteen.

Ramirez named the eatery after his father, his wife is the pastry chef, and his sister-in-law is a manager. A second sister-in-law and her husband manage the digital aspects of the business.

Empanadas are a specialty, and Don Oscar’s serves flour and corn (gluten-free) varieties. Desserts include arroz con leche, tamal asado, sweet empanadas and tres leches.

Don Oscar’s, which also serves breakfast, paninis and sandwiches, will offer specials throughout the week, including shrimp fried rice. Customers can see the specials before they come in on Instagram and Facebook.

Ramirez hopes to capitalize on the commuters coming from the station as time goes on.

“They're slowly coming in,” he said. “People are in a rush to get to work. And a lot of them don't know about the place. And the ones (who) come in and try will hopefully tell their friends.”

Go: Don Oscar's Cafe, 1 Veterans Memorial Drive; 908-210-9430, donoscarscafe.com.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerville train station welcomes restaurants Bombay Canteen and Don Oscar's Cafe