The word ‘thali’ actually means a round plate. It also refers to an Indian-style meal made up of various vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes served on a platter. Pure vegetarian thalis are not much revered by meat eaters as they are deemed boring. But I would suggest them to try the pure vegetarian thali at Rajdhani Thali and decide for themselves.
The tagline of this restaurant itself is ‘The King of Thali’. With around 25 dishes including starters, salad, Indian bread, rice, pickles, chutnies, lassi, curries and sweets, and that too unlimited, ofcourse Rajdhani Thali is King of all thalis.
From outside, it looks huge and you may even be confused as there are two names – Rajdhani Thali and Rajdhani Street – mentioned outside. Step in and you’ll find two separate restaurants each with its own dining area. Rajdhani Street serves Indian street food with a twist that is definitely a feast for your eyes and taste buds. They have a branch in JLT too and you can read my review of this restaurant here.
Rajdhani Thali are open for lunch and dinner and serve only thali. The menu keeps changing everyday and it is updated regularly on Zomato. The dishes are mainly Rajasthani and Gujarati based.
We were greeted warmly and as soon as we were seated, there arrived an attendant holding a fancy bowl and a jug filled with warm water for us to wash our hands at the table itself in true royal style.
Once that was done, the servers came one by one and filled our plate and bowls with all the dishes of the day. I loved the fact that they mentioned the name of each and every dish before serving. They also checked on us regularly to refill anything that was over and if we needed anything else.
Some of the dishes that I got to try were Capsicum Raita, Garlic Chutney, Paneer Lifafa, Pizza Dhokla, Dal Baati Churma, Papad Churi, Moong Sabzi, Aloo Dum, Paneer, Marvadi Kadi, Sweet Dal, Dal Tadka, Kichdi, Pulao, Kheer, Gulab Jamun and Malpua. We were also served puris, stuffed naan and roti.
The capsicum raita, garlic chutney, pizza dhokla, marvadi kadi, dum aloo, and the pulao and the kichdi really stood out in terms of taste. From the desserts, my favourites were the gulab jamun and the malpua. They were so delicious. I tried kheer after I tried these two sweets so I’m not so sure about how sweet it was or wasn’t.
Once we were done, the attendant once again arrived with the jug and bowl and I was relieved that I didn’t have to get up and walk to the washroom after having such a huge meal. Infact, I didn’t even feel like leaving the restaurant but can’t do that, can I??!!
I was actually surprised to see the place quite full on a weekday and that too during lunch time, especially since they serve only thali. It is priced at AED 42/- for lunch and there is a special offer of a reduced price on Tuesdays only.
A must-try place for pure vegetarian thali where you can dine like a king!!!
Lizbethology 