Surely the samosa has to be the best food invention ever? There should even be a national samosa day – one which I’m happy to endorse. They’re crispy, golden, come in my guises and are absolutely jam-packed with flavour in only a few tiny bits. Often they’re accompanied by a good tamarind sauce or coriander chutney too – taking the samosa experience up just another notch. Getting our samosa fix on, we found ourselves visiting a South Kensington institution, Thali Restaurant on the bustling Old Brompton Road.
Thali Restaurant has been open now for over six years and I’m still surprised how much I don’t hear about it, considering it’s really rather good. With London opening so many new restaurants every day, we shouldn’t forget about the ones we already have and that have been doing what they do best for a long time. The food here is North Indian, showcasing all those classics you’d hope for such as seekh kebab, korma, samosas and of course as the name suggest, Thalis. I’ll say it now too – the samosas are excellent. Perfect in fact.
Oddly enough, in a restaurant called Thali – we never ordered a thali. In all honestly other dishes on the menu sounded too good to ignore and I’m glad, otherwise we may have never gotten round to sampling the outstanding chaats on offer. The aloo papari chat, a mixture of potatoes, sweet yoghurt and tamarind was mouth-watering, but even better still was the palak chaat. We didn’t actually order this dish but the fantastic staff introduced it to us. Crisp and crunchy spinach drenched in more of that tamarind sauce, chutney, yoghurt and a sprinkling of chopped onions and tomato. Such a fantastic balance of sweet & sour – and all incredibly fresh. Lamb chops from the starters section were another stunner. Succulent, meaty and oh-so rich with a gorgeous fragrant flavour and pockets of crisp & charred fat.
One thing I love about the cooking here is it’s so refined. Not an ounce of old oil or fat can de detected – it feels clean. Venison bhuna was a dish I’ve never encountered before in an Indian restaurant, I’ve had a bhuna, yes – but it’s rare you see venison on the menu. Did it work? Sort of. Personally I find venison a hard meat to pair with Indian food as it should never be cooked past that medium-rare level and here it was more well-done. Still, the bhuna’s flavour was fantastic. The naan breads were one of the highlights too, very buttery and very crisp. My chicken korma was much paler in colour than I’m used to, but the flavour was so refined and the sauce as smooth as silk. It’s wasn’t going all out in big flavours but instead it was very well-balanced. We finished off with a warming bowl of nutty dal makani, full of fragrant cumin and just a touch of chilli heat.
If gulab jamun is ever on the menu in an Indian restaurant, there’s not holding me back. Thankfully it’s on almost every Indian restaurant’s menu now here in the UK so there’s never a dull ending to dessert. The gulab jamun here at Thali Restaurant was nice, but sadly a little burnt for my liking meaning the outer a little harder than usual and the syrup not quiet saturated all the way through.
Given this restaurants prime location, the one thing that surprises me most, is the prices. It’s such good value for money. Appetisers start at a mere £3.50 while main courses from around £11. Thali Restaurant has been around well before the London restaurant scene boom and these guys know exactly what they’re doing. Yes there’s room for improvement, but with a little extra care then I’ve no doubt they’ll be here for some time to come. Thali Restaurant is the perfect local and one which I’ll certainly be returning too.
7.5/10
