- Thali Cafe frontage
A lot of my posts of late have concerned food, so apologies if you’re in this for the travel stories because here comes another. I really couldn’t resist writing about this place Joe and I discovered whilst in Bristol lately, so although Indian restaurant Thali Cafe may be a household name to Bristolians (it’s a Bristol chain, apparently) the masses may still have been kept in the dark.
Thali Cafe started 15 years ago serving up its signature dish, the Northern Thali, on the festival circuit. The word Thali is actually the type of street food found in India involving several small, healthy dishes served on sections of a specially designed metal dish. After tasting success at the festivals, the owners decided to open the first of three restaurants in Bristol.
The Thali Cafe we visited was in Clifton, a tiny two-floored affair clinging to the corner where the road falls away to parkland on Regents Street.
The decor is a mix of kitsch art from the days of the raj and reworked school chairs and tables, leather arm chairs and open-brick walls. There are three floors; the top two for dining, with three tables each, and the bottom floor sofa-clad, perfect for meeting friends over a mango lassie. The most intriguing artwork is a large photograph of an aloof but smiling Indian gentleman whom the staff believe was incredibly rich, due to the size of the picture.
- Upstairs-downstairs; the interior
For starters we shared bhel puri, a puffed rice dish served with chutney and (satisfactorily) a free kingfisher beer. For mains I chose the southern thali, a perfectly flaky, mild white fish curry served with spiced dhal, a divine roasted tomato relishy thing and a crunchy salad of cauliflower, white cabbage and cashews. Joe had the northern, which cane with the same accompaniments alongside a thick, red tandoori-baked lamb.
- crunchy bhel puri with chutney, raita and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds
- Attention to detail here is key
The Thali Cafe have a series of cookery tutorials to drool over on Youtube, but if this post is making you hungry I’d recommend lovers of Indian cuisine to flock to the Thali Cafe and try this gem for themselves, because you can bet your bhel puri it won’t be staying a Bristolian secret for long.
Eaten by Emilee 