Good Indian food in London can be hard to come by. Yes there’s Brick Lane, but enough said about cat korma, sometimes our Northern Soul just begs out for a decent bhaji!! Luckily for us, after a long stroll down Old Brompton Road we found exactly what we were looking for…Thali.
Serving up traditional dishes with a modern twist, the Thali cuisine focuses heavily on the Northern regions of India, but also fits some killer tandoori in the mix. Head chef Dila Ram has not only got the taste down to perfection, but also the presentation – the starters, in particular the fiery prawn balchao was served in its copper cooking pot, sizzling and full of flavour. The tandoori lamb chops were skillfully cooked, the balance of spice and cool yoghurt just morish.
And of course, we tried the Thali, small dishes of curries, ranging from the mild to the mighty, as well as rices and a tiny syrupy dessert, sweet enough to satisfy any Willy Wonka out there.
Our favourite dish though had to be one of the simplest – palak chaat, literally like nothing we’ve tasted before. A little vegetarian number of crispy spinach, which has been cooked for 7 hours, a pretty impressive feat that is prepared the evening before. Refreshing, and great for balancing the heavy spiced dishes. We asked whether this was a usual on Indian menus, unfortunately it was a Thali special…looks like we’ll be going back then!
Thali, 166 Old Brompton Rd, London, SW5 0BA
www.thali.uk.com