The Ultimate List of Best Thalis In Mumbai for the Real Foodie in You (2020)!

Did you know that your appetite could be filled in just less one dollar? Yes, you heard it right. Thali is an Indian-style meal comprising a variety of foods served on one single platter, traditionally made of stainless steel, brass, or aluminum. Every state in India has its own version of thali, so you can safely say that you can have a thali in every possible Indian cuisine! And, it has also taken regional names such as Thattu in Tamil and Meitei in Manipuri. The vegetables and other food items in a thali differ as per the cuisine and region, but traditionally, an authentic thali must contain six types of flavours: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent, and spicy.

If you call yourself a real foodie, you must have had many memorable experiences relishing a sumptuous meal out of a thali. And, if you are a Mumbaikar, you do not even have to move out of the city to taste the wholesome meals bursting of myriad flavours!

An ideal thali contains two appetizers, two sweet dishes like Gulab Jamun and halwa, four types of vegetables, dal, rotis, papad, pickles and a bowl of rice. After your meal, your thali is complete with a side drink like solkadi or buttermilk. Some restaurants also have a system of ordering unlimited rotis on your thali order. There are also many types of thali and its competition in some restaurants like Bahubali Thali for which you need a huge appetite.

Vegetarian thali is like a complete 3-course meal for foodies. If you're vegetarian, you will have many options for thalis like Punjabi Thali, Gujarati Thali, Maharashtrian Thali, and many others. Each variety has its own identity of state and culture in its plate. For example, In Punjabi Thali, the dish will have chole, puri/roti/ chapati, rajma, sev ki bhaaji while a Maharashtrian Thali will have potato vegetable, lady finger, dal, chapatis/rotis. You can enjoy such best thali meals in Mumbai in the restaurants mentioned below.

Known for the best Rajasthani Thali, Chetana is one of the best places in Mumbai to have vegetarian food. They serve thalis regularly to the customers. Their thali contains an appetizer, three starters, three vegetables, three types of rotis, three types of rice, two sweets, and salad/raita. They have three types of Thalis - Gujarati, Rajasthani and Maharashtrian Thali for Rs.400. Out of these, Rajasthani Thali is considered to be the best and then comes the Gujarati Thali. Their Rajasthani Thali contains the Dal Bati Churma and Churma Ladoo while their Rajasthani Thali contains its traditional vegetable - Undhiyo and Aamras.

Established in 1945, Shree Thaker Bhojanalay is one of the best places to try Gujarati Thali. Their Gujarati Thali includes chutneys, pickles, farsan, four to five vegetables (vegetable will change every day), roti/chapati/pulkas/Puran Poli with plain rice or pulav (you can choose) and some sweet dishes like aamras, shrikhand, basundi, jalebi and many more. They also prepare Undhiyo on special occasion according to seasons. You can enjoy this delicious thali for Rs.500.

Started in 1960, Thackers has become one of the largest and one of the famous food destinations in Mumbai. It is famously known for its specialty in Gujarati thali. For just Rs.390 they serve you a very delicious, finger licking thali which contains rotis/phulkas/puris, three subzis, three varieties of farsan, one kathole, kadhi, rice, dal, pulao/khichadi and papad, kachumber salad, limbu marcha, and chhaas. Not only the food but the restaurant also has a perfect ambiance to relax.

Started in Karachi in 1895, Bhagat Tarachand has successfully gained fame for its food in Mumbai. The restaurant’s main focus is to serve the best quality and fresh food to their customers. Their Gujarati Thalis is one of the best foods to try out from their menu, which is slightly modernized. Their Gujarati thali consists of two types of subzis, dal tadka fry, a boondi raita that is a right blend of spicy and sweet, 4 phulkas served piping hot, one katori of rice, and dessert along with Chaas. The price of this thali is Rs.190 for a Regular Thali and Rs.220 for their Special Thali. Apart from thali, Kuthi Beer is also one of their popular drink on the menu which is loved by everyone. It is a delicious chass which is served in a beer bottle.

Known for the best ambiance, Status Veg Restaurant is also famous for its Gujarati Thali. They prepare thali on a daily basis without taking the traditional essence from the plate. Their thali has been loved by many foreign tourists passing by. Their Gujarati Thali has farsan, four vegetables, dal, chapatis, pulao, papad, and sweets. You can totally have a traditional Gujarati Thali for Rs. 335.

South High is one of the best places to treat your taste buds with South Indian flavours. They serve four types of thali, which includes vegetarian thali, mutton thali, chicken thali, and surmai thali. The best part of the veg thali is that it is unlimited for Rs.250. The thali is served in a very South Indian traditional way on banana leaf with buttermilk, coconut chutney, garlic chutney, pulinchi, pickle, three starters, sambhar, rasam, papad, four main course vegetable, rotis/paratha/puri/dosa/uttapam, Mangalore boiled rice, ghee, sheera, payasam, dry sweet.

Established in 1993, Golden Star Thali has mastered the art of making any foodie fall in love with their Gujarati and Rajasthani thalis. The Golden Star Thali is also internationally famous and has been featured in NY Times. Their thali consists of four veggie dishes, farsan, Gujarati dal, dal bati, rotis, three types of rice (plain, mixed khichdi, and pulao), along with dessert dish of desi ghee jalebis, malpua rabdi and kesar puran poli too. On weekdays the price of this thali is Rs.450 while on weekends, public holidays, and food festivals, it is Rs.500.

No books say that only vegetarians can enjoy thalis. Many restaurants even serve non-vegetarian thalis as well. Read below to know who are the most loved non-veg restaurants serving non-veg thali.

There are some cuisines which are rarely served, and one of them is Kashmiri Cuisine which is served at Poush restaurant. Poush is one of the known names serving Kashmiri veg and non-veg thali. Their Maharaj Thal, which is a non-veg thali, includes seekh kebab, rogan josh, kokur yakhini, nadier palak, rajma, raita, roti, rice, phirni or gulab jamun and kahwah. The Maharaja Thali serves one person maximum for Rs.704.

J P Lunch home is known as the best Malvani restaurants in Mumbai. The lunch home is famous for its Pomfret Thali which has rotis, rice, solkadi with delicious fry fish covered in rawa, which makes it crispy. The thali is priced at just Rs. 210. They have 16 types of fish thali and 15 other types of non-veg thalis. It’s definitely a seafood lover’s paradise!

People travel all the way to Konkan to have Konkani Fish Dish, but you can enjoy the Konkan flavours in your town only at Pangat Restaurant. Established in 2009, Pangat has totally won people's hearts with its delicious Pomfret Thali. The thali is served with one full pomfret fish, 2 fish gravy dishes, dried prawns, coconut chutney, rice and solkadi for Rs. 595.

Konkan Thali is known for its fish thali in Mumbai. They serve 22 diverse types of thalis, including Bangda thali, Surmai Thali, Bombil thali, Pomfret Thali, and more. They serve two curries, one fish according to your order, solkadi, Bakri/chapati, rice in thali from starting Rs.200 in fish variety. They also organise a buffet in their restaurants.

Malwan is best known for Seafood, and Malwani Kalwan serves the best seafood thali. They have 6 non-veg thalis out of which 4 are fish thalis. Their fish thali includes one full fish piece, two curries, solkadi, rice and chapati/ amboli/ vade. The price of fish thali starts from Rs.280 and will increase depending on your fish choice and bread.

Known for the best Maharashtrian coastal cuisine, Gajalee is one of the best places to have fish thali. It is successfully running its restaurants not only in Mumbai but in Singapore as well. Their primary focus is to serve the best quality and quantity to their customers. Their ideal thali contains fish masala, two pieces of bombil fry, one bhaji, coconut-kokum sol kadi, rice and two chapattis for Rs.290. They also have some other non-veg thali dishes of chicken and mutton which are considered the second-best in Gajalee. You can order a mix and match thali dishes as well.

Surmai Fish Thali is one of the famous dishes most loved by people living in Mumbai. One of the best places in Mumbai where one can have Surmai Fish Thali is Jai Hind Lunch Home. The thali is served with 3 chapattis, fried surmai, the coconut-based gravy, and steamed rice. The Surmai fish thali is a treat to your taste buds for Rs.389.

You will always enjoy the meal if you are aware of how to eat it. In India, every meal has a particular traditional way of having a meal. Here are some ideas to help you enjoy your thali at the fullest:

The very traditional and perfect way to enjoy your thali is to have it with your hands and not flatware. You should ideally use your right hand to eat food off your thali while the left hand is used to pour curries into your plate. The best part of eating a thali is at the end when you lick the curries off your fingers, perhaps wishing for one more morsel should your tummy allow it!

After the starters (finger foods, farsan items), you may proceed to have chaas or buttermilk that will help you cleanse your palate. Next, you could proceed to try out the vegetables that can be relished with chapatis. Further, move to the curries that can be eaten with the rice preparation. Feel free to try different combinations of dishes and settle for what you find the tastiest! In the end, keep room for the sweet dishes, buttermilk or solkadi.

Do not hurry to finish your thali. Try all food items, even the ones you would normally fuss over while eating, to have a holistic experience of relishing your thali. If you are pressed for time and need to be at some other place after your meal, it is advisable to skip the thali for a later time, because neither will you be able to enjoy it nor will you be able to finish the full course. Always take your time to complete your thali.

It is always better to have a thali on an empty stomach because there is so much to try and relish, so you must make room for this special meal! If you are a small eater in general, we recommend you to not eat anything for at least 5-6 hours before having your thali experience. Don’t tell us you weren’t warned!