New Menu Sampling at Thali Cafe Clifton

Last week I was invited to try some of the new items on the menu at the Thali cafe. Not one to shirk duty I invited the very lovely Charlie of Bedsit Bonnne Vivante to join me for dinner. It was a miserably wet and cold evening but the cheer of enjoying a pre drink in Nettle & Rye lifted our spirits and we headed down to the Thali cafe. We were greeted very cheerfully by the staff and sat near the window so we could watch the passers by.

Starting the evening with the Thali gin and tonic which comes with grapefruit wedges and they make their own tonic don't you know? We couldn't pass up a couple of their poppadoms each, they do the best selection of dips, twists on the classics you expect to find at Indian restaurants. Of course you have the mango chutney which has a bit of chilli added to it but also you'll find tomato with tamarind, coconut and ginger, a personal favourite, and finally coriander coconut.

For our mains we ordered the new grill mains, chicken tikka and lamb shish which are served on a fluffy naan, mooli salad, leafy greens, pomegranate raita and Keralan thoran. We also ordered side orders of Govindram's Potato fries double fried potato served with tomato tamarind chutney.

lamb shish grill

chicken tikka grill

Govindram's potato fries

karalan thonan

Their poppadoms were great as always. I really enjoyed the chicken tikka on naan. The naan was so soft and the chicken was spiced but not spicy, although I do love some heat so I wouldn't have minded if it had had a kick, although that isn't something you expect from tikka anyway. The mooli salad offered a crunchy and fresh texture. We were very kindly also given an extra portion of Keralan thonan and this turned out to be one of our favourite dishes. Stir fried squash, beetroot and curry leaves with toasted coconut. So delicious, it had a little heat to it and it was particularly morish. It was the one dish in particular we wanted to replicate at home, it was healthy but super tasty.

The only let down of the night were Govindram's potato fries. They looked a little over done and didn't really taste of a lot which was surprising really. However it didn't detract too much from the rest of the meal which was wonderful. So now if you don't fancy going down the curry route Thali cafe has some great grills for you to enjoy. More choice in this case is a very tasty good thing. To find out more about the Thali cafe's new menu items check out their website.

This meal was complimentary but did not affect my opinion writing this review. I will never be censored after all.