Lavish Gujarati Thali at Hotel Maharaja in Mount Abu, India

Mount Abu, situated in the State of Rajasthan in India is one of the most popular hill stations of India. I have visited this unique hill station for more than 12 times and have enjoyed it immensely each time. The foreigners also love to visit this hill station in view of the wide variety of the site seeing spots. The tourists love to stay here for around three days to relax and forget all the hassles and tensions of their life. There are hundreds of restaurants available here for the tourists, serving all types of food items. However, one of the most popular restaurants at Mount Abu is Hotel Maharaja that serves the famous Gujarati thali that is loved by most of the tourists.

Hotel Maharaja is situated opposite to Polo ground in the main market area in Mount Abu. This luxurious restaurant is fully air conditioned and is having very comfortable sitting arrangement. The restaurant serves only vegetarian Gujarati thali, both during lunch and dinner time. The restaurant serves lunch from 11 am to 3 pm and the dinner from 7 pm to 10 pm everyday. Our family is extremely fond of the Gujarati thali served here at this restaurant. The thali consists of two sweet items. One sweet item is served unlimited, while the second desert item is served in limited quantity. The sweets of Gulab Jamuns and Makhhanvada were served to us during our visit to this restaurant recently. The two varieties of farsan items are served in each meal. The farsan items can be anything like Vegetable Pakoda, Samosas, Dhoklas, Khaman, Aloo Bonda, Bhelpuri, Chat Masala, or any such item. Both the farsans are served in unlimited quantity to all the visitors. Four different vegetables are served in all the meals. The famous Indian Chapattis are served in steaming hot condition. The dal and Indian Curry are also served in this thali. The option of rice as well as Masala Khichadi is also available to each visitor. The mix vegetarian salad is also served in the thali. The masala papad, chutneys, and the mango prickle also are part of this unique Gujarati thali. All the items except one sweet are served in unlimited quantity. In all, around twenty items are served in each meal. The evening menu consists of Bhakhri in addition to Chapattis and Masala Khichadi/ Curry in addition to the plain simple rice. The cost of this lavish thali is Rs.100 ($2.0) per person, which can be considered fairly reasonable looking to the standard of living of India.

The detailed menu of the items served everyday is displayed at the hotel entrance only in large block letters. This helps the tourists to check if the items of their choice are included in the menu or not. The menu items are also changed every day to offer different menu every day to the tourists. The waiters and the other hotel staff is extremely attentive and disciplined and wear colorful uniform. The restroom and the toilet facilities are also excellent and very clean and neat. The restaurant has a sitting capacity of eighty people in all. There are tables available for a large group of people up to fifteen. Only negative aspect of this restaurant is non availability of proper parking space in the hotel compound. The tourists would need to park their cars in the Polo ground that is situated near by. The service of the restaurant is also excellent and the tourists may not need to ask for any specific items as all the items are served regularly without any time delay. One vital aspect that must not be forgotten is to order sealed bottles of mineral drinking water along with the meal, as the drinking water at Mount Abu is hard and may not be suitable to all.

Our family liked this Gujarati thali of Hotel Maharaja very much and visited this restaurant twice during our short stay of three days at Mount Abu. That is why I have no hesitation in recommending this special Gujarati Thali meal to all my AC friends and readers during their visit to Mount Abu in India.