A steel tray of curries, rice, flatbread and cooling sides that Bristol adopted as its own, complete with a reusable steel tiffin-tin takeaway ritual all of its own.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Bristol's thali habit began with a cafe in Montpelier serving festival-style Indian food on compartmented steel trays. The format grew into a small local institution, winning Observer Food Monthly award notice, and its reusable steel tiffin scheme, where a £20 tin buys your first takeaway and endless refills, became a small piece of Bristol food culture in its own right, years before packaging-free shopping went mainstream.
Common allergens: Dairy, Gluten
Tip from the editors. A thali lives on contrast: one wet dish, one dry, one cooling, one sharp; balance those and the plate composes itself.
Thali Montpelier is the original of Bristol's thali institution, serving award-noted curry plates and reusable steel tiffin takeaways on York Road.
Try: Full thali
Tip: A past Observer Food Monthly cheap-eats award winner; vegan and gluten-free versions come as standard.
More cities are in research. Want thali covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.