Thali Inn, Boat Basin, Clifton

If you would like to visit a place where you are served all kinds of food belonging to Arabian, Pakistani and South Indian cuisine in large, sometimes sizzling and smoking platters, then Thali Inn is the stop for you and your family.

It is located at the end of Boat Basin that is closer to the Karachi Grammar School campuses, next to the - ahem - open air "river". 

It is in line with the famous Qasr Al-Nakheel and Hobnob bakery. 

Most of the items on the menu are served in the form of platters or thali's. 

A few entree's are individual too, but the serving sizes of most are enough for two people or a small family.  

You can see how unique some of the entrees are. I can tell you, they really did sizzle and let off smoke! 

The decor of the family hall is rustic, colored in hues of matted beige and rust. 

The furniture is made of carved wood! That was a hit with me. :)

The walls are textured to give the impression of a village hut with mud walls. 

It sounds a bit of an anti climax, but we were not in the mood for meat. Rather, the idea of having a South Indian type of thali with different kinds of vegetarian curries, motivated us to visit Thali Inn.  

Therefore, we ordered this Vegetarian Thali for Rs 285, and one chicken tikka.

Garlic Nan and Puri Paratha's. 

The Vegetarian Thali had boiled rice, channa curry (the kind you get with halwa puri), Kadhi (gram flour and yogurt curry), achar (pickles) and moong daal.  

It also had mixed vegetable bhaji/bhujia (visible on top left corner). 

The whole offering was more than enough for two people. The dumpling (pakora) in the Kadhi was not very soft, but the rest was great! 

I especially love how our local Pakistani cuisine offers the greatest variety of naans. The garlic naan served fresh and piping hot, was just out of this world! 

Our bill came to Rs 530, including 2 drinks.

Verdict: On the adjoining tables, we saw some appetizing, smoking and sizzling platters being served to families, having meat ranging from kababs to whole fish! 

Next time, we intend to try one of their family-sized, sizzling, meaty stuff, insha'Allah. 

Qasr Al-Nakheel, Boat Basin, Clifton

This eatery on one corner of Boat Basin has been around since I was a kid, which means a good two decades. Qasr Al-Nakheel means "Fort of the Date Palm Trees" in Arabic (which  also implies that I learned something in these two decades, because as a child I always wondered what on earth such a complex-sounding name actually meant!)

 Anyway, of late this place was recommended to me by many. I kept hearing  here and there about how good it was, so one day we decided to try it out, especially since it has a nicely-decorated family room.

The menu shows that its prices are actually quite economical.

They offer a wide variety of cuisines: from the Lebanese shawarma to Arabic hummus. All Afghan and traditional Pakistani BBQ items are also available.

The ambience is alright. At least the AC was working, and that is what really matters the most at times, in Karachi's heat!

We ordered their Bar B.Q thali, which had meat of all kinds thrown in. This cost Rs 350 and was more than enough for our family. 

It had Afghani Pulao (pilaf) in its centre, one Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kababs, Fish Tikka, and Mutton Boti along with tamarind chutney and salad. 

Everything was fresh and tender.

The garlic naans were piping hot and, as you can see clearly, quite out of this world in taste!

Overall verdict: The thali was so good and economically priced, and the staff was so polite (something that makes a big difference to our family), that we will definitely try this place again in the future, insha'Allah, especially if we are in the mood for "meaty" BBQ.