Thaliwala Indian Kitchen — Restaurant in Chanhassen

My Wife shared her experience of Taliwala earlier but I wanted to add my twist, this is my first review so forgive any issues please!!

We had been to the restaurant a few times before both to eat in and to get take out, came again last night not realizing it was under new management so was confused at first to be directed to a table, previously, then it had a more fast food vibe, even if you were eating in, where you ordered at the counter and then took a seat or left with your food and emphasized only credit card payments, which is fine most people pay by credit card anyway, so if you had been before and left not understanding why no one came to serve you after you came in and sat down and no one came to wait on you please try it again, I am sure you wont be disappointed. Anyway after being told no it is now under new management and that things have changed with an extended menu and a new way of working we were seated and looked at the new menu, it was more extensive than before, which previously only had maybe 3 or 4 meat based dishes and the same for vegetarian dishes, plus a handful of starters, I would say it was decent at maybe 7 out of 10, obviously not too shabby at all, the fact we went back this time showed we liked it before. However now under the new management they have extended the menu lots more, like 1000% more variety across starters, mains with meat and also without meat and streetfood choices, also now offering alcoholic drinks as well as the normal lassi and soft drinks, more similar to other Indian based cuisine restaurants across the twin cities. Anyway to our experience, we try and have more or less the same things the first time we go to a new Indian based restaurant to judge it to others we had been to before, We got Fish Pakora, which was Swai (kind of like catfish) in a super tasty chickpea batter with a small side of radish (daikon maybe), poppadums, with the tamarind and mint sides and Chicken Momo's (kind of a Chinese dumpling with an Indian based chicken filling) as our starters all were very tasty and well recommended, cannot wait to try some of the other starter dishes. Our mains were a lamb curry (medium spiced) and Chicken coconut curry (mega mild) with basic basmati rice, which was accompanied with some peas a nice touch, and my wife also had a peshwari naan which is a honey and nut filled naan, which is a sweet and tasty bread based side, other types of naan were also available. The lamb and chicken were very tasty, very tender, the lamb in particular was excellent, not a meat that is too popular here in the US but as UK born folks we love our lamb and the spice and flavor levels were perfect to what we asked for. When we arrived there was multiple large groups already seated and eating but the staff found time to get us seated, sorted and took our orders in a timely manner, the food came out in a timely manner and well staggered so as not to have all the food on our table at once and as discussed above everything was excellent. I would highly recommend the restaurant based upon our visit and experience on this visit. The restaurant under the old management was not bad at all was a solid 7 out of 10 and we had gone back again as already mentioned above, but now I would say a good solid 9.5 out of 10 maybe based on the dishes you pick 8-9 out of 10 (I can only judge what we had on this occasion and based upon our likes), really happy to have a place like this in Chanhassen so close to home, just need to do a good Indian flavor fried rice like another restaurant we have visited in the twin cities to get 10-11 out of 10 (ha ha). Highly recommend if you like...

Update: 8/12/2024- wanted come back and update the review. The restaurant seems to have been sold out to an Indian owner and the menu items drastically changed. Tried there twice since the change, and I have to admit, the quality of food is not the same. Once a highly rated restaurant now I am wishing that it remains the same. Owners were welcoming but the few items I ordered did not taste as I had expected. I will try a few more dishes and come back for a review, hopefully to add a lot of good reviews.. Leaving the rating still at 5 to come back and review again once I have tried a few more dish. Thaliwala, a Nepali restaurant located in the southern metro of the Twin Cities, fills a much-needed gap for authentic Nepali cuisine in the area. As the owners also own the popular Nepali restaurant "Gorkha Palace" in the downtown area, my expectations were high, and Thaliwala did not disappoint. The menu style and food maintain the same level of authenticity as its downtown counterpart.

During my visit, I tried the Vegetarian Thali, and I must say, the flavors took me back to Nepal. The "Saag" cooked in ghee had that distinct taste that reminded me of meals made on a traditional "chulo." The Vegetarian Momos were equally delightful, with an appealing presentation and generous portion size. The price of $13.99 for a plate of 12 momos is excellent, and I hope it remains unchanged in the future. One minor downside was that they did not provide hot sauce as a default option for the momos, and there was an extra $1 charge for it. It would be great if they included hot sauce without the additional charge.

We also ordered the "Pakauda," and they were equally authentic and tasty. The restaurant itself has a cozy ambiance, and the staff is welcoming and friendly. I particularly appreciated their decision to add an 18% gratuity to each order to provide benefits to their staff. This demonstrates their commitment to their employees, and I applaud Thaliwala for taking this step.

Since Thaliwala is a relatively new establishment, having opened just three months ago, I look forward to returning in about a year to see how they maintain their standards. Based on my experience, I believe it has the potential to become one of the best Nepali restaurants in the...

Came to dine-in on a whim, without reading all the reviews, relying on the 4.8 rating. Travelled 30 minutes, and let me tell you, I couldn’t have been more underwhelmed with the experience. I am East Indian and I usually don’t have high expectations for Indian restaurants, as there are only a few that I have truly been impressed with. I am tired of all the low-end Indian restaurants that are everywhere and am starved for a high-end Indian restaurant in the area (but I digress). Here’s a breakdown of my rating:

Food: below average. We ordered samosa chaat and it was soggy (re-warmed in a microwave?) with weird colored Chana and was not at all flavorful (supposed to be tangy from tamarind and yogurt sauce, but there was none of that). Tandoori Murgh (chicken on sizzler) was also flavorless and didn’t come with any accompanying sauces (no tamarind or mint or cilantro chutney - why?). Chicken Josh curry was good, although it didn’t taste like “Josh”, but more like a typical curry sauce, even similar to makhani (butter chicken) sauce. Served never asked us what spice level we wanted for any of the food. Naan was good, but needed to be buttered better. Raita and lassi was sweet - why? I don’t expect my side yogurt or my plain lassi to be sweet, that was very off-putting. Also the “lassi” is not authentic. More like a sugary smoothie. Lassi is (and this is my non-homemade western cheat) buttermilk and water - nothing else, and it’s amazing, but definitely an acquired taste, so perhaps that’s why they make their “lassi” into a sugary smoothie and call it lassi.

Service: very, very, very slow.

Atmosphere: lackluster and cheap feeling. No “Indian” inspired atmosphere. Not even a single picture on the wall. Boxes everywhere inside when you walk in the front. Outside sign needs TLC, open sign was not lit (not working?).

Price: expensive for what you get.

Overall: do not recommend. Even India Palace in Burnsville is better than this place, and that’s saying a lot.

For people who have not seen what a nice Indian restaurant looks like, search: East India Company Pub & Eatery (in Winnipeg, Canada) and Indian Chef...