MaanKi Thali & Indian Street Food — Restaurant in Mason

New to the area we wanted to try this restaurant that popped up as an ad on IG. We also saw the location while driving around and were curious. Inside the restaurant is super cozy and small. They would probably be completely full during the weekend. We went on Friday night and it was pretty little spot. The decor, the wall art, the music all fit the vibe. Our kids were not super hungry so we didn’t order anything for them except fries and 2 rotis.

We ordered the Chaas and the Nimbu paani and both were delicious. We preferred the chaas as it was refreshing and was an absolute blast in the mouth. We ordered the Katyawadi thali, khichidi kadhi thali. For the price for the thalis the amount of food was very very less. The menu said 1 rotis and 2 puris but I got a roti and a bhakri ki roti (I think) in the katyawadi thali. The bhakri roti was too dry and was too hard to eat. The bhindi as excellent, the paneer curry was not so good. The paneer was too hard and the gravy had no spices. The kadhi was really good and I just ate it with a spoon. I think the other curry was a cashew curry and it had a sweet aftertaste that felt wrong with the rotis. The lilva kachori was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the taste of the khichidi. Melted in your mouth, but again except the bhindi all id the dishes were bland. I expected a little heat with Rajasthani cuisine but was a little surprised not to get any.

Despite the food being bland, the taste was good, salt was sufficient just spice wasn’t enough. I will definitely come back here to try more items on the menu. And to get more chaas. If you are here do not forget to...

We were really looking forward to trying this new restaurant, but unfortunately, our experience was terrible.

First, the billing felt misleading—an 18% pre-tip charge was automatically added to our bill, despite it being just two of us. This kind of charge is typically reserved for larger parties (usually 6 or 7+). Worse, the staff still prompted us for an additional tip at checkout without disclosing that a gratuity had already been included. Had we not noticed it ourselves, we would’ve double-tipped. This felt very deceptive.

The food itself was underwhelming. It was served cold and lacked flavor. We ordered both thalis, and aside from one sabzi, they were identical—yet one was $2 more expensive. The thali is advertised as unlimited, but we were never offered seconds and 2 of our bowls did not even receive the first serving , we had to ask if something came in those bowls. Only then did the staff realize they had actually forgotten serving two items.

The service was chaotic, with multiple servers coming by to take our order—clearly no coordination or management in place. Even more concerning: the chairs are flimsy and unstable. I fell and injured my back, and I saw at least 3 other customer experiencing something similar. That’s a serious safety issue.

On top of that, the presentation was poor—our thalis were dusty from sitting out and had to be wiped down with tissues before eating. And the one dessert (possibly Mohanthal?) was rock-hard and inedible.

We had high hopes, but the poor service, food quality, unsafe seating, and sneaky billing practices made this a place we won’t be...

This place is one of my favorite new Indian places. The first time I tried it, we ate in and the first thing that you notice when waking in is the decoration! I’ve been to a lot of Indian restaurants in Cincinnati and when I came in to this space, I felt like I was walking back into Rajasthan! My boyfriend ordered a swaminarayan thali and I got the paneer bhurji thali (see the photo). His is the one with more dishes and came with a potato curry, a paneer curry, dhal, and halwa. Mine came with two pav and the paneer scramble. Everything was perfectly spiced and was similar to what I had when I was in Rajasthan last October. The person serving us gave us each a small bowl of the bhel puri to try, which was crazy fresh, crunchy, sour, sweet… all of the things you want in a puri!! I also ordered a nimbu pani, which was very refreshing with my meal.

The second time, I ordered for takeaway and got a pav bhaji thali and was so happy I almost cried. I don’t know what the two bhajis were exactly, but they were both delicious. I think one was a dhal and one was veggies. Regardless, I was so happy with that and the bhel puri that I ordered. I will definitely be back and I have recommended MaanKi Thali to friends who also love this...