That's the difference between ordinary wayside food stalls and glamorous Restaurants. Though the quality of the food and the material used are same., an ordinary wayside food stall doesn't bother to add extra paraphernalia like liveried butlers and air conditioners. This is the reason for the vast difference in expenses.

I was not talking about the price rise in general but to the fact that at whatever price the thali is sold ,one generally is able to eat proportionately much less than the price being charged. Unlimited is a misnomer.

vijay wrote:

I too love the taste of various Indian thalis. But I have couple of reservations. One is that even before you have taken your seat the service starts. A large variety of items are put in your thali one after another in small measures. Soon you end up eating only two or three items and are stuffed out to enjoy the unlimited food on offer. The charges are therefore working out to very high compared what quantity one ends up eating.Recently I ate a Gujarati Marwari mix thali in Mumbai and it cost Rs 550/-  Too costly. Also in most restaurants the moment you finish you have to vacate because people are waiting. So you end up feeling you had an assembly line like lunch. However filled thalis are very attractive to look at and are appeatising. @Kalyani wrote about Kashmiri Thali in Pune. I am hearing about it first time. Can she elaborate pl.

@Vijay, in Pune you get not exactly a full Kashmiri thali, but there is a great place called The Northern Frontier where you get authentic Kashmiri dishes such as various types of shorba, kababs, fish dishes, and dishes made from lotus stems. The food is really good and delicious, nd there are a nice variety of dishes for vegetarians too.

vijay wrote:

I was not talking about the price rise in general but to the fact that at whatever price the thali is sold ,one generally is able to eat proportionately much less than the price being charged. Unlimited is a misnomer.

 

The term " Unlimited " is being used to draw the eaters. This of course is misnomer. But,  many South Indian hotels make it clear what the term " Unlimited" comprises of. Only thing is you have to make it clear before one starts ordering the food. Else you are bound to receive a fat Bill.

vijay wrote:

I was not talking about the price rise in general but to the fact that at whatever price the thali is sold ,one generally is able to eat proportionately much less than the price being charged. Unlimited is a misnomer.

 

I agree with you, this is not possible to eat everything that is served in certain thalis having 50+ items. That is nothing but sheer waste of food. They should rather serve according to choice of customers, but that is my personal opinion only. Personally speaking, I can not eat more than 5-6 vegetables at a time however small the quantity. 

Many restaurants have economic thalis that are nutritious ...I travel frequently to Bangalore by day bus and generally the bus stops midway at a way side restaurant called Adigas for lunch  which is clean and has a variety of dishes...They serve a thali with chapatis, rice and 2-3 vegetables, sambhar, rasam,curds and a sweet and charge Rs 80 which is good value for money..

There is always an option to choose the food for the customer . You are allowed to pick your food out of the "Unlimited food." This avoids wastage of food. But the cost of the food for Unlimited " food will remain same. In a nutshell whether you eat away all the food in the list or a few of your liking, the cost is the same. This makes many people greedy and go all out and grab  all the items in the list and end up as Food Wasters.

This is the practice in Vizag.

By the it's not in the list but in thali itself so people have not much of a choice. The South Indian Thalis are better in this matter as they do not serve too many items but Marwari and Gujarati Thalis are really something to watch. A person like me will feel full at the mere look of them.

Again this is about Vizag restaurants.

Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..

rambabu wrote:

 

Again this is about Vizag restaurants.

Whatever a particular hotel is having for a particular day, it will be displayed in a board along with the rates.. After seeing the board and confirming that the Hotel is having what he needs, the customer will by tickets. This is one way. Another way is , after you sit down immediately a server appears and discloses the things available in a sing song manner.. Here too the eater can have his choice..

 

Most hotels in all cities have a menu written down in the front ...But a thali remains more or less the same everywhere except that vegetables are different ..