Maharaja Bhog translates to ‘food fit for a King’.

Located in Karama, Dubai next to Ansar Gallery, we decided to give it  a try this weekend.

Maharaja Bhog is a premium vegetarian thali restaurant.

Thali is the traditional Indian concept of serving a number of preset dishes together on a thal, a large silver platter.

At Maharaja Bhog, the thali is unlimited. This means your platter is replenished as many times as you like.

Maharaja Bhog’s thali comprises of 30 different dishes on one thal, and the menu is changed on a daily basis.

The staff are well-trained and very attentive. They have a unique 5-finger communication system to alert servers on what dish needs replenishing per table, so there’s always someone by your side attending to your needs.

We heard Maharaja Palace was very popular, but whoa! There was a huge queue waiting for tables! Perhaps it was the New Year weekend rush…

We had a 30 minute wait before we got our table. Thankfully Ansar Gallery is right next door, so window-shopping kept us occupied.

The interiors are clean, modern, well lit and comfortable.

Once seated, the staff started filling our thalis right away.

An LCD screen beside each table displays the set menu for the day.

The cuisine is North Indian, a cusp between Rajasthani and Gujarati flavors.

With 30 dishes on the thali, there was plenty of variety and it was very easy to end up over-eating.

It is hard to pinpoint which dish I liked best. Perhaps the Paneer Pulao? A mildly spiced pilaf with cottage cheese.

Desert is also included in the thali. We had Gulab Jamun and Strawberry Halwa. I have a sweet tooth, but even I found these a little too rich and sweet.

For drinks, they serve the traditional Chaach, a salted buttermilk. It is said to be a digestive.

Overall, the food was satisfying and the ambience pleasing. The service, given it was rush hour, was still very impressive and up to the mark.

Just because it is vegetarian, don’t expect Maharaja Bhog to be a place for dieters! The food is rich and calorie-laden, and the helpings generous and unlimited. Afterall, the menu is made to please a King!

At AED 40 per thali, this is definitely a premium joint. You get thalis as low as AED 12 in the UAE, but this one has 30 dishes.

If you are craving traditional Indian vegetarian food and you’re really, really hungry then Maharaja Bhog is the place to go.