Travelers Thali House

We had a delicious and relaxed Friday dinner last night at the new Travelers Thali House that moved into Beacon Hill a few weeks ago. This is a second location to the Travelers on Capital Hill and is quite a welcome addition to the south end of Seattle, being both Indian and vegetarian food! The space is pretty dreamy–a Northwest craftsman style house, painted purple with prayer flags and mandala wall hangings:

A little patio out front with a brick oven and a warm airy interior with wood floors and a casual vibe. We sat inside by the open window and there was a nice breeze as we were eating. The food was very good, with a lot of variety. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, they have the thali meal option, which is basically a tray containing lots of little dishes of different foods (see picture above). They have three sizes of thali and so we each opted for the middle size (the ‘Janata Thali’ for $7.50). We ordered some chapatis for $2.00(the whole wheat flat breads-like tortillas) on the side:

and at the end of the meal we were both uncomfortably full and glad we had not ordered the larger size thali. While the whole restaurant is vegetarian, they are happy to accomodate vegan diets and say so on their menu. I ordered the vegan option and this is what it contained:

1 bowl of dal (a nice lentil soup)

1 bowl of baingan bharta (a smushed eggplant curry)-delicious!

1 mixed vegetable salad (cukes, tomatoes, daikon, lime, etc)

1 bowl basmati rice

1 dish indian pickle (i am not a fan of this pickle.)

1 mango chutney

1 dish of fruit (grapes, pineapple, canteloupe)

side of chapatis (ordered separately).

All in all, it was a satisfying and very affordable meal, and we’re looking forward to going back again. Apparently the thalis change each month depending on the seasonal availability and they also have lots of a la carte options, which we’re looking forward to trying. They’re open for lunch and dinner and also have chai–something I’ll definitely pop in to try (since chai is my favorite and I’m on the endless mission to find better and better chais–stay tuned for a Seattle Chai post in the near future). They also have a small shop area in the restaurant with classic Indian grocery items, a rack of spices, and their very own “Travelers Chai”. Stop in to try it if you’re around the area and in the mood for Indian. The last business in this particular location did not last long, so I’m hoping that Travelers is here to stay!

Have any of you tried Travelers on Beacon Hill or Capital Hill? Do you have favorite vegan-friendly Indian restaurants or recipes?