Toral Restaurant, Hotel Prince

Toral is the Gujarati thali restaurant inside Hotel Prince on Station Road in Bhuj, and it is the meal most consistently recommended to travellers passing through Kutch on the way to the Rann, Mandvi or the craft villages of Banni. The thali is unlimited and generous: four vegetable shaak, two farsan, two sweets, dal, kadhi, chapati, rice, chaas, salad and papad, with refills brought until diners stop. Prices sit around INR 250-350 per person (~$2.60-3.65), which is modest for a hotel restaurant. Kutchi cooking has its own character within Gujarat. Because of strong Jain and Vaishnav influence many households and kitchens avoid onion and garlic entirely, the region is arid so bajra and jowar rotla dominate over wheat, and dairy is central, with buttermilk served in quantity at every meal. The thali here reflects the local style rather than presenting a generic Ahmedabad platter. The hotel also runs Jesal, a Punjabi restaurant, on the same premises for anyone wanting tandoori food instead, and being a hotel operation the dining room is air-conditioned, clean and open to non-residents. Everything is vegetarian and dry. Bhuj is the natural base for Kutch, and Station Road sits close to the bus stand and within reach of the Prag Mahal, Aina Mahal and the old bazaar, so Toral is convenient for a meal before or after a day trip out to Dhordo, Hodka or Mandvi.