Restaurant Review: Shankara Vegis Restaurant, Agra

After visiting the Taj we decided to have a late lunch in the cheap and lively Taj Ganj area of the city, just south of the main gates. The Lonley Planet was talkinig up the Taj views from the rooftop restaurants in the area and the "seriously good thali" at the Shankara restaurant.

Taj views are a bit of a stretch. All you can glimpse is the roofline of the Taj above a maze of telephone wires, the entrance gate and jumble of other buildings that have sprung up. They've also taken licence with the 'restaurant' description. The Shankara is someone's home. As you climb up to the roof you pass by bedrooms, bathrooms and through family seating areas.

Luckily they weren't messing around with the description of the thali, which at 150 rupees ($3.30 / £2.20) was excellent value. To load up on the carbohydrates there was a popadom, naan, rice and idle. Accompanying the carbs was a paneer curry, an excellent dahl and some cottage cheese.

Included in the special thali was a masala tea and a sweet gulab jamun for dessert. What value!

As we climbed back down the stairs and walked through the kitchen, I couldn't resist taking a quick photo. Unfortunately I didn't manage to capute the domesticity of the scene, but believe me this was no professional kitchen. All part of the wonderfully colourful life that is visiting India!