Adrak Yorkville review




This place is in the neighborhood so when their signs went up I was looking forward to a visit. High end for this type of cuisine is almost non existent in the city with a few failed attempt here and there which are nothing to write home about. Sadly this place hasn’t changed that scene.
The setup is very nice with almost no expense spared on the interior and server ware. A very pleasant setup.
Now comes the downer the service is all over the place starting with the reservations. I had booked several weeks in advance but no spots were available except the bar area at not at a decent hour at that. I had a slight change in plans and ended up cancelling the first reservation. When things got sorted out and I looked again for the same date lo and behold a bunch of desirable times opened up (bar area only again) thinking they are busy I said ok no big deal. When I walked there were scores on empty tables and after a bit of chat we were given the table seating. What gives? there is a whopping $$ fee for less than 24 hours notice on cancellations. Why hold back seats for paying patrons.
Then came the table service with no one checking in after sitting down for a while to hovering on the tail end of the service. Need a bit of training here to sort this out.
On to the food we ordered two sample platters
Non vegetarian (grilled meat items) and milli juli chat
I thought the grilled meats were ok with some items spiced for western palate. The sides of condiments being decent. One could ask for a higher spice level I suppose as this city has diverse enough demographics that exposure to various food styles is expected.
Milli juli chat (apps) were just mediocre IMO. Just bland IMO with hardly any hint of spice that makes or breaks these appetizers.
The amuse bouche potato cracker was ok.
I enjoyed my Chimay blue as I feel it goes well with these spices. There is an extensive list of cocktails with visual appeal and tastes that might appeal.
Avante Garde cuisine this place is not however if you want to impress someone with the setup (read Instagram, TikTok or whatever is trendy in the social media) and folks who have western palate by all means do visit. I would even suggest coming here for the drinks instead of the food.

2 Likes

This is Adrak’s 2nd location, the first being in Richmond Hill that has been there for many many years, so if longevity is a thing, then they’re doing fine. They targeted on the higher end of the Indian food spectrum but really didn’t hit the mark as we didn’t find them better than their less expensive competitors. Now they want to go even higher in Yorkville area and looks like missed the mark again.

How full in capacity were they when you were there? Sometimes restaurants hold back on seating from their online reservations for walkins and people calling in. How do they compare to the likes of others like Pukka?

2 Likes

Yeah I recall the original Adrak in RH never tried it I think.
They had plenty of seating when we went and it did fill up a bit later though this is peak time Saturday night. I live around the around the corner and walk by often and haven’t seen them more than half full.
I think something closer to high end that I enjoyed was now defunct rickshaw bar though it has food from a lot of regions in the subcontinent otherwise I enjoy bhoj nearby

I live in Richmond Hill and have frequented ‘Adrak’ a few times. Food was OK albeit a touch expensive. Nowadays, for better tasting food and less gimmicky presentation/plating, I am getting my Indian food from ’ Bombay Bhel ’ from across the road ( Hwy#7) and also further down to ’ Chauhan’s ’ on Woodbine and 14th Ave instead!