Rediscovering Toronto - also Indian buffet?

Been in Toronto about 5 months now (after being away for ages) and rediscovering places. I’m a bit put off by the incredible increase in things and trying to get used to $30-40 lunches that used to be $20. C’est la vie. Am in Parkdale now and there’s a bar/diner called Mezz that does some hearty meals from noon onwards. Definitely old fashioned comfort food. Ali’s Roti has been OK but not fantastic - I miss Coconut Grove, Xe Lua is still my favourite pho place but have let to try the new darlings of Ossington.

I am looking for a really good bento box, please. Also is anywhere doing an indian buffet lunch downtown? Having been in London (UK) for ages my expectations may be high for Indian food but I did used to love a buffet so I could choose what I liked. This is an art that London doesn’t do well - usually the choice is very limited and mostly carbs.

Thanks, HO pals.

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I can’t recommend any good Indian buffets. The last one I visited was in Little India (Gerrard St E). It wasn’t that good and it was 4 or 5 years ago.

For non-buffet Indian food, many people like Pukka on St Clair W. It is on the expensive side.

@Estufarian , any thoughts?

I started this affordable eats thread:

Aroma’s buffet on King W is open again. I haven’t been in 17 years. https://www.aromafineindian.com/

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I’ve heard good things about Leela but I haven’t been yet

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I’ve given up on most buffets - particulalrly Indian. If there’s a good buffet, I haven’t found it. Although there are a few exceptions, there seem to be two categories - upscale (Pukka is the best example IMO with separate sauces and premium ingredients (e.g. Mennonite chicken)); and ‘price sensitive’ - trying to be a bit cheaper than the neighbours - the latter then ‘hit the wall’ when the landlord raises the rent to whatever the current market is and the restaurant closes, often blaming the landlord.
My ‘solution’ has beeen to eat out a bit less frequently but to pay the rising prices for good quality.

The last buffet I recall trying was at Banjara - but my impression was that all the dishes were ‘hot or not’ - implying that they were using a couple of ‘mother sauces’ rather than layering the flavours according to the dish.

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Just need to say that the link you left, @Phoenikia was the funniest read ever! Also that yeah I know a buffet isn’t the best but I want to try a bit of a lot of things so individual dishes will be too large and the bill too expensive. It’s just for a bit of a laugh and nostalgia really. In London an order of something was small portions and small bucks. Perfect for this smaller eater! :slight_smile: We never paid more than about £20 and would have at least five or six items plus naan in that order. Culture shift.

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You’re quite right about the (bucket of) sauce method. Some of the best places do this, sadly. I liked Banjara when I lived here but on one visit back after being in London, I ate there again and … ugh. That was a bad restaurant visit that I’ll not bore you with. We may content ourselves with finding a samosa worth eating and making our own feast - Indo-Guyanese or North Indian is our general direction.

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I remember Aroma buffet. I used to like Babar’s. I also went to a small place on Gerrard Street once and it was OK. Also Little India on Queen Street. My fondest memory is of the one in the Atrium on Bay - one price for veg only and another for meat. Happy days.

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Some places offer thali, which gives you a taste of several things, without doing a buffet.

I’m not a fan of Banjara, the food there didn’t sit well with me. As Estufarian suggested, not much care is put into the food. It is cheap, as is the Dosa spot next to it, but I don’t eat at Banjara after a bad experience.

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I have not been to an Indian buffet in some time and the pandemic really put a damper on that kind of set-up. If you want variety, just order too many dishes and take the leftovers home as most Indian food (except the breads) travel well.

In terms of non-buffet, on the cheap side in Parkdale is Mother India. I have only done take-out and mainly rotis. The butter chicken and the mutter paneer were both very enjoyable. I also liked the chaat, though the chaat papri specifically doesn’t appear to be still on the menu.

Close to downtown, I did also like Little India on Queen West, particularly for the fish curries (the Goan one is nice). However I last went pre-pandemic and can’t comment if the quality has been maintained. The Host, near Yorkville, is more expensive and generally quite reliable - we liked the jackfruit and the tandoor dishes. They apparently have a lunch buffet, but we have never tried it.

For the upscale options, we quite liked Pukka, but haven’t been since before the pandemic. We also tried Aanch for takeout last year and quite liked it.

You mentioned the Ossington area. There we recommend Foxley, Libretto, Mamakas, Bar Piquette, Bernhardt’s, Forno Cultura, Bang Bang, and La Cubana at very least.

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Well, Little India on Queen W is still kicking :slight_smile:
There is a new Indian restaurant in Kensington Market which should be cheap. I haven’t tried it.

I don’t like Bombay Roti on Bloor in the Annex. Not good.

Kathmandu, once on Yonge and now located in Yorkville has an 3 affordable combo platters/ Thalis . The food was at the Trimurti/ Babur level last time I visited, better than Banjara. Some South Asian friends like Kathmandu when they are craving comfort food,.

https://www.kathmandurestaurant.ca/digital-menu/

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I’m linking to @elvisahmed’s comprehensive thread

Also,
I’ll mention (fairly upscale price-wise ) Khau Gully near Davisville. https://khaugully.ca/

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The Host on Prince Arthur west of Yorkville is no longer. 10 Prince Arthur was demolished and a condo is being erected on the site.

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The samosas and dosas at South Indian Dosa Mahal at Bloor and Landsdowne are quite good in my experience.

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On Ossington, my go-to has been Union for its bistro food and heated back patio.

Not far from Ossington, Badiali’s serves my favourite pizza in Toronto. @calam1ty, if you head to Badiali’s, go midweek mid-afternoon to avoid the line. I think it’s also possible to order ahead online.

Also not too far from Ossington, I continue to like the food at Enoteca Sociale.

Taverne Bernhardt is still on my wishlist.

For Indian spots on my wishlist:
Thindi Café

Madras Kaapi

https://www.madraskaapi.com/

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I see it has moved to Elm St. Didn’t know.

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I feel that Indian food in London UK in general has such a good and wide variety … the good options in Toronto are limited in comparison. But I do like Pukka. Another one I also find interesting is Curryish Tavern on Queen W … but it’s more of a modern Indian instead of traditional.

I have given up on buffet in general … lol

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My niece likes Curryish. I’m skeptical but maybe I should give it a go.

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We will give Thindi a try. It has shades of Chaiwala and Dishoom in London. More expensive though! Talking of baked goods - there’s a TikTok guy does reviews of croissants throughout the city. Seems the best so far is near College Park on Yonge Street. Anyone know the name? I also want to try Conciliabule in Cabbagetown. Soon!

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I think you’re going to have to consider not comparing prices here now to prices in the past or prices elsewhere, if you want to enjoy your meals out.

The new reality is that food is very expensive. Indian restaurants are in a tough business. Some might have a bigger margin than others. If it’s gorgeous spot ona trendy block, there is a premium for that.

Pukka is on a relatively ordinary block in a rather inconvenient neighbourhood, and the higher prices reflect the skill set and quality ingredients.

Enjoy your meals!!

There’s also Gully, in the Annex, which is new. It’s on a strip that has mostly mediocre food relative to restaurants further east or west. I haven’t tried it because most Annex restaurants charge a lot for mediocre food due to the captive markets.

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Here was my review
Overall, reminded us of Vij in Vancouver – sort of a mixed compliment as I’ve never found Vij to be “Indian” – rather it’s a ‘European’ meal using Indian spices.

Service was ‘mixed’ – after an initial attempt to hustle cocktails we were ignored until the ‘regular waiter’ arrived to discuss the food. We ordered wine – seemed like this was a strange thing to do, as the server knew nothing about the winelist – and indeed the wine didn’t arrive until after the food started appearing.

However, eventually everything settled down and the food was mostly enjoyable (although my tolerance for heat exceeded the chef’s choice of spicing). But the supplementary hot sauce improved most dishes. Most successful dish for me was the Lamb biryani (once I added hot sauce). The sweetness from the pineapple lifted the dish.

Least successful was the Duck leg and foie Gras Curry – a bit oily and the foie gras curry seemed to dumb down the separate ingredients.

But I really enjoyed the Montreal Style Paratha (a Paratha topped with ‘bagel spices’ (we actually have a jar of these at home and enjoy them).

We haven’t rushed back – the meal (including wine) ended up over $300 (for two) – a bit high compared to other places we like. However, we would return (?eventually) – just not in our top priority category.

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